George Jones Jnr: Singer and songwriter who composed the doo-wop classic 'Rama Lama Ding Dong'

While doo-wop groups barely made an appearance in the British charts in the 1950s, their material provided rich pickings for cover versions throughout the following decades. The irresistible "Rama Lama Ding Dong", written and sung by George Jones Jnr, lead vocalist of the Edsels, was first recorded in 1957 and became a belated hit in the United States for his group in the spring of 1961. Seventeen years later, Rocky Sharpe and the Replays revived "Rama Lama Ding Dong" and took it into the Top 20 in the UK, Spain, Germany and Austria.

An enduring classic of the doo-wop era, the song was referenced in "Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)", the novelty US hit by Barry Mann in 1961, which charted in Britain in versions by the Viscounts (1961) and Showaddywaddy (1982). "We Go Together", one of the doo-wop homages in Grease, also includes a nod to "Rama Lama Ding Dong".

Born in 1936 in Richmond, Virginia, Jones moved to Youngstown, Ohio as a child when his father got a job in a steel mill. He sang with friends at school and on street corners in neighbouring Campbell, and, later, in the US Air Force. Eventually, he led a group which also included James Reynolds (second tenor), Marshall Sewell (bass) and the Green brothers, Harry (baritone) and Larry (first tenor). Originally called the Essos, after a neighbouring petrol station, they changed their name to the Edsels when the car of the same name first came off the Ford production line in 1957.

An inspired writer, Jones often made up songs on the way to a show and rehearsed his bandmates in the car so they would be word-perfect on stage. They spent a lot of time on "Rama Lama Ding Dong", which Jones had written while serving in the Air Force.

The music publisher Jim Manderitz was so impressed when the Edsels auditioned for him in a local shopthat he signed them and financed their first recording, at Snyder Studios in Cleveland. Unfortunately, no one shared his enthusiasm for the doo-wop group and he touted the record around unsuccessfully until Dub, a new label from Little Rock, Arkansas, took a punt and issued the track, bizarrely retitled "Lama Rama Ding Dong", in the summer of 1958.

The single flopped, but in early 1961, a New York disc jockey began reviving "Lama Rama Ding Dong" as the perfect song to follow the Marcels' newly released stuttering song "Blue Moon" in a wacky segue. When listeners started calling in to request both, Manderitz licensed "Lama Rama Ding Dong" to Twin, and the single reached No 21 in the US.

When the Edsels broke up in 1964, Jones kept performing, joining the Winston Wall Trio and the New Affair, and briefly worked with Ray Charles. He also managed gospel groups. Amazingly, he didn't think "Rama Lama Ding Dong" had much potential and was surprised by its enduring success, which came in sharp contrast to the failure of the car his group was named after.

George "Wydell" Jones Jnr, singer and songwriter: born Richmond, Virginia 5 October 1936; married (six children); died Youngstown, Ohio 27 September 2008.