The Channels
- Soundtrack
The Channels formed in New York City in 1955. Originally a quintet,
they eventually added two more members before beginning a recording
career. Their biggest hit was 1956's romantic ballad (written by group
member Earl Michael Lewis) "The Closer You Are". It was remade in the
1960s as a hard-driving R&B number by The Magnificent Four, which was a
regional (East Coast) but not a national hit, and by
Frank Zappa in 1984. The group continued to
record for a number of different labels over the ensuing years, and
went through many personnel changes, but never managed to chart another
national hit.