The Orioles
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The Orioles | |
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Also known as | The Vibra-Naires, Sonny Til and his New Orioles |
Origin | R&B |
Years active | 1946–present |
Labels | It's a Natural, Vee-Jay |
Members | David Warren, Ray Apollo, Clark Walker |
Past members | Diz Russell, Sonny Til, Alexander Sharp, George Nelson, Johnny Reed, Tommy Gaither, Ralph Williams, Charlie Harris, Gregory Carroll, Chauncy Westbrook, Maurice Hicks, Tex Cornelius, Jerry Holeman, Billy Adams, Paul Griffin, Frank Todd, Jimmy Brown, Delton McCall, Billy Taylor, Gerald Gregory, Lawrence Joyner, Bobby Thomas, Clarence Young, Mike Robinson, Eddie Palmer, Eddie Jones, Skip Mahoney, Dwight Datcher |
The Orioles were an American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound.
The Orioles are generally acknowledged as R&B's first vocal group. Baltimore natives, they blended rhythm with group harmonies. Dubbing themselves after Maryland's state bird, the Orioles started the trend of bird groups (The Cardinals, The Crows, The Flamingos, The Larks, The Penguins, The Ravens, The Wrens, etc.).[1] They brought their winning formula to their first charted hit "It's Too Soon to Know"; a #1 record in November 1948, soon followed by the group's second hit, "(It's Gonna Be a) Lonely Christmas", in December that same year.[2]
Original members
- Sonny Til (born Earlington Carl Tilghman, August 18, 1928, Baltimore, Maryland — died December 9, 1981, Washington, D.C.) (lead tenor)
- Alexander Sharp (born December 1919, Baltimore — died January 3, 1970)[3] (high tenor)
- George Nelson (born 1925, Baltimore — died June 30, 1959)[4] (baritone)
- Johnny Reed (born August 16, 1923, Baltimore — died June 18, 2005) (bass vocals and double bass)
- Lloyd Thomas "Tommy" Gaither III (born March 5, 1920, Baltimore — died November 5, 1950, Baltimore)[4] (guitar)
Early years
Around 1947, Sonny Til sang regularly in amateur shows at the Avenue Cafe in Baltimore, where he met Nelson, Sharp and Gaither. They decided to form a group, calling themselves The Vibra-Naires, and aspiring songwriter Deborah Chessler became their manager. In April 1948 the group appeared on the Arthur Godfrey radio talent show in New York City, with Richard Williams as bass singer, but he was then replaced by Johnny Reed.
The group won a recording deal with the "It's A Natural" record label, a subsidiary of
The Orioles then began touring widely, and started recording for the Jubilee label. Their next smash hit was "Tell Me So" in 1949, which again reached # 1 in the R&B chart but this time failed to cross to the pop charts. Other hits included "Forgive And Forget" and "Lonely Christmas".[5]
In performance, The Orioles were a phenomenon, with girls in the audiences screaming, fainting, and attempting to reach their idol Sonny Til in particular. They differed from groups like the
Tragedy struck in November 1950. The group was traveling in two cars near Baltimore. Gaither drove one, with Reed and Nelson as passengers. He took a corner too fast and lost control of the car, which rolled down an embankment and crashed into a
For a short time, only Til and Sharp performed as the Orioles, but soon added two new members, guitarist/second tenor Ralph Williams and pianist Charlie Harris. Nelson returned in a few days, and Reed a few weeks later. Just a year after their tragic accident, the group were involved in another accident in
Early in 1953, George Nelson, who had a drinking problem, left the Orioles, and was replaced by John "Gregory" Carroll, formerly of another Baltimore group, the Four Buddies. In June 1953, they recorded a version of Darrell Glenn's country song "Crying in the Chapel".[5] This was to become The Orioles' biggest hit, staying at # 1 in the R&B charts for five weeks in August and September, and reaching # 11 on the pop charts. it sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[6] It was also to be their last big hit, with only a version of "In The Mission Of St. Augustine" later in the year reaching the R&B charts.
