Betty Jean / Love Is All I (Crave) (Digital 45)

Frenchie Concepcion met a quartet who sang at local community centers in the East New York section of Brooklyn. The quartet took him in as their new lead singer, under the name "Frank Lopez. " They practiced mostly standards as well as songs they'd written themselves. One day they heard about an audition being held by Tommy Robinson, owner of Atlas records at a studio at 124th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues, in Harlem. In mid-1957, the Travelers recorded "Lenora," a song Frenchie had written and the old Wrens song, "Betty Jean" which was released on Atlas in August. Also at the sessions, the group recorded the tune "Love Is All I (Crave)," written by Frenchie (as Frank Lopez), although it went unissued at the time. After being together for about two years, a couple of the guys went into the service and that was the end of the Travelers. The Betty Jean single was resurrected years later on the Atlas subsidiary Angle-Tone, but this time with "Love Is All I (Crave) as the "B" side. Presented here is that single, "Betty Jean" b/w "Love Is All I (Crave)," newly remastered and finally made available in the digital domain. .