The group was formed at Armstrong High School in Washington, D.C., in 1946 by Harold Lucas (baritone), Billy Shelton, and Thomas Woods.

That brought them to the attention of a wider audience including Harold Winley (bass) who, after hearing them on WWDC, decided to introduce himself to the group.

[2] By the end of 1950 Bill Harris (born in April 14, 1925, Nashville)[1] had joined as their guitarist; his blues- and jazz-inflected playing would become an integral part of their sound.

[2] A week later, on 22 February, they went into the studio for their first recording session for Atlantic, which included the Ahmet Ertegun composition "Don't You Know I Love You"; that song, backed with the standard "Skylark", was their first top-ten R&B hit for the label and remained on the R&B chart for five months.

[2] The Clovers' lead vocalist, Buddy Bailey, was drafted into the U.S. Army at the end of August 1951 and John Phillip was brought in to replace him.

[1] The tracks "One Mint Julep" (written by Rudy Toombs)[7] and the Ertegun composition "Middle of the Night" (originally released as a 10" vinyl single)[8] were both top ten hits on the R&B chart of May 1952.

[15] In April the group recorded four tracks; two from that session, "Nip Sip" / "If I Could Be Loved By You", were released in August and entered the top 20 of the R&B chart in September 1955.

The Clovers' Atlantic contract expired in July 1957[23] and Krefetz signed Mitchell in September as a solo artist to his Poplar label.

[25] The Clovers, now part of the United Artists' roster of acts, entered the studio for their first UA recording session in June 1959,[25] which resulted in the July release of "Love Potion No.

9" (written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) became the biggest hit of their career, peaking at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart of November 1959.

Paul Winley had written songs for the group (before their move to his label), Big Joe Turner and Ruth Brown.

[23] Harold Lucas and Billy Mitchell formed a new quartet with James "Toy" Walton and Robert Russell, recording four tracks for Atlantic in October 1961 which resulted in the December release of a double-A sided single "Drive It Home" / "The Bootie Green" credited to The Clovers.

9" with Buddy Bailey on lead) were licensed to Pickwick International Records (a UK budget label), which released the album The Original Love Potion No.

[33] In October 1975 Lucas, Tippie Hubbard, Toy Walton and Bowie released a disco track, "Bump Jive", on Aladdin Records credited to The Clovers.

[35] In October 1981 Harold Lucas, John Bowie, Johnny Mason and Steve Charles filed for the trademark The Clovers.

[36] In May 1988,[2] the Lucas group (Steve Charles, Johnny Mason, Harold Lucas and John Bowie) re-recorded "Drive It Home" (credited to The Clovers) for Ripete Records, a small independent label based in Elliott, South Carolina, which released it that year as a single specifically for the Carolina Beach Music market.

[37] John Bailey, Harold Lucas, Matthew McQuater and Harold Winley performed together in October 1988 at the Rhythm and Blues Foundation (a Washington, D.C.-based organization started in 1988 to promote and support artists) show in Austin, Texas, to raise funds for Bill Harris, who had fallen ill.[38] Bill Harris (guitar) died at the age of 63 in Washington, D.C., on 6 December 1988.

[41] Prior to his death, Bailey performed solo, choosing to work with the established doo wop group The Calvanes (which included former Bailey-Clovers member Bobby Adams)[42] as well as appearances with Jimmy Nabbie's Ink Spots.

[2] Johnny Mason, Lamont Greenfield, John Bowie and Richie Merritt performed on the PBS special Doo Wop 51 in May 2000, which received its first broadcast on the Pittsburgh channel WQED in August, followed by a national release in December.

In 2009, King Raymond Green filed an application for the trademark The Original Clovers featuring Harold Winley, which received a case suspension.