Famed for their lone hit, Puddin' n' Tain, the Alley Cats were one of the many studio groups employed by the legendary pop producer and Svengali Phil Spector. The roots of the Alley Cats lie in the Untouchables, a Los Angeles doo wop combo previously known as the Valiants, which scored the 1957 crossover hit This Is the Night. Comprising tenors Sheridan Rip Spencer and Don Trotter, baritone Brice Coefield, bass Ed Wallace, and guitarist Chester Pipkin, the Untouchables signed with producers Herb Alpert and Lou Adler to release 1960's New Fad on the Madison imprint, the first in a series of little-noticed efforts for the fledgling label, including a cover of the Spaniels' classic Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight and Sixty Minute Man. A move to Liberty preceded the release 1961's You're on Top. Its follow-up, Papa, deserves footnote status as featuring producer Alpert's first recorded trumpet performance, an instrument he would further pursue to enormous commercial success. By 1962 the Untouchables were no more, but at year's end, Adler formed the Alley Cats, a session unit he planned to lease to producer Spector, the hitmaker behind such classics as the Crystals' He's a Rebel. In addition to Spencer and Coefield, the lineup also included Pipkin's cousin Gary, bass James Barker, and tenor Bobby Sheen, who as Bob B. Soxx previously recorded the Spector-helmed smash Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. Based on a venerable playground chant, the Alley Cats' debut effort, Puddin' n' Tain, ascended to number 21 on the RB chart in early 1963. The mercurial Spector chose not to work with the group again, however, although in 1968 Adler recruited Spencer, Coefield, and Chester Pipkin to join a new studio group dubbed Africa, cutting the Ode label psychedelic soul cult classic Music from Lil Brown. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi