The Five Keys were an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

group who were instrumental in shaping this genre in the 1950s. They were formed with the original name of Sentimental Four in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

, US, in the late 1940s, and initially consisted of two sets of brothers - Rudy West and Bernie West, and Ripley Ingram and Raphael Ingram. Raphael Ingram left in 1949 and Maryland Pierce (March 25, 1932–July 22, 2021) and Thomas 'Dickie' Threatt became members in his place. At this juncture the name of the group was changed to The Five Keys. They were signed to

Aladdin Records Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Aladdin was known for jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock mus ...

in 1951, and in 1952 Rudy West left to join the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and he was replaced by Ulysses K. Hicks. When Hicks died of a heart attack in Boston in 1955, Rudy West returned to the group. In 1954 Dickie Smith left and was replaced with Ramon Loper. At this point the Five Keys were signed to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, and their popularity increased, although more instrumentation was used. The group was inducted into the

Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (VGHF) is an American-based hall of fame that honors vocal groups throughout the world in every genre of music. Headquartered in the Columbia Theatre in Sharon, Pennsylvania, it includes a theater and a museum. It was ...

in 2002. Ramon Loper died on October 16, 2002, after a short illness. Dickie Threatt, lead tenor from 1958-1961, died on October 9, 2007 in Newport News, Virginia.

Discography

Albums

*''The Best of the Five Keys'' (Aladdin 1956) *''The Five Keys on the Town'' (Score 1957) *''The Five Keys on Stage'' (Capitol 1957) *''The Five Keys'' (King 1960) *''Rhythm and Blues Hits Past and Present'' (King 1960) *''The Fantastic Five Keys'' (Capitol 1962)

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Five Keys, The American rhythm and blues musical groups American vocal groups Doo-wop groups Groove Records artists