Long Lost Newark Band Pops Up 64 Years Later On Irish Compilation

Written By Mike Greenblatt
The Adventurers

The very first track of Koko Mojo’s Hi Strung R&B series—Volume #3 “Do It”—is from 1961 by a vocal group who graduated Weequahic High School in Newark. They do the title song yet a deep dive into their small catalog only reveals four singles from ’61 to ’68 and one album, Can’t Stop Twistin’ (1961) on major label Columbia Records. Not much else is known about The Adventurers so how a label from Ireland found them is a bit of a mystery. We do know the band was comprised of two tenor singers, a bass singer and a bass guitarist-composer, James Wickers.

Hi Strung R&B

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Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

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