Search - Rooftop Singers :: Best of the Rooftop Singers

Short and sweet - great sixties folk music

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 09/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Erik Darling was once a member of The Weavers, but later formed the Rooftop singers, with a guitarist friend (Bill Svanoe) and a great female singer, Lynne Taylor. Though Lynne was jazz-orientated, she had created a tape in which she overdubbed one of Erik's own albums (True religion) with her own vocals. Erik was impressed by that tape so Lynne was an obvious choice for the group.They had a #1 hit in America with Walk right in (originally a ragtime song from the twenties) and recorded an album of the same title, following it up with an album titled Good time! (which sums up their kind of music). After that, Lynne retired and was replaced with another wonderful lady, Mindy Stuart, for their third and final album, Rainy river.On the tracks from the first two albums, Erik sings lead on some songs, but the majority of the tracks feature Lynne on lead. Erik is more prominent on the Rainy river tracks. Mindy never sings lead, but she certainly provided great harmonies and it would have been nice to hear more of her. If she didn't get a chance to sing lead on the rest of the album, that may have been a factor contributing to their break-up soon afterwards. This compilation is made up of five tracks from Walk right in, seven tracks from Good time! and just four from Rainy river. I haven't heard the original albums (unfortunately) but I can't believe these are the only tracks worth hearing. Perhaps somebody will release a more generous compilation some day? In the meantime, you solve the problem of a short playing time by playing it again - and again."

Good compilation shows off depth of one-hit folkie wonders

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 05/04/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Though Erik Darling had previously replaced Pete Seeger in The Weavers, it was this group that brought him to the top of the charts. Their retooled version of the late-20s ragtime tune "Walk Right In," topped the charts in 1963. And while it was the Rooftop Singers only chart appearance, it wasn't their only release. Over the course of 3 LPs they mixed jazz and blues into their folk, occupying a somewhat more sophisticated corner of the early-60s folk revival.At 36 minutes, this collection is a bit skimpy, but then, that's the world of mechanical royalties!"