BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " FLOYD "BUDDY" MCRAE " ONE OF THE FOUNDING AND MEMBER OF THE CHORDS ONE OF AMERICAS LEADING BLACK GROUP OF THE 1050's : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

             BLACK     SOCIAL   HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                     Floyd ‘Buddy’ McRae, the last living member of the Chords  and a singer on the song, ‘Sh-Boom,’ dies in Bronx hospital

Sang tenor in doo wop group that scored rock n' roll classic that became sound of the summer of 1954 and was used as a campaign song by NYC Mayor Robert Wagner.

MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGESThe Chords in their heyday: (From l.) Ricky Edwards, Jimmy Keyes, Floyd 'Buddy' McRae, Claude Feaster and Carl Feaster

Floyd "Buddy" McRae, the last surviving original member of the Chords, who popularized the seminal rock 'n' roll classic "Sh-Boom" almost 60 years ago, died Tuesday at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

He was about 80 and had been in declining health in recent years.

Last summer the city renamed Jennings St. between Prospect and Union Sts. "Chords Way," to honor the group and recognize the significance of the song, which became a major national hit in the summer of 1954 and helped blow open the doors to the rock 'n' roll era that followed.

McRae was too ill to attend the ceremony, but he called it "wonderful."

He also noted that while the Chords came from the Jennings St. area, they were not street singers.

"We wanted a more polished sound," his fellow Chord Jimmy Keyes said a few years ago. "We wanted to become professionals."

McRae formed his first singing group, the Keynotes, when he was a student at P.S. 99. Later that group morphed into the Chords, with William Edwards, Keyes, Carl and Claude Feaster. McRae sang second tenor.

They wrote "Sh-Boom" in 1953, McRae said, playing off the popularity of the word "Boom!" as a street greeting.

They recorded it for Atlantic's subsidiary Cat Records, and it was issued as the B-side of "Cross Over the Bridge," which Atlantic thought was the stronger song.

But disc jockeys flipped it over and "Sh-Boom!" became the hit. It quickly spawned a bland pop cover version and a parody by Stan Freberg. It was also used as a campaign song by Mayor Robert Wagner.

The Chords spent years finally getting royalties for the song, McRae later said, and their business problems helped short-circuit their career.

They continued recording, but never had another hit.

McRae left the group in 1957, later returning from time to time to sing with other members.

He also moved to Detroit for a short time before returning to New York.

He operated a bar/club in the city, as well as a martial arts studio.

"He will be missed," his son Floyd McRae II said Wednesday.