A look back at the Valadiers, Motown's first
and all-Jewish — singing group.
all-white
The Valadiers:
Clockwise
from top left,
Gary Frenkel,
Marty Coleman,
Art Glasser,
Stuart Avig
and Jerry Light.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
ir
ormer Detroiter Jerry Light
recently surfed the Web to
find a favorite record made
about 40 years ago. Not
quite a hit then, it's a collectors item
now.
Light found "Greetings (This Is
Uncle Sam)" and bought four copies. Three will be
gifts for his children.
Although most parents might be reluctant to
involve their families with music from their
prime, Light is hoping his children will think of
the records as keepsakes. He was one of five
singers recording for the emerging Motown label
and part of the first white group in a company
that was known for featuring black artists.
, Other members of the group — Stuart Avig, Art
Glasser, Gary Frenkel and Marty Coleman — shared
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Light's dream of becoming a headliner group.
Looking back to the late 1950s and early '60s, the
friends are grateful for their 15 minutes of fame.
"We never lose our doo-wops," says Light, a
Florida resident who now travels the country as a
dealer in scrap metals. "It's like magic when we get
together."
Light, Glasser and Coleman met at a party in
1957 and liked the way they could harmonize while
singing along with a record. They had fun with their
impromptu group and started meeting together to
try their voices with other songs.
As they performed together, with
other singers joining and leaving, they
became more serious about their
sound and dreamed about bigger
opportunities.
They called themselves the Valadiers
(brave soldiers or strong men), a word
Glasser liked from his Latin class.
At one point, Light and Coleman
connected with two black singers, and the four
auditioned before Motown legend Berry Gordy Jr.,
who told them that mixed groups don't become
popular.
The next audition featured the group that would
make the recording of "Greetings": Light and
Frenkel from Mumford High School, and Avig,
Coleman and Glasser from Oak Park High School.
Although group members were white and Jewish,
their sound was black, and they became pioneers of
blue-eyed soul.