The Fleetwoods

The Fleetwoods were a 1950s trio out of Olympia, WA, who had several hit records, including the "doo-wop" standards "Come Softly to Me" (1959) and "Mr. Blue" (1959). The trio consisted of Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis and Gary Troxell, who were all students at an Olympia high school. Their specialty was soft, romantic ballads, and their first hit was a song written mainly by Troxell with some input from his partners: "Come Softly to Me". Released on Seattle-based Dolphin Records--later renamed Dolton Records--the song became an instant hit, reaching #1 on the US pop charts, #5 on the US R&B charts (unusual at the time, as few white groups ever cracked the top 5 in the R&B charts) and #1 on the UK pop charts. "Mr. Blue", their third single, also hit #1 on the US pop charts and, like their first song, #5 on the R&B charts. Troxell was drafted into the US military in 1960 and was replaced by Vic Dana (who later went on to a respectable singing career of his own). Their last Top 10 single was 1961's "Tragedy". They broke up two years later. However, they did play several concerts and "oldies" revues over the following years, and in 1973 they cut an album but it went nowhere. In 1990 the group toured the US "oldies" circuit when Rhino Records released a "Best of" CD.