[2][3] Alston was lead singer on their most successful 1976 platinum[4] song "Kiss and Say Goodbye", which topped the U.S.

Alston is the nephew of Gospel singer Johnny Fields of The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Alston was just a teenager he formed a group called, the New Imperials who sang both secular and Gospel music.

[5] In 1970, The Manhattans members were, George "Smitty" Smith, Edward "Sonny" Bivins Jr., Winfred "Blue" Lovett, Kenny "Wally" Kelly, and Richard "Ricky" Taylor.

Alston joined the Manhattans in 1970, shortly after the death of their former lead singer George Smith.

[6] As lead singer, Alston helped the group achieve their first Pop and R&B top ten singles that reached Gold and Platinum status[7] for songs like "Kiss and Say Goodbye", "There's No Me Without You" and their Grammy Winning song, "Shining Star".

Alston with The Manhattans continued on through the 80's scoring a few more top 40 R&B hits, "Girl of My Dream" No.

[8] In 1986, R&B singer Regina Belle recorded a duet with Alston, entitled "Where Did We Go Wrong?

[11] On March 18, 1989, Alston appeared on season 18 episode 18 of the television series, Soul Train[12] performing his hit single "Take Me Where You Want To" and "You Laid Your Love On Me.

In 1990, Alston released his most successful solo album entitled, "Open Invitation" peaking at No.

On February 5, 2014, Alston and Lovett were featured artists on the television series, Unsung the story of The Manhattans on TV One.

Alston's cousin Dwight Fields replaced Lovett in the line-up until his death on August 26, 2016.