Group, 1956 

Familiar group formed in Boston by descendants of Cape Verdeans, The Tune Weavers achieve great success with the song “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby”, released in 1957, at the height at the doo-wop period (a style of vocal music based on R&B that emerged among the North American black community in the 1940s). 

The group’s members include the siblings Gilbert Lopez and Margo Silvia (who wrote the successful hit), Margo’s husband John Sylvia, and a cousin named Charlotte Davis.  

Initially, the single released by Casa Grande Records was not successful. However, Chess Records, which purchased the distribution rights released it on its Checker label. It was after this that the song entered the Billboard magazine rankings: it reached fourth place on the R&B list and fifth on the “Billboard Hot 100”, which lists the 100 best-selling songs in a week. It sold two million copies over the decades, having been performed by several artists, including Willy Nelson and Elvis Presley. 

The recording of “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby” by The Tune Weavers was accompanied by Frank Paul’s Orchestra, according to the label on the album. In the early 1960s, the group released several other singles, but did not achieve any other hits. John Sylvia keeps the group running with other members. Margo passed away in 1991. 

The discography of The Tune Weavers can be found on Colorradio.com. 

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Thanks to Ron Barboza for the research.