1963 The Secrets – The Boy Next Door
Four girls in the Cleveland, Ohio, area formed the Sonnets in the early sixties. They were playing at clubs as part of a bill led by the Starfires, who later became the Outsiders (Time Won’t Let Me).
A local talent scout (Redda Robbins) signed the group and had them meet with two songwriters, Johnny Madara and David White. David had been a member of Danny and the Juniors, and the two had co-written At The Hop. They also wrote Chubby Checker’s hit The Fly. In 1963, Johnny and David wrote another hit that Lesley Gore released, You Don’t Own Me.
The Sonnets changed their name to The Secrets, and they worked with Johnny and David and recorded The Boy Next Door. Their single on Philips Records reached #18 on the Hot 100 in late 1963.
The Secrets released three more singles in 1964, but not even an appearance on American Bandstand could get them back on the charts. They disbanded in 1965, although some of them reunited in the nineties and played in oldies shows.
David and Johnny went on to write or co-write other hits for Len Barry, including 1-2-3.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secrets
https://www.discogs.com/master/373602-The-Secrets-The-Boy-Next-Door
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