The Imperial Wonders is a soul vocal quintet formed in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 1960s. While they never achieved any long-lasting commercial success, their regional hits are now considered lost soul classics. The genesis of the group began in 1962 when high schooler Al Boyd joined a local vocal group called the Matadors. After several line-up changes, he and fellow group member Kennedy Holman decided to form a group inspired by the Temptations. Adding Walter Chaney and Leo Green to the line-up, the changed their name to the Imperial Wonders. However, when they recorded their first single, “I’ve Got Style” (1967), their label made them change their name to the Mints. Reverting back to their orginal name of the Imperial Wonders, the group was asked to support vocalist Lester McKenzie in the studio and their chemistry was so strong that he became their official fifth member. For the next few years, line-up and label changes would have an effect on the group’s future success. Their debut single, “Just a Dream” was released in 1969 and while it earned the group regional success, they were still playing local venues. In 1970, they moved to Los Angeles, California in hopes of making it big there but moved back to Cleveland a year later. In 1971, they released the single “Trying to Get to You”, which has become their most popular recording. The song was a radio hit in Cleveland, but they were unable to get much airplay outside of the city. Further singles – “That’s Alright” (1971), “You Live Only Once” (1972), and “Mean Ol’ Miss Treater” – suffered the same fate. The Imperial Wonders spent the first few years of the 1980s signed to Motown but their recordings sat in the vault until 2011. The group split in the late 1980s and the band members went their separate ways. Over three decades later, founding member Al Boyd and Russell Watts formed a new version of the Imperial Wonders and released the very first Imperial Wonders album, Time Machine, in 2011. There have been several compilations of there original recordings released since 2005.
