The Corsairs were an American doo wop ensemble from La Grange, North Carolina

La Grange, North Carolina

La Grange is a town in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States. The population is estimated to be 2,757 in 2008...

.

The group consisted of three brothers and their cousin. Initially they performed as The Gleems, and toured the East Coast, where they were overheard by Abner Spector. Changing their name in 1961 to The Corsairs, they released their first single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "Time Waits" b/w "It Won't Be a Sin" on Smash Records

Smash Records

Smash Records is an American record label. It was founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966...

. Switching to Tuff Records, they released "Smoky Places", which became a nationwide hit after being picked up for national distribution by Chess Records

Chess Records

Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....

, hitting #10 R&B and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in 1962. The follow-up, "I'll Take You Home", peaked at #62, and they continued releasing singles until 1964, none of which managed to hit the charts.

"Smoky Places" was used in the 1994 movie

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, There Goes My Baby

There Goes My Baby (film)

There Goes My Baby was directed by Stephen Fisher & Floyd Mutrux, and starred Dermot Mulroney, Rick Schroder, Noah Wyle, Lucy Deakins & Kelli Williams. It is also known under the name The Last Days of Paradise....

, and in the 2006 Sopranos

The Sopranos

The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...

episode "Mayham."

Singles

• "Time Waits" b/w "It Won't Be a Sin" (1961)
• "Smoky Places" (1962)
• "I'll Take You Home" b/w "Sittin' on Your Doorstep" (1962)
• "Dancing Shadows"
• "At the Stroke of Midnight"
• "Stormy (It's Almost)"
• "Save a Little Monkey"
• "The Change in You" b/w "On the Spanish Side" (1964, as Landy McNeil & the Corsairs)