The Five Heartbeats

Five boys form The Heartbeats and audition for a Battle of the Bands contest. They lose to Flash and the Ebony Sparks but impress the crowd. Jimmy Potter notices them and offers to manage the group, promising $100 if they do not win the next month's Battle.

After another defeat, Jimmy pays the Heartbeats for their efforts and continues to push his management plans. The money signals his commitment to keeping them in the spotlight. This marks the start of their working relationship with him.

When the club owner asks to hire them, the Heartbeats agree to let Jimmy Potter manage the group. They accept Jimmy's guidance as their path to success. This marks the formal start of their long association with him.

Bird and The Midnight Falcons plot to sabotage The Heartbeats by filling the venue with friends to boo them while the Falcons cheer. The announcer forces the Heartbeats to use the house piano, causing tension as Duck takes over the accompaniment and Eddie leads a winning performance. The Heartbeats still triumph, drawing interest from Big Red Davis.

Big Red Davis offers the Heartbeats a deal, but Jimmy and his wife Eleanor Potter decline because they suspect corruption in the offer. They aim to protect the group's integrity and avoid being part of a corrupt system. The decision sets the stage for the Heartbeats to pursue independent routes.

The Heartbeats release their first single on Jimmy's independent label as they search for a trustworthy partner. With limited interest from others, a label that wants to buy Duck's songs from The Five Horsemen becomes the only viable option. Faced with no better choice, they sign with Big Red.

The Heartbeats go on the road for a music tour, but the experience is marred by racism and dire living conditions. Dresser's girlfriend visits and reveals she is pregnant, adding emotional strain to the group. These challenges test the band's unity on the road.

Their first album cover features white people, despite earlier approval for a different concept. The misstep reveals tensions with the label and the public-facing image of the Heartbeats. The incident underscores the pressures of the music industry.

During the mid-to-late 1960s, The Five Heartbeats rack up awards, chart hits, and magazine covers. Eddie's alcohol and cocaine abuse worsens, straining performances and prompting Baby Doll to break up with him. The group's dynamics start to fracture under his addiction.

Eddie makes a deal with Big Red to remove Jimmy from the picture. Jimmy threatens to expose bootlegged LPs, cooked books, and payola, prompting Big Red to have him killed. The confrontation marks a fatal turn in the Heartbeats' history.

Following Jimmy's funeral, the Heartbeats learn that Eddie's deceit precipitated the fallout between Jimmy and Big Red. Big Red is convicted of Jimmy's murder, and the Heartbeats sign with a new label to continue their career. Eddie leaves the group, slipping further into poverty.

The Heartbeats recruit Flash as their new lead singer. Duck suspects his fiancée Tanya is having an affair with Choirboy and follows her to a hotel, discovering her meeting with J.T. The affair predates their relationships, though Tanya claims she is in love with Duck.

At an awards ceremony celebrating their success, Flash announces a solo career. Duck reveals the affair and decides to leave the Heartbeats, leading to the group's disbandment. The remaining members pursue separate paths while tracing unresolved tensions.

In the early 1990s, Choirboy returns to singing in his father's church. Eddie has become sober, is married to Baby Doll, and runs his own group, asking Duck to write songs for them. J.T. is now married with children, signaling a rekindling of family ties.

The former Heartbeats reunite with their families and attempt to remember their old moves at a family gathering. Eddie initially declines to join, but Eleanor forgives him, signaling reconciliation and a hopeful note for the group's legacy.