The Essex
The Essex was an American R&B vocal group formed in 1962. They are best known for their 1963 song "Easier Said Than Done".
Career
Founding members Walter Vickers (guitar) and Rodney Taylor (drums) were members of the United States Marine Corps stationed in Okinawa, Japan.[1] After being transferred to Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, they enlisted fellow Marines Billy Hill (aka Billy Proctor) and Rudolph Johnson as group members.[1] Next they added a female lead singer, Anita Humes, another Marine.[2]
The band was signed to a
Rudolph Johnson left the group, and the Essex became a quartet. Three months after "Easier Said Than Done" reached No. 1 in July 1963, the group had a No. 12 Billboard
Humes released several solo singles for Roulette, but had no chart success.[1] She died on May 30, 2010, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, aged 69.[4] In the 1970s, Hill headed up a group called the Courtship.
Band member origins
- Walter Vickers - New Brunswick, New Jersey
- Rodney Taylor - Gary, Indiana
- Rudolph Johnson - New York
- Willie "Billy" Hill - Princeton, New Jersey
- Anita Humes - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania[2]
Discography
Albums
Year | Album | Label | US 200 [5] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1963 | Easier Said Than Done | Roulette Records | 119 | |
A Walkin' Miracle | — | |||
1964 | Young & Lively - Featuring Anita Humes with the Essex | — | ||
1994 | The Best of the Essex | Sequel Records | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart. |
Singles
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Pop [5] |
US R&B [5] |
UK
[3] | |||
1963 | "Easier Said Than Done" | 1 | — | 41 | |
"A Walkin' Miracle" | 12 | 11 | ― | ||
"She's Got Everything" | 56 | ― | ― | ||
1964 | "Curfew Lover" (with Anita Humes) | ― | ― | ― | |
1966 | "The Eagle" | ― | ― | ― | |
1967 | "Everybody's Got You (For Their Own)" (with Anita Humes) | ― | ― | ― | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
See also
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
- List of R&B musicians
References
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-8230-8280-6.
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e Ankeny, Jason. "The Essex Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
- ^ ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "The Dead Rock Stars Club January to June 2010". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ a b c "The Essex - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2022.