Anyone who doesn't have a clear image of the Classics IV can be forgiven since they went through so many shifts in personnel and sound (not to mention a name change after they'd started recording).

Although they're considered a late-'60s phenomenon, owing to the chronology of their hits, the group can trace its roots back to R&B harmony, such as the doo wop music of the late '50s.

Detroit-born, Florida-raised Dennis Yost, came from a Jacksonville-area band called The Echoes. He was just old enough to remember '50s R&B when it was current and, among many other groups, loved the Five Satins.1