ArtistInfo

The Rainbows

R&B/Soul

US group formed by former members of The Rainbows (3). After The Rainbows (3) broke up, Ronald Miles joined the Air Force (1957-1961). While there, he met Layton McDonald and Joe Walls, each of whom had a singing group (they all competed in the Air Force's "Tops in Blue" contest). Since they were all from the D.C. area, plans were made to re-form the Rainbows after their enlistments were up. Thus in 1961, another group of Rainbows started to form. When Ronald Miles got out of the service, Chester Simmons introduced him to Duval Potter and Victor English, whom he'd met at Bo Diddley's house. Potter and English had both been with the Carousels (a non-recording D.C. group that had recently broken up). Thus, the new Rainbows were Ronald Miles (second tenor), Joseph Walls (tenor), Duval Potter (tenor), Layton McDonald (baritone), and Victor English (bass, baritone). To keep it a self-contained unit, they added Alvin Saunders (guitar) and Walter McDonald (drums). In early 1963, the Rainbows were approached by Bobby Lee, a local promoter who was an aspiring songwriter. The Rainbows and Lee struggled at putting together a contract that both sides would accept, but the deal finally fell through. A song that Lee had written, "Gang War," was subsequently recorded by Billy Stewart's brother, Johnny. Rainbows ended up having two releases on Dave Glascoe's Dave label. The first, in November 1963, was "I Know" (led by Duval Potter), backed with "Only A Picture" (fronted by Joseph Walls). The second, in May 1964, was "It Wouldn't Be Right" (led by Ronald Miles), coupled with "Family Monkey" (Joseph Walls). Ron feels that the songs could have seen some chart action if they had been properly promoted.