The Jaynetts were an American girl group based in the Bronx, New York, who became a one-hit wonder in 1963 with the song "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", which reached No.
The Jaynetts name was conceived by adding the "J" in "J&S" to "Anetta", the middle name of Lezli Valentine, a session vocalist who sang on the group's 1957 debut, "I Wanted To Be Free", as well as on other J&S releases.
[1] The credited members of the Jaynetts who recorded "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" were Yvonne Bushnell, Ethel Davis (aka Vernell Hill), Ada Ray Kelly and Johnnie Louise Richardson, who had all previously recorded for J&S; a fifth credited member Mary Sue Wells (aka Mary Sue Wellington/Mary Green Wilson) was recruited through a newspaper advertisement.
[4] Vocalists who sang on "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" besides the five credited personnel include J&S veterans Selena Healey, Marie Hood, Marlene Mack (aka Marlina Mack/Marlina Mars), Louise (Harris) Murray (a member of the original Hearts), Lezli Valentine and Iggy Williams.
The album featured "Archie's Melody", "Bongo Bobby", "I Wanna Know", "No Love At All", "One Track Mind", "Pick Up My Marbles", "School Days" and "See Saw"; also featured as "A Special Guest Appearance" was "Dear Abby" credited to the Hearts, a minor hit (#94) recorded by at least some of the same personnel as "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", and with the same "Sing Along without the..." instrumental-only version on the B-side.
In 1963, American Bandstand signed the Jaynetts to Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars national U.S. tour, which was scheduled to perform its 15th show on the night of November 22, 1963 at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas, until suddenly the Friday evening event had to be cancelled, moments after U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated that afternoon while touring Dallas in an open car caravan.
Vernell Hill's Tuff single, "Long Haired Daddy", with songwriting credit by Abner Spector, was also released on Roulette in 1964.
In a 2000 interview for John Clemente's book Girl Groups: Fabulous Females That Rocked the World, Valentine revealed she had retired from the music industry, worked in Alcohol Beverage Control and had become a stenographer under then-New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.