PRodrigue

<p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><strong>The Harptones</strong>&nbsp;are an&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">American</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doo-wop" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">doo-wop</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_group" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">group</a>&nbsp;which formed in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Manhattan, New York</a>&nbsp;in 1953.</p><p>The group never had a top forty pop hit, or a record on the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">US</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_(magazine)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Billboard</em></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">R&amp;B</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_chart" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">chart</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Harptones#cite_note-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[1]</a>&nbsp;yet they are known for both their lead singer Willie Winfield and their pianist/arranger, Raoul Cita. The Harptones recorded for&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coed_Records" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Coed Records</a>&nbsp;and other labels. The Harptones may have been the first doo-wop group to have a full-time arranger among their members, and Cita knew how to work to Winfield's strengths.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Harptones#cite_note-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[2]</a>&nbsp;Their best-known recordings include "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sunday_Kind_of_Love" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Sunday Kind of Love</a>" (1953), "Why Should I Love You?" (1954), "Life is But a Dream" (1955), "The Shrine of St. Cecilia" (1956), and "What Will I Tell My Heart" (1961).</p><p>In 1956, they recorded some songs for the film&nbsp;<em>Rockin' the Blues</em>: "Mambo Boogie", "Ou Wee Baby",<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Harptones#cite_note-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[3]</a>&nbsp;and "High Flying Baby".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Harptones#cite_note-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[4]</a></p><p>The song "Life is But a Dream" was featured in the 1990 film&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoodFellas" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>GoodFellas</em></a><em>;</em>&nbsp;it appears on the film's&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodfellas_(soundtrack)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">soundtrack album</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Harptones#cite_note-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[5]</a></p>