The Delta Rhythm Boys was an American vocal group active from 1934 to 1987.
The group was formed at
Langston University
Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state. Though located in a rural setting east of Guthrie, Langston also serves an urban mis ...
in
Langston, Oklahoma
Langston is a town in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,724 at the 2010 census, an increase of 3.2 percent from the figure of 1,670 in 2000. Langston is home ...
, in 1934 by Carl Jones, Traverse Crawford, Otha
Lee Gaines
Otho Lee Gaines (April 21, 1914 – July 15, 1987) was an American jazz singer and lyricist. Gaines wrote the lyrics for " Take the "A" Train" and "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'", two jazz standards by Billy Strayhorn.
Lee Gaines was from Buena Vi ...
, and
Kelsey Pharr.
They moved to
Dillard University
Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...
in
, in 1936 and worked there under
Frederick Hall Frederick or Fred Hall may refer to:
* Frederick Hall (actor) (1923–1995), British actor
* Frederick Hall (painter) (1860–1948), English impressionist painter
* Frederick Hall (Normanton MP) (1855–1933), British Labour Member of Parliament ...
as the Frederick Hall Quintet and the New Orleans Quintet.
They performed on radio programs such as ''
Amos and Andy'' and ''
The Joan Davis Show .
''The Joan Davis Show'' is a title applied — in some cases specifically and in other cases generically — to several old-time radio comedy programs in the United States, some of which had other distinct titles as indicated below. Comedian Joa ...
'', and performed on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in the shows ''
Sing Out the News'' and ''
Hot Mikado
:
''Hot Mikado'' is a musical comedy, based on Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera '' The Mikado'', adapted by David H. Bell (book and lyrics) and Rob Bowman (orchestrations and arrangements). After researching the 1939 Broadway musical, ' ...
''.
The group appeared extensively in 15 films.
They resettled permanently in Europe in 1956.
Lee Gaines died of cancer in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland on July 15, 1987. At Gaines's funeral(On July 22nd, 1987), Hugh Bryant collapsed while performing, and died, apparently from a heart attack.
Personnel
Bass
* 1934–1987:
Lee Gaines
Otho Lee Gaines (April 21, 1914 – July 15, 1987) was an American jazz singer and lyricist. Gaines wrote the lyrics for " Take the "A" Train" and "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'", two jazz standards by Billy Strayhorn.
Lee Gaines was from Buena Vi ...
First tenor
* 1934–1944: Elmaurice Miller
* 1940–1944: Clinton Holland
* 1944–1960: Carl Jones
* 1960–1974: Herb Coleman
* 1974–1987: Walter Trammell
Second tenor
* 1934–1975: Traverse Crawford
* 1975–1987: Ray Beatty
Baritone
* 1934–1940: Joseph "Essie" Adkins
* 1940–1943: Harry Lewis
* 1943–1960: Kelsey Pharr
* 1951–1954: Cliff Holland (temporary replacement for Pharr)
* 1962–1987: Hugh Bryant
Deaths
Kelsey Pharr died on April 20th, 1961.(He had fallen ill and entered a hospital prior)
Elmaurice Miller died on September 13th, 1962, at the age of 59.
Clinton Holland died In August of 1968, at the of 51.
On June 12, 1974 in Cannes, France, Herb Coleman and Delta Rhythm Boys members had just left the casino Palm Beach where they had just played their jazz classics when they saw a Frenchman playing Russian roulette in the street. Herb Coleman wanted to prevent the young man from playing with the revolver. The man then turned the weapon against the singer and fired, killing Herb Coleman. The man, a 29-year-old French barber, was drunk. He was arrested and charged with murder.
Traverse Crawford died on July 26th, 1975, at the age of 59.
Harry Lewis died In August of 1984, at the age of 69.
Joseph "Essie" Adkins died on August 21st, 1990, at the age of 81.
Clifford Holland died on September 26th, 1990, at the age of 71.
Carl Jones died on September 21st, 2010, at the age of 91.
References
External links
The Delta Rhythm Boys at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame website
*Jason Gross
Furious.com. January 2001.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delta Rhythm Boys, The
American vocal groups
Musical groups from Oklahoma
Musical groups established in 1934
Langston University
RCA Victor artists
1934 establishments in Oklahoma