Newport News, VA-based RB vocal group the Chateaus formed in 1952 -- according to Marv Goldberg's profile in the December 1976 issue of Yesterday's Memories -- first tenor Fred Harris, second tenor Oliver Sidney, falsetto Leroy Jones, bass Charles Sidney, and baritone/pianist George Winfield originally dubbed themselves "the Flamingos", but later abandoned the moniker upon learning of the Chicago-based group of the same name. After posting a newspaper advertisement seeking ideas for a new name, the quintet selected the Chateaus, emerging as a fixture of a thriving Newport News scene that also included the Five Keys, the Avalons and the Leaders. In early 1956, while the group was making plans to travel to New York City in search of a record deal, Harris was drafted into the military, necessitating the addition of tenor Edwin Hall. Weeks later, the Chateaus headed for Manhattan, signing to Columbia's Epic subsidiary and releasing their debut single Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup (a song first popularized by supper club chanteuse Hildegard) in April. The record did not sell, however, and although the group cut another session for Epic, the label shelved the tapes and released the Chateaus from their contract. The quintet returned to Virginia and began searching for a new deal. They were still looking as of 1958, by which time Harris completed his military duty and returned home to serve as the Chateaus' road manager. Finally, in the fall of 1958, the group signed to Warner Bros. and released its sophomore effort Satisfied. The Masquerade Is Over followed in early 1959, and like its predecessor, earned little notice from radio or retail. When their third Warner release Ladder of Love met the same fate, Charles Sidney left the group to move to New Jersey, and with new bass Theodore Pepper Jones, the Chateaus spent the next several years under the radar, resurfacing in 1963 backing the Bobbettes on their Diamond label single Close Your Eyes. Despite the long layoff, the group was still under contract at Warner as well, and in early 1964 cut a never-released session for the label. The Chateaus split soon after, but in 1973 Rudy West recruited Oliver Sidney, Hall, Jones, and Winfield to form a new version of his old group the Five Keys, releasing the single Goddess of Love on the Landmark imprint and continuing to tour until West's 1998 death. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi