The Big Five – Brief History of the Group
The Big Five were a late‑1950s R&B/doo‑wop vocal group whose recordings appeared on several small independent labels. According to collector research and commentary on your page, they were the same group who recorded under several different names depending on the label:
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The Fabulous Flames (Rex)
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The Fabulous Five (King)
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The Fabulous Five Flames (Time)
This kind of name‑shifting was common for small R&B groups working with multiple regional labels in the 1950s.
They later recorded for Shad Records, and collectors believe the Junior and Shad releases are by the same group
The Junior Records Single (Nov 1958)
Label: Junior (Jr.) Catalog: 5000 Release Date: November 1958 Format: 7" 45rpm single
A‑Side: “Wob‑Ding‑A‑Ling”
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Credited writer: Billy Pye (a pseudonym for producer Robert Shad)
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Copyright filed as “Wop Ding‑A‑Ling” by James Johnson, Fairway Music Corp., Feb 17, 1958
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Johnson was a Houston songwriter who also wrote two songs for The Chariots on Time Records.
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Here is a first pressing, no collector wants this one. We’ll keep tracking the rise of this single, chart movement, collector chatter, and any special editions that drop. If you love discovering the next big thing before everyone else, this is the one to watch.