<P> The Manhattans, originally from Jersey City, formed in 1962 with members George "Smitty" Smith (born December 28, 1939, Florida; died December 16, 1970), Edward "Sonny" Bivins (born Edward Jessie Bivins, Jr., January 15, 1936, Macon, Georgia; died December 3, 2014, Basking Ridge, Bernards Township, New Jersey), Winfred "Blue" Lovett (born Winfred Lorenzo Lovett, November 16, 1936, Jersey City; died December 9, 2014, Arizona), Kenny "Wally" Kelley (born Kenneth Bernard Kelly, January 9, 1941, Jersey City; died February 17, 2015), and Richard "Ricky" Taylor (born in 1940; died December 7, 1987). Bivins, Lovett, and Kelley were graduating from Lincoln High School, while Taylor and Smith were graduating from Snyder High School . All five enlisted in the armed forces and came together as a group following their discharges from their respective branches . </P> <P> The group's first single was "For the Very First Time," released in 1964 by Carnival Records . They continued recording successfully with songs written by various members of the group . In 1968, the group received the "Most Promising Group" award by NATRA . In 1969, the group moved to the De Luxe record label, a subsidiary of King Records, subsequently embarking on a college tour . While playing at Kittrell College in North Carolina, the group met another group, the New Imperials, featuring Gerald Alston, nephew of The Shirelles' lead singer, Shirley Alston - Reeves . They were so impressed with Alston that they asked him to join the group, but he declined . </P> <P> Misfortune hit the group late in 1970 when George Smith fell and later took ill . With him unable to perform, the group began to search for a new lead . First they attempted to woo The Cymbals' lead, Lee Williams, but he was unwilling to leave his current group . The group then renewed their request to Gerald Alston (born November 8, 1951, North Carolina), who accepted and took over the lead spot . Original lead singer George Smith died of a brain tumor on December 16, 1970, 12 days before his 31st birthday . </P> <P> The Manhattans continued recording throughout the 1970s with Alston singing lead vocals . They struck chart gold in 1973 with the Bivins - written song "There's No me Without You". Then their biggest song to date was "Kiss and Say Goodbye," written by Blue Lovett and arranged / co-produced with the group by the Philadelphia - based record producer Bobby Martin, a former member of the MFSB band of session musicians . The song quickly became a number 1 chart topper on both the US Billboard Pop and R&B charts . It also became only the second single to go platinum, after the RIAA introduced the award in 1976 . Taylor left in 1976 to concentrate on his conversion to Islam . He died in 1987 after a long illness . The group continued as a quartet, and found further success in March 1980 with the release of "Shining Star," which reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the R&B Chart . Produced and co-written by the Chicago - based record producer, Leo Graham, it received a Grammy Award the following spring . </P>

Who was the lead singer of the manhattans