1950s in music deaths of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in a tragic plane crash in 1959 and the departure of Elvis for the army as causes. On the other side of the spectrum, R&B-influenced acts like The Crows, The Penguins, The El Dorados and The Turbans all scored major hits, and groups like The Platters, with songs including "The Great Pretender" (1955), and The Coasters with humorous songs like "Yakety Yak" (1958), ranked among the most successful rock and roll acts of the period. Rock and roll has also been seen as leading to a number of distinct subgenres,
The Solitaires the Paramount along with Frankie Avalon, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper. They never got to meet Holly or the Big Bopper, as both were killed in a plane crash that February. The group disbanded temporarily in 1961 when Milton Love joined the army for two years. Although they were popular in New York and several of their singles had been regional hits, they had not had a national chart hit. This was likely due to poor distribution by Old Town. Their signature song, "Walking Along", was a local chart hit in the New York area in 1957. When a