OBITUARY 

LIGONIER, Pa. (AP) _ David Proch, a singer who became the third person  to sing first tenor for the group the Skyliners, died Monday in a car accident.  He was 44.  His car collided with a truck hauling asphalt on U.S. Route 30 near Ligonier,  about 45 miles east of Pittsburgh.  Proch was singing with another group when the Skyliners came to hear him  sing in 1993. At first listen, the Skyliners' original lead singer, Jimmy Beaumont,  invited him to join the group.  The Skyliners played places like Atlantic City, Hawaii and Madison Square  Garden.

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

Skyliners    This Pittsburgh vocal group made a magnificent heartache  ballad in 1959, "Since I Don't Have You." It remains among  R&B's ultimate agonizing triumphs, and Chuck Jackson later  did an equally gripping version. Jimmy Beaumont was the  lead vocalist, with Janet Vogel, Wally Lester, Joe VerScharen,  and Jackie Taylor.  Beaumont, Taylor, and Lester had been in  The Crescents, while Vogel and VerScharen were alumni of   The El Rios. Their follow - up, "This I Swear," was a creditable  effort that peaked at number 20 on the R&B charts, but few   remember it. Oddly, "Since I Don't Have You" only reached  number three on the R&B side and number 12 on the pop charts.  But it's certainly one song for whom the numbers really don't   come close to telling the story. The Skyliners had two chart  singles on Callico and then had one other song reach the   R&B Top 40 in 1965,  "The Loser," for Jubilee.     - - Ron Wynn      AMG      The Skyliners   This white vocal quintet comprised of members drawn  from two Pittsburgh, USA groups. Jimmy Beaumont   (lead vocals), Wally Lester (tenor) and Jackie Taylor   (bass) had sung with the Crescents, while Janet Vogel  and Joe VerScharen (baritone) were formerly of the  El Rios. The new act reached number 12 in the US   charts in 1959 with the poignant Since I Don't Have  You, a much-covered classic marked by Beaumont's   superb, sweeping delivery. The Skyliners later enjoyed  two Top 30 entries with This I Swear (1959) and Pen-  nies From Heaven (1960), but were quickly overtaken   by newer, more contemporary acts. They did enjoy minor  success in 1965 with The Loser, but the Skyliners became  increasingly confined to the nostalgia circuit. Although   Vogel retained a professional self-confidence, she was  latterly beset by personal problems and committed  suicide on 21 February 1980.      MUSIC CENTRAL '96

 

 LINKS

All-Music Guide: The Skyliners