The Avalons has been played on NTS shows including Diddy Wah, with Begin' The Beguine first played on 30 November 2015.

The Avalons

By Marv Goldberg

Based on interviews with Bernard Purdie and George Cox

© 2003 by Marv Goldberg

The Avalons were one of the four R&B groups from Newport News, Virginia to record in the 50s (the others were the 5 Keys, the Leaders, and the Chateaus). Although both the Leaders and the Chateaus were highly influenced by the 5 Keys, the Avalons, as we'll see, were much more intertwined with them.

Our story begins around 1947, with the formation of a group called…