Sonny Bivins Manhattans got their start in Jersey City high schools in 1962. Bivins was the leader of the band and wrote most of their hits. Their first hit was on Carnival Records, “I Wanna Be Your Everything.” In 1968, they won “Most Promising Group,” award by NATRA. In the early 70s, “One Life to Live” and “There's No Me Without You,” both hit number three on the R&B Charts. The group had an amazing 45 hits on Billboard's R&B charts. Their signature hit, “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” written by Blue Lovett, was #1 on both the pop and R&B charts and was only the second single ever to go platinum. Other hits in the late 70s included “It Feels so Good to Be Loved So Bad” and “Am I Losing You,” both peaking at #6 on the R&B charts. In 1980, “Shining Star” was a mega-hit, winning a Grammy® and reaching #5 on the pop charts and #4 on the R&B charts. In 1983, their album Forever by Your Side on Columbia Records contained two hit singles, “Crazy” (#4 R&B) and the title track “Forever by Your Side.”