How much is The Manhattans worth?
| Net Worth: | $5 Million |
|---|---|
| Who: | R&B group |
| Formed: | 1962 |
| Country: | United States of America |
About The Manhattans
The Manhattans’ forty-year history, two lead singer changes, and success in at least three different musical genres are actually three separate stories. On the pop charts, they are best known for their monumental 1976 hit “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” but fans of Northern Soul know that their history actually began twelve years earlier, when five students from two New Jersey high schools — just across the river from Manhattan, hence the name — came together to form a doo-wop-style vocal group after their military service was completed.
One of the most authentic R&B vocal ensembles of the mid-1960s was led by George Smith, who adopted the catchy moniker “Smitty’s” along with the other members of the group. Even as balladeers, the original Manhattans struggled to leave the R&B Top 20; perhaps they were too honest and raw for their period.
Smitty’s tragic death from injuries sustained after falling down a flight of stairs at the beginning of the 1970s didn’t stop the group from continuing. They chose Gerald Alston, a young, budding soul singer they’d seen on tour, to be their lead singer. The Manhattans cleaned down their arrangements with some assistance from producer Bobby Martin, formerly of the MFSB backing band that had made Philly Soul a household name.
Radio and the group started to meet halfway. However, pop success eluded them until founding member “Blue” Lovett’s original composition “Kiss and Say Goodbye” started climbing the charts and reached the top spot, one of the saddest breakup songs in history started by Blue’s deep rumbling beginning (“This has got to be the saddest day of my life”). Shortly after, baritone “Ricky” Taylor quit the group to join Islam, but the Manhattans just kept going as a quartet.
With an outside song named “Shining Star” the ensemble only once more reached the pop charts (another ballad, not to be confused with the lite-funk hit by Earth, Wind and Fire). However, they continued to be well-liked in R&B for an additional 10 years as more urban adults started to listen to the very emotional, difficult-to-understand lyrics, and smooth musical style of adult contemporary that would later be dubbed Quiet Storm.
In 1988, Alston departed the band to pursue a lucrative solo career, but soon after, the emergence of hip-hop left all the band members with a style they couldn’t imitate. In response, they established two Manhattans, one under the direction of the founder member “Sonny” Bivins and the other under Lovett and Alston. Tenor “Wally” Kelley was the sole remaining member of the Manhattans after the deaths of Bivins and Lovett in December 2014, which prevented a 2015 court action from being held to determine the legal ownership of the group’s name.
