Back in the fall of 1960 in my senior year of high school, the most popular teen music station in Philly [WIBG] started playing a record quite different from the usual Elvis/Ricky/Connie/vocal group sounds of the day. The song was
Roll Call Company "J" by The Balladeers, released on a minor label out of Hollywood, Del-Fi Records. Del-Fi's small stable of artists included Richie Valens and Johnny Crawford [of TV's The Rifleman]. The song featured spoken commentary at the beginning and the rest was choruses from the old spiritual
When They Call The Roll Up Yonder along with some "marching" calls. The song never reached the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was quickly forgotten by probably everyone but me. It came back to mind a few years later when the KT released
Rev. Mr. Black with its spoken word and gospel-flavored chorus.
One of the members of The Balladeers was Al De Lory who went on to produce records for Capitol including a number of Glen Campbell's biggest hits [
Gentle On My Mind; By The Time I Get To Phoenix; Wichita Lineman; Galveston]. He was also a musician in the highly regarded LA sessions group The Wrecking Crew.