Not many of us have "a million-selling hit record" on our résumés, but Darryl "Cappy" Lewis does. Lewis did it as one of the original members of the wildly popular doo-*** group the Six Teens, formed in Los Angeles in 1956.

Lewis later formed his own group, an all-male quartet, the Elgins, in 1960. He'll revisit the Elgins this Friday with a concert featuring original material for the group, with some contemporary songs, as well.

Lewis was 16 when he joined leader Ed Wells' unnamed group to sing bass. The group had an unreliable lead girl singer and was searching for a replacement. Lewis knew his cousin Louise could sing so he invited her to rehearsal. Louise came and, as it happens, so did her younger sister, Trudy.

"Trudy was just sitting on the couch and she was singing the song perfectly, but she was just 12 at the time," Lewis said.

"They decided to keep both girls - that's how we became six."

With Trudy singing the lead parts, the Six Teens signed to Flip Records. Their first song, "A Casual Look," reached No. 25 on national pop charts and the kids were stars, hearing their song everywhere.

"The next I knew they were putting suits on us and we were playing the Hollywood Palladium with Fats Domino and the Coasters," Lewis said.

The group became professional overnight.

"I wasn't really up on harmonies, but we rehearsed so hard," Lewis said.

Because they were all in school, the group's members couldn't travel very far and most of the performances took place on weekends. Trudy's father drove them to their shows. And they appeared regularly around Los Angeles with the big stars of the day.

"It was the beginning of true R&B," Lewis said.

"They were just starting to separate pop and R&B. Our songs were pretty simple, with strong melodies and pretty clean lyrics."

They played the Hollywood Palladium with Domino and Johnny Otis, the United Artists Theatre with Sam Cooke, Frankie Lyman and LaVern Baker, and they performed at the Hollywood Bowl on a show hosted by Dick Clark.

"We did shows with the Everly Brothers and the Righteous Brothers," Lewis said.

The group went to Hawaii in 1957, getting top billing over Frankie Avalon because its second single, "Send Me Flowers," was a hit there.

As the music began to change, the group waned. Lewis started the Elgins and wrote their biggest hit "Uncle Sam's Man."

In 1966, Lewis moved to Sacramento with his wife, Wanda, with whom he celebrated a 50th wedding anniversary in March. He has continued making music, forming a gospel group, "The Truth Messengers," and occasionally returning to his musical roots.

"It was a living dream I was involved in," he said.

"I still have very heavy memories of those times."