The Manhattans were an American soul and rhythm and blues vocal group formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1962, and became one of the most successful vocal-harmony groups of the 1970s.
“Kiss and Say Goodbye” topped the Billboard Hot 100 (1976) and “Shining Star” reached No. 5 (1980), across 45 charted R&B hits.
Sealed in the Record · 2026-07-13 · verify
In the Record§
The original lineup paired lead tenor George “Smitty” Smith with bass singer and principal songwriter Winfred “Blue” Lovett, tenors Edward “Sonny” Bivins and Kenneth “Wally” Kelly, and baritone Richard Taylor.
Signed to Joe Evans's Carnival Records, the group reached the Billboard R&B chart with “I Wanna Be (Your Everything)” in 1965 and followed it with “Follow Your Heart” and “Baby I Need You,” building a devoted following on the soul and chitlin-circuit stages.
After the group moved to Deluxe Records, George Smith left in 1970 because of illness and died that December; Gerald Alston stepped in as lead singer, and in 1973 the group signed to Columbia Records.
On Columbia the Manhattans broke through nationally with “There's No Me Without You” (1973) before their signature hit: “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” written by Winfred Lovett and opened by his spoken monologue, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 and was among the first singles ever certified platinum by the RIAA.
“Shining Star” reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 in 1980 and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.
Across their career the group charted 45 hits on the Billboard R&B chart, including twelve R&B top-10 singles, their close-harmony ballads carried by Alston's tenor lead and Lovett's bass narrations.
Richard Taylor left in the mid-1970s after converting to Islam, and Gerald Alston departed for a solo career in 1988, but Bivins and Lovett carried the name onward; the group's records remain staples of quiet-storm and oldies radio and a cornerstone of Jersey City's soul legacy.
Sources§
- Wikipedia — The Manhattans — link
- Archive research: The Jersey City Sound, 2026
- Billboard chart history (Hot 100 / Billboard 200)
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