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LARKS
“THE JERK”
(Don Julian)
Money 106
No. 7 January 16, 1965
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The Larks–or the Meadowlarks, as they were first called–were an L. A. unit formed in 1953 by Don Julian
(lead vocals, tenor), who tapped the vocal talents of his fellow high-school choirmates. The original crew
included Ronald Barrett (tenor), Earl Jones (baritone, bass), and a later member of THE PENGUINS,
Randy Jones (bass). Cornell Gunter, of the Flairs and later the Coasters, took an interest in the guys and
introduced them to the Bihari brothers at Modern/RPM. A few singles were waxed and shipped, but
nothing caught on. Barrett dropped out of the group.
While daydreaming in a warm bath, Julian wrote a nifty number called “Heaven And Paradise.” With
Earl, Randy, and a new tenor, Glen Reagan, Don approached Dootsie Williams, owner of the DooTone/
Dooto label. In a flash, Dootsie knew the group had put together a doo-woppin’ classic. “Heaven And
Paradise,” “Always And Always,” and a number of other disks were issued. Members came and went;
Don and his gang recorded for a while as the Medallions, backing up Vernon Green.
A decade passed. Don Julian had managed to have some further singles released under various names,
but none of them sold very well. Then Don happened on to a new dance in his sister’s front room. “I went
over to my sister’s; the kids were dancing to Martha & The Vandelias’ “Dancin’ In The Street,”‘ Julian
recalled to Goldmine’s Steve Propes. “I said, ‘Hey, what’s that you’re doing? ‘One of the kids said, ‘The
Jerk.’ I asked her what it was and she said, ‘If you don’t know how to do it, come on, I’ll teach you.'”
Don dashed home, wrote up some lyrics, and reassembled his Larks/Meadowlarks. (At this point, the
“Meadowlarks” name was used to refer to the vocal group’s back-up musicians; “The Larks” referred to
the singers themselves.) The Larks now consisted of Julian plus two L. A. lads, Charles Morrison and
Ted Waters.