The Ravens

The Ravens were an American R&B vocal group, formed in 1946 by Jimmy Ricks and Warren Suttles.^[1] They were one of the most successful and most influential vocal quartets of the period, and had several hits on the R&B chart in the late 1940s and early 1950s.^[2]

Career

Jimmy "Ricky" Ricks was born in Adrian, Georgia, later moving to Jacksonville, Florida.^[3] During World War II, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a waiter in Harlem and met Warren "Birdland" Suttles, from Fairfield, Alabama. In early 1946, they decided to form a vocal group and recruited Leonard "Zeke" Puzey, who had recently won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater, and Ollie Jones. They found a manager, Ben Bart, and an accompanist, Howard Biggs, and made their first recordings for Bart's small Hub record label.^[3] They called themselves the Ravens, and so initiated the trend for vocal groups to name themselves after birds—groups who later followed included the Orioles, the Crows, the Larks, the Robins and the Penguins. Although the group were strongly influenced by the Ink Spots, the Delta Rhythm Boys and the Mills Brothers, they used Ricks' bass voice, rather than a more conventional tenor, as the lead on many of their recordings, and this became their trademark style.^[1] Their material was also more varied, including elements of pop, jazz, R&B, and gospel styles.

After their initial single, "Honey", Jones left the group and was replaced by Maithe Marshall. The contrast between Ricks' bass voice and Marshall's tenor became integral to their success. In 1947 the Ravens left the Hub label to join

In 1953 they moved to the Jubilee label, but with the rise of rock and roll their style became increasingly unfashionable.^[1] After several earlier breaks from the group, Suttles left for the final time in 1954. Ricks left for a solo career in 1956. After his departure, the group was led by Joe Van Loan, who at one point brought his brothers Paul and James into the group; however, the group finally disbanded in 1958.^[3]

Ricks recorded as a solo singer without notable success for a number of labels, including

The Ravens were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.^[5] In 2006, Suttles accepted the Harlem Jazz & Music Festival 2006 Rhythm & Blues award on the group's behalf.^[3]

Group members

Original members

• Jimmy "Ricky" Ricks (James Thomas Ricks, August 6, 1924 – July 2, 1974)^[6] (member 1946–1956)
• Warren "Birdland" Suttles (February 20, 1925 – July 24, 2009)^[7][8] (1946–1948, 1949–1950, 1952–1954, 1974, 1987)
• Leonard "Zeke" Puzey (August 20, 1926 – October 2, 2007)^[9] (1946–1951, 1953, 1974, 1987)
• Henry Oliver "Ollie" Jones (December 9, 1923 – October 4, 1990)^[10] (1946–1947, 1987)

Later members

Piano

• Howard Biggs (1946–1949)
• Bill Sanford (1949–1957)
• Bill Chambers (1957–1958)^[3]

Discography

Singles

References