Phil Stewart

Meanwhile, Ernie Bringas had graduated from college and was about to go into United Theological Seminary for training as a minister.  (Bringas did become a “Rev.” and served as a minister in the United Methodist Church for almost 20 years; presently, he is a college professor teaching religious studies).  He would be able to go back to the recording studio in Hollywood, but his ability to tour would be limited, so two additional members were brought in to tour with the band:  Rich Rotkin and Arnie Marcus. They were never involved in any of their recordings, but – together with Phil Stewart – they were the public face of the Rip Chords, since Ernie Bringas was unavailable, and Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher were much too involved in record production to tour with a band.  These Rip Chords had an appearance on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and joined his Caravan of Stars; they were even in a Hollywood movie, A Swingin’ Summer. 

 

Most sources believe that Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher basically took over vocal duties for almost all of their recordings after Hey Little Cobra and Other Hot Rod Hits.  Allmusic claims that Phil Stewart (who has a distinctive bass/baritone voice) was the vocalist on only two songs on Three Window Coupe, the band’s second album – “Bonneville Bonnie” and “Old Car Made in ’52” – and that Ernie Bringas didn’t perform at all on the album.  However, Bringas insists that all four vocalists collaborated as to who would handle the singing, and that the hit song “Hey Little Cobra” is about the only song where neither he nor Stewart sang at all.  For instance, both he and Bruce Johnston were singing the falsetto part on the Top 30 follow-up to their big hit, “Three Window Coupe” (co-written by Jan Berry of Jan & Dean).  (The full list of vocalists and their parts on various songs is provided on Ernie Bringas’s website, www.ripchords.info).