The Edsels still rolling, 45 years later

Jimmy Reynolds is still the pastor of a church on the East Side.
By GUY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Back in the Doo-Wop days of 1961, a vocal group from Youngstown known as the Edsels released a song called "Rama Lama Ding Dong."
The song went on to become a Top-25 hit and an enduring piece of Americana. To this day, there's hardly a person who hasn't heard it, or at least heard of it.
But, like the ill-fated automobile whose name they took, the Edsels were doomed to disappointment.
Because of a bad recording contract, the Edsels received a check for just $875 for "Rama Lama," which they had to split five ways. They made money through extensive touring in ensuing years but never really capitalized on the success of "Rama Lama" and always felt cheated.
Forty-five years later, that wrong might soon be righted.
They're back
Jimmy Reynolds of Youngstown's East Side, one of the original Edsels, is taking a second shot at success -- this time with the help of his five sons.
Reynolds has resurrected the Edsels by uniting with his sons' act, the Reynolds Brothers.
The Edsels played at the Sunset Station Hotel in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday and have several East Coast tour dates lined up.
It's a turn of events that has Jimmy Reynolds "feeling like I'm 20 years old again."
"I'm getting a second chance to get what I didn't get the first time," said Reynolds, a lifetime military man who, at 68, is fit, trim and vigorous. He was in the Air Force from 1955 until his retirement in 1992 as a chief master sergeant.
Background
Reynolds, who also has four daughters, is still the pastor of Early Morning Church of God in Christ on the East Side.
"I prayed for children who would one day join me in restarting the group, and I got them," he said.
Three of the other original Edsels -- Harry Green, George Jones (who wrote "Rama Lama") and Marshall Sewell -- are retired. The fourth, Larry Green, is deceased.
Reynolds and his wife reared all nine of their kids on the East Side and gave them musical training from a very young age.
"Our show is so smooth because we've been doing it all our lives," he said.
The Reynolds Brothers -- Pat, Baron, Carlisle, Jeff and Chris -- are now based in Florida. They recently released a self-titled CD of harmony-laden Motown standards and Doo-Wop classics, including "Rama Lama Ding Dong," that has already sold 50,000 units. When the brothers join their father to perform as the Edsels, they sing those songs as well as Edsels originals.
Legal battles are over
Years ago, Reynolds and the Edsels filed a $30 million lawsuit to recover money from "Rama Lama," but it went nowhere. The suit was settled for $2,800.
For Reynolds, the time has come to focus on the future. "The hurt is over," said Reynolds.
"The shame is over."
What remains is the music.
Doo-Wop, of course, never fully went away. It keeps bouncing back in the form of reunion shows.
So what is it about the style that keeps it evergreen? Is it nostalgia for a simpler era or something more?
Reynolds thinks he has the answer: "It fits with the season of summer. It brings to mind flowers blooming, birds chirping, and holding hands ... that's why it always springs back."
And that's why the Edsels are revving up for another cruise.