The Feathers came together in 1954, when lead tenor Johnny Staton and his brother and first tenor Louis Staton relocated from El Centro, a California border town, to South L.A., where they settled.
Johnny Staton recalled, “we had twelve children, brothers and sisters. We used to get together and harmonize in church.” Following a stint in the air force, Johnny began performing at various talent shows with his brothers, Louis and Izell and sister Lenore. Izell sang bass. “My brother Louis said we had a very light bass, so why not name the group the Feathers?”
After about four months with this membership, Izell and Lenore left and the group and added neighborhood friends, second tenor Don Harris, baritone John “Sonny” Harris and bass Mitchell Alexander.
For their earliest song, Johnny “thought of a young lady I was with when I got ready to leave for the service. She had said, ‘Johnny, darling, please don’t go.’” For the flip side, Staton recalled another girl. “During my high school days, there was a girl called Nona Wyatt. All the boys would try to get her, she was so beautiful, but she never paid me no attention. I used to tease her, hit on her. I don’t think she ever found out about the record.”
