The Ad Libs

The Ad Libs were an early-'60s vocal group from New Jersey whose female lead vocals and male-voiced backing prefigured the jazzy doo wop singing style of several later groups, including Manhattan Transfer. They scored a major hit in early 1965 with "The Boy From New York City," written by John T. Taylor, a saxophone player who had worked with various big band groups as far back as the '30s. By the early '60s, John T. Taylor had quit playing music and had turned his attention to teaching. During this time, he heard a young Hudson County quintet who were calling themselves the ...