Recently I ran across a picture of myself as a teenager (so it had to be an old one, right?) and noticed that I was wearing what I seem to remember was one of my favorite sweaters. Keeping in mind that my memory is often uncharted territory, I think that it was Orlon and I also believe they were very popular at the time.
Although acrylic fibers have picked up a lot of bad press through the years, when Dupont created Orlon back in the 1940s it proved to be quite a success. Rugs, socks, and sweaters were especially popular, which might explain why a Philly-based group that came along a few years after my sweater picture decided to call themselves the Orlons.
Rising to popularity in the early 1960s, the Orlons consisted of Rossetta Hightower, Shirley Brickley, Marlena Davis, and Steve Caldwell. Although they were a relatively short-lived group, they nevertheless had a number of high-charting songs during the decade, including their biggest sellers, “Don’t Hang Up,” and “The Wah Watusi.”
The Orlons had other popular songs too, like “South Street” and “Not Me,” but within a few years the group had pretty much dissolved. In the years since, a number of attempts have been made to restart the group but have met with mixed success. No word on whether they still wore Orlon.
Geezer Music Club 