A mixture of school friends and neighbours, this Philadelphia-based group was formed by Shirley Brickley (9 December 1944, d. 13 October 1977), Steve Caldwell (b. 22 November 1942), Rosetta Hightower (b. 23 June 1944, USA) and Marlena Davis (b. 4 October 1944). Introduced to Cameo Records by the lead singer of the Dovells, Len Barry, the Orlons’ first hits, ‘The Wah Watusi’, ‘Don’t Hang Up’ and ‘South Street’, cleverly exploited the male/female aspect of the group. Each of these releases reached the US Top 5, but their potential was undermined when ‘Cross Fire!’ (1963) and ‘Rules Of Love’ (1964) were only minor hits. Any lingering impetus was lost when Davis and Caldwell left the line-up, but although Audrey Brickley took their place, the Orlons broke up in 1968 when Rosetta Hightower moved to the UK to become a session singer.