Beverly Bivens
We Five's first single, from their debut album of the same name, was a reworked version of Sylvia Tyson's song "You Were On My Mind". It became one of the first folk-rock hits, reaching number three in the "Billboard" "Hot 100" in August 1965. Tyson (then Sylvia Fricker) says that she was unaware that her song had been covered until she heard We Five's version on a car radio while driving on Highway 101 in California. One consequence of We Five's success was that Tyson's song, which, until then, had been unavailable in sheet form, was published by Witmark of New York, with a photograph of Bivens and We Five on the cover. However, with the so-called "British invasion" at its height, We Five's recording had only limited international success, having been covered reluctantly, though successfully, in Britain by Crispian St. Peters.
The Migil Five
The group played a mixture of pop, R&B and jazz music on the cabaret circuit until they were seen by trad jazz bandleader Kenny Ball. He performed onstage with them, and recommended them to his record label, Pye Records. Their first single, "Maybe", was released in 1963. They then added tenor saxophonist Alan "Earl" Watson, formerly a member of Georgie Fame's Blue Flames, so becoming The Migil 5, and won a residency at the Tottenham Royal dance hall, replacing the Dave Clark Five. Expanding their repertoire to cater for a younger audience, they recorded their second single, "Mockin' Bird Hill" - a country song which had been a US hit for Les Paul and Mary Ford - in a style then known as "bluebeat" and later as ska. It was released the same week as Millie Small's ska hit "My Boy Lollipop", and entered the UK Singles Chart in March 1964, rising to #10. It also reached number one in Ireland.