The Spaniels were an American R&B and

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

group, best known for the hit "

Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite "Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite" is a popular music, popular song that was a hit during the mid-1950s. It was written by Calvin Carter and James "Pookie" Hudson in 1951, and was first recorded by The Spaniels in 1953. It has also been released by ...

". They have been called the first successful

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

R&B group. Some historians of vocal groups consider Pookie Hudson to be the first frontman of a vocal group because the Spaniels pioneered the technique of having the main singer solo at his microphone while the rest of the group shared a second microphone.

Original members

The original members included: *Thornton James "Pookie" Hudson (June 11, 1934 – January 16, 2007) *Ernest Warren (December 2, 1933 – May 7, 2012) *Willie C. Jackson (April 22, 1935 - February 18, 2015; aged 79) *Opal Courtney Jr. (November 22, 1936 – September 18, 2008) *Gerald Gregory (June 10, 1934 - February 12, 1999)

Career

The group debuted in late 1952 at Roosevelt High School in Gary, Indiana as Pookie Hudson & The Hudsonaires.Betts, Graham (2014).
Motown Encyclopedia
', AC Publishing. Retrieved April 29, 2018. They changed their name to The Spaniels, and in April 1953, became one of the first artists to sign with

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a h ...

. The group recorded "Baby It's You", their initial release, on May 5, 1953. Released in July, the song reached No. 10 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

s R&B record chart on September 5, 1953. In Spring 1954, "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight" hit No. 24 on ''Variety''s pop chart, and rose to No. 5 on ''Billboard''s R&B chart. The Spaniels played regularly at the Apollo, The Regal, and other large theaters on the

Chitlin circuit The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...

. Sometimes bass singer Gerald Gregory helped other doo-wop groups. The line-up changed numerous times over the ensuing years. The Spaniels were the top-selling vocal group for Vee-Jay. The band broke up when the label went bankrupt in 1966, but in 1969, the group reformed, releasing song like "Fairy Tales" in 1970. An entire new generation was exposed to the group's music when "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight" was featured prominently in ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronn ...

'' and ''

Three Men and a Baby ''Three Men and a Baby'' is a 1987 American comedy film directed by Leonard Nimoy. It stars Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson as three bachelors as they attempt to adapt their lives to de facto fatherhood with the arrival of the love ...

.'' Two Spaniels groups later performed simultaneously: one in Washington, D.C. and the original group still based in Gary. The D.C. based group, with Pookie Hudson and

Joe Herndon Walter Gregory "Joe" Herndon (born January 5, 1949) is an American R&B and soul singer, former bass singer of a version of doo-wop group The Spaniels and former bass singer for The Temptations (2003–15). Biography Herndon was born in Washing ...

, appeared on the PBS special ''

Doo Wop 50 Doo Wop 50 was a PBS pledge drive special created and produced for PBS member station WQED-TV by TJ Lubinsky, grandson of Herman Lubinsky (founder of Savoy Records). The special was inspired by a 1994 CD box-set of doo wop music produced and sold b ...

''. Bass singer Gerald Gregory died in 1999. Hudson died in Capitol Heights, Maryland on January 16, 2007 after a lengthy battle with cancer at the age of 72. Courtney died on September 18, 2008 at the age of 71, after suffering a heart attack. Ernest Warren died on May 7, 2012 in Gary, Indiana at the age of 78. Willie C. Jackson died of a rare lung disease on February 18, 2015 at the age of 79.

References

External links

Marv Goldberg's Article on The SpanielsAnswers.com entry
*

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 databas ...

br>Interview with member Don Porter at UC Santa Barbara - February 2000 via archival edition of website Njs4ever
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaniels, The Doo-wop groups African-American musical groups Jamie Records artists Vee-Jay Records artists Musical groups from Indiana