History:

The Hi Hopes (also known as The High Hopes) were a lounge rock / soul band from Northern Philadelphia, most likely near the Rockledge area. The group consisted of organist Bobby Boyd, Nat Starr on guitar, Ray Dee on saxophone, and Lou Mauro on drums. The quartet were older than their contemporaries at the time.

It's unclear who the lead vocalist was but Dee, Starr, and Boyd all supposedly sang. The three were known for their harmony vocals. The group performed as the house band at The Velvet Lounge, one of the more popular clubs in Philadelphia in the early 1970's. Several other lounge groups performed there including The Lyrics and Equation. All three groups were signed to the club's own label Velvet Records and released recordings. 

The Hi Hopes recorded and released their lone album "Kidding Around" in 1972. It was pressed by Diskmakers out of Philly. The album is a studio recording but it's unclear where it was produced. The recording featured some odd cover choices. The group included covers of two harmony filled jazz standards ("I Should Care" and "What Does It Take"),  some rock music (Nilsson's "Without You" and CCR's "Bad Moon Rising"), and a ton of soul numbers. The album was pressed pretty poorly (both copies I have had both played with hissing) and contained the band's name misspelled as "High Hopes" on the labels. The lineup on the album is pretty much the same as the live group except Nat Starr played bass guitar on a few cuts that don't feature guitar. 

Couldn't determine when the band broke up nor why. The Velvet Lounge was active until late 1975 when the club was busted by police for extortion and possible mafia ties.