Post by Emerald City on Apr 26, 2005 14:17:11 GMT -5
Richard "Rick" Lewis, a member of the doo-wop group the Silhouettes whose song "Get A Job" soared to the top of the charts in 1958, has died. He was 71.
Lewis, of Southwest Philadelphia, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday at Albert Einstein Medical Center.
Lewis wrote "Get a Job," the group's one big hit. It sold nearly 2 million copies and led to tours and appearances on Philadelphia's "American Bandstand." Years later, the group Sha Na Na took its name from the spirited refrain of the Silhouettes' signature song.
Lewis grew up in the city's Germantown neighborhood in a house with 13 siblings. A tenor, he started singing with the Philadelphia Boys' Choir.
In 1950, he joined the Army and was wounded in Korea. He sang with a gospel group on Armed Forces Radio before being discharged in 1954.
After the war, Lewis joined the Gospel Tornadoes. The quartet — Lewis, Bill Horton, Earl Beal and Raymond Edwards — changed its name to the Silhouettes in 1957. The group signed with Junior Records and recorded a 45 with "Get a Job" on the B side.
Lewis produced and published music from the late 1980s until his health started to deteriorate in 2001.
The Silhouettes' last performance was in 1993 at North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, Mass., where they left the stage to a standing ovation. Lewis was the last surviving member of the original lineup.
"'Get a Job' is the national anthem of doo-wop. And they were consummate gentlemen," said Harvey Robbins, president of the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame, which gave the Silhouettes a lifetime achievement award in 1993. "They truly loved each other. Now they're together again."
Lewis is survived by his wife, Elaine, and eight children from his three marriages. He also is survived by 10 grandchildren, a brother and four sisters.