Williams left the group briefly in late 1953, and in 1954 the group's manager Deborah Chessler quit. In February 1955, Reed left and eventually joined a version of The Ink Spots. He was replaced by Maurice Hicks. Williams and Harris left soon after.[5] The group continued a short time, but then disbanded.[7]
Later years
Left without the Orioles, Til picked up another group, the Regals, whose members were Tex Cornelius, Diz Russell, Jerry Holeman, Billy Adams, and pianist Paul Griffin. This group became the New Orioles. Til liked the Regals' modern harmony style, and the existing tunes were rearranged to match the Regals' style (in many cases, sounding rather different than they formerly had). During this time, they were often billed as "Sonny Til and his New Orioles". They left Jubilee and signed with Vee-Jay Records.
They continued with this arrangement until 1957 when Cornelius left the group. He was replaced for a short time by Frank Todd, who was replaced by Jimmy Brown. This line-up went until the last day of 1959. Holeman left the group, and Russel the next day, after finding Sonny's car (their means of transportation) repossessed. This was the end of the second Orioles.
Til recorded briefly as a solo artist before putting together the third Orioles group, with members Delton McCall, Billy Taylor, and Gerald Gregory, former bass of The Spaniels. They continued recording, this time for Charlie Parker Records. Gregory left after a couple of years and was replaced by Lawrence Joyner. This group split up in the mid 1960s.
In 1966, Til met Bobby Thomas, a long time Orioles fan. Bobby was singing in a group known as the Vibrannaires — coincidentally the same as the Orioles' original name. This group consisted of Thomas, Clarence Young, Harry Accoo, and Mike Robinson. Thomas, Young, and Robinson joined Til to become the fourth Orioles group. Gregory Carroll was occasionally a member of this group. They recorded until 1975.
Following the breakup of that Orioles group, Til joined George Holmes' Ink Spots, who were Til, Holmes, Ann Lawson, and Larry Reed. With the addition of George "Pepi" Grant in 1977, they began touring as both The Ink Spots and The Orioles (as the Orioles, Lawson was billed as a special guest). Til and Grant alternated leads, and Holmes sang bass. They recorded briefly in 1977.
In 1977, Til formed the sixth Orioles group with former members: Diz Russell and Jerry Holeman from the second group, and Billy Taylor from the third group. The group also sometimes featured Eddie Palmer. This group was together in 1981, when Til died from a heart attack. He was 53.
The group continued, and by the late 1990s featured Russell, Reese Palmer, Skip Mahoney, Larry Jordan and musical director Eddie Jones, who also works with The Cadillacs. Jones and Mahoney were later replaced by George Spann and Royal Height. Bobby Thomas started his own Orioles group following Til's death. Johnny Reed played with this group until his death in June 2005.[7]
Bobby Thomas died on May 3, 2012, from complications of
Lead singer Albert "Diz" Russell died November 16, 2016, from congestive heart failure at the age of 83.[9]
Dwight Datcher died on November 23, 2019[10][11]
Skip Mahoney died on March 20, 2020[12]
Recognition
The original five members of The Orioles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 as early influences.[13]
Both groups were featured in the PBS special Doo Wop 51 in 2000, with the groups alternating verses on "Crying in the Chapel" (with Bobby Thomas and Larry Jordan on lead).
In 2015 the musical theater production, Soul Harmony, telling the story of Deborah Chessler, Sonny Til, and the Orioles, premiered in Portland, Oregon.[14]
They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
References
- ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
- ^ CD liner notes: Billboard Greatest R&B Christmas Hits, 1990 Rhino Records
- ^ Doc Rock. "The 1970s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
- ^ a b Doc Rock. "The 50s and earlier". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ a b [1] Archived February 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Doc Rock. "2012 January To June". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
- ^ McArdle, Terence (November 23, 2016). "Albert 'Diz' Russell, lead singer with two influential doo-wop groups, dies at 83". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Dwight F. Datcher Obituary 2019". Lee Funeral Homes. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ "Latest R&B, Doo Wop and Group Harmony News & Updates". us6.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ "Latest R&B, Doo Wop and Group Harmony News & Updates". us6.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ "The Orioles: inducted in 1995 | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
- ^ [2] Archived August 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine