Janet Vogel born 10 June 1941

Janet Frances Vogel (Rapp) (b. June 10, 1941, Pittsburgh, d. Thursday, February 21, 1980, Pittsburgh, PA)  was an American soprano supreme with the group "The Skyliners".

Janet Francis grew up in the Carrick section of Pittsburgh South Hills where she attended Carrick High School. At age 15 she met singer Jimmy Beaumont who was 17, sang with a vocal group called the Crescents. Janet sang in the group Eirios with Joe 

Versharen. Beaumont and the Cresent's manager Joe Rock asked Janet and Joe Versharen to join the Crescents when two members quit. Janet became a member of the the Cresents at age 16 in 1958 joining Jimmy Beaumont, Wally Lester, Jack Taylor, and Joe Versharen.

In 1958 musician Lennie Martin and promoter Lou Guarino founded the Calico Records label to record and promote the music of Pittsburgh musicians. They began a talent search on a Saturday holding auditions for groups Lou liked the Crescents and scheduled a recording session with 18 back up musicians in New York for the group. Lennie wrote the string arrangement for “Since I Don’t 

Have You”. Lou and Lennie produced the sessions that netted three hit singles. The series of "you-oo's" at the end of "Since I Don't Have You" was an accident. Janet did not know the tape was still running and kept singing. Lennie Martin let the tape roll on for 13 repetitions of "you-oo" and kept them in the final mix. More than a dozen labels rejected the song before it was released by a local Pittsburgh label, Calico Records.

Before the release of the single the Crescent changed their name Joe Rock took the name "The Skyliners" from Charlie Barnett’s hit song "Skyliner."  By March of 1959, “Since I Don’t Have You” had spread from Pittsburgh to the national pop charts. The soulful delivery was appreciated even more by R&B radio resulting in greater success in the rhythm and blues Cashbox Magazine. It was the first single by a Caucasian group to hit #1 on the Cashbox R&B charts.

                            

Tired from touring Janet Vogel left the Skyliners in 1961 and returned to life in Pittsburgh.  The Skyliners continued on. In 1963 they signed with Atco Records releasing “Since I Fell For You".  Worn out from years of touring and having little recent chart 

success in the face of the British invasion, the Skyliners broke up in the 1964.  Jimmy Beaumont continued to record and perform as a single act. Joe Rock continued to write songs, notably with Otis Redding and managed other artists including, the Jaggerz

In 1963 Janet launched a solo career changing her stage name of Janet Deane.  She released the single "Another Night Alone/I'm Glad I" Waited on Pittsburgh's Gateway Records. Settling down to civilian life Janet married Pittsburgh police office Kerry Rapp and had three children Gavin, Marlo and Kip. The Rapp family lived in Bethal Park and Brentwood.

In 1968 concert promoter Richard Nader called the Skyliners  He asked them to reunite for a one night only performance at a rock 'n' roll revival show in Madison Square Garden. They agreed and Janet Vogel appeared with the Skyliners at the show headlined by Ricky Nelson.  Capitol Records, impressed with the Skyliners performance, signed the group to a singles deal. Capitol released the song “Where Have They Gone” that reached the Billboard Top 100.  The Skyliners went back on the road performing a Doo Wop revival concerts for several years.  On January 1, 1976, Wally Lester and Joe Verscharen retired permanently from The Skyliners

In 1977 Janet recorded with the Skyliners on the Tortoise International Records album release titled “The Skyliner”s. Two singles were released: “Oh How Happy” (a cover the Edwin Starr song) and “The Love Bug”. The Skyliners roster on that release was Jimmy Beaumont, Janet Vogel, Bobby Sholes, and former Jaggerz member Jimmie Ross.

 Unbeknownst to her band mates Janet life at home was unhappy. She was trapped in a tumultuous marriage and suffered from depression. Janet and her husband Kerry Rapp clashed over her career. Janet was emotionally fragile and may have suffered from bipolar disorder. She sunk into a deep depression that worsened over the years and was deeply in despair.

On February 21, 1980 Janet was to receive an award recognizing her achievements with the Skyliners. She packed up her car with Skyliners memorabilia to take to the awards ceremony. But she never made it out the garage. Depression overtook her. She committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Janet was 37 years old. She left behind three young children.

In 2012 Jan's son, Gavin Rapp, told her story in the indie film "Since I Don't Have You".

Until his death, Jimmy Beaumont performed with the Skyliners in their current line-up of Nick Pociask, Frank Czuri, John Sarkis, and Donna Groom (whose husband, Mark Groom, has been the group's drummer/conductor for more than 25 years).

(Info edited from various sources mainly Wikipedia & Pittsburgh Music History)