This is a classic bit of 1950s doo-wop. The lead singer is a bit adenoidal for my taste but the harmonies are wonderful.
The Mystics were from Brooklyn. "Hushabye" was written for the group by the songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, who wrote a number of hits for Elvis, among others; it reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group's followup, "Don't Take the Stars", not written by Pomus and Shuman, reached #98.
Shortly after that, lead singer Phil Cracolici left the group; he was briefly replaced by Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkel fame and then by Jay Traynor, who later became the original lead singer of Jay and the Americans. A couple of other lead singers stepped in before the group split up in 1961.
The group reformed in 1969 with its original lineup but then changed members a few times. In the late 1990s, they performed in the Brooklyn Reunion Show with The Classics, with whom they had been friends since the 1950s.
Created September 4, 2026.