Darrell Banks (born Darrell Eubanks; July 25, 1937 – February 24, 1970) was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer. He had a hit with 1966's " Open the Door to Your Heart".

Background

Born in

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The ci ...

,, Banks grew up in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, and learned to sing in

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

churches before choosing a career in secular music. He signed with Solid Hitbound Productions/Revilot Records, who released his 1966 single " Open the Door to Your Heart" (which, curiously, is legally named "Baby Walk Right In"), written by

Donnie Elbert Donnie Elbert (May 25, 1936 – January 26, 1989) was an American soul singer and songwriter, who had a prolific career from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s. His U.S. hits included "Where Did Our Love Go?" (1971), and his reputation as a No ...

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

When the single came out, Banks was credited as the songwriter instead of Elbert, and a protracted legal battle ensued; however, while the courts settled the matter (eventually in Elbert's favor), the tune scaled the US charts, peaking at No. 2 R&B and No. 27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A second single, " Somebody (Somewhere) Needs You", hit No. 34 R&B and No. 55 pop later that year. Moving to

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

, he released the singles "Here Come the Tears" / "I've Got That Feelin" and "Angel Baby (Don't Ever Leave Me)" / "Look into the Eyes of a Fool" in 1967, neither of which charted. Atco also released an album of his which included his Revilot singles. Atco subsidiary

Cotillion Records Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records (from 1971 part of WEA) and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was formed as an outlet for pop, R&B, and jazz. Its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About a Mover", re ...

released his last single under the Atlantic Records umbrella, "I Wanna Go Home" / "The Love of My Woman". From there, Banks signed to

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

, who released another album of his in 1969 and two more non-charting singles. They would be Banks's last recordings; in February 1970, Banks was shot and killed by policeman Aaron Bullock in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, after Banks intervened in his affair with Banks's girlfriend, Marjorie Bozeman. In December 2014, collectors were bidding many thousands of pounds for a copy of "Open the Door to Your Heart" in an online auction held in the UK, the London Records pressing of the record was thought to be the only copy in circulation. It had previously been thought that all the original versions had been destroyed when rival label

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

won the rights to release the single. It eventually sold for in excess of £14,000 (US$23,000). Bank's recording of "Just Because Your Love Is Gone", released as a single on Stax Records in 1969 is also collectable, with ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' magazine listing its value at £100 in

mint condition Mint condition is an expression used to denote the quality of a pre-owned good as displaying virtually no imperfections and being in pristine condition relative to its original production state. Originally, the phrase related to the way collect ...

, although in 2009 a copy actually sold for twice that amount.

Discography

*''Darrell Banks Is Here!'' (

, 1967) *''Darrell Is Here to Stay'' (

, 1969) *''The Lost Soul'' (compilation, 1997)

References

External links

The Darrell Banks Story
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Darrell American soul singers 1937 births 1970 deaths Deaths by firearm in Michigan Northern soul musicians People from Mansfield, Ohio Stax Records artists Atlantic Records artists Atco Records artists 20th-century American singers