While cutting a 1960 date, McCormack's voice gave out, and Petty suggested they record his Tex-Mex-influenced instrumental composition Wheels backed by the Leen Teens' own instrumental Tell the World. At Petty's insistence, the name "String-A-Longs" was installed prior to the single's release on Warwick; when both sides began earning airplay, the label split the disc into two A-sides, although Wheels (newly backed by the vocal performance Am I Asking Too Much) became the far bigger hit, reaching the number three spot in the U.S. in early 1961. The follow-up, Brass Buttons, also hit the Top 40, a distinction narrowly missed by the String-A-Longs' third release, Should I. A series of singles as well as an LP, Pick-A-Hit Featuring Wheels, followed before Warwick filed for bankruptcy in 1962; the group then signed to Dot, where efforts like Twist Watch, Replica, and Myna Bird failed to attract much attention. After 1965's Caravan met a similar fate, the String-A-Longs disbanded, with McCormack -- who'd earlier penned the Jimmy Gilmer the Fireballs chart-topper Sugar Shack -- replacing Gilmer three years later. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi