The Four Larks were an R&B group that recorded from the 1960s through to the 1970s on various record labels. Their singles have been released on at least ten different record labels. They had a hit on the pop charts with " It's Unbelievable".

Background

The Larks were originally started by

Weldon McDougal Weldon McDougal was a singer, songwriter, record producer and a record label executive. He also founded the Philadelphia recording group The Larks. He produced "Yes I'm Ready" for Barbara Mason. As a song writer, along with Guy Hemric and Jerry S ...

. In 1954, with himself singing bass, and along Calvin Nichols, Mary Archer and brothers Clarence and Bill Blalock, he formed a group called The Victors. Mary Archer was soon replaced by Herman Green. By the end of the year McDougal joined the marines and had a group with the same name while in still in the marines. Having left the service in 1958, he went about reforming The Victors. The only member he could get was Calvin Nichols. He managed to bring in Jackie Marshall, a high tenor. News got out which attracted the attention of Baritone Bill Oxendine who joined up. McDougal's wife Cleopatra also joined up and the group's membership became five. He also changed the name of the group to The Larks after seeing a brand of nails called Lark.

Career

In 1961, "It's Unbelievable" was released on the

Sheryl Sheryl is a female given name. The similar name Sherill may be male or female. Notable people named Sheryl, Sheryll or Sheryle include: Business *Sheryl Handler (born 1955), American businesswoman (Thinking Machines, Ab Initio Software) * Sher ...

label. The Sheryl released came about as a result of Weldon running into

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

promo man Jerry Ross. After the auditioning for Ross, the Larks recorded around six tracks. The backing band was called The Manhattans and was made up of keyboardist

Ruben Wright Ruben Wright is a musician and former bandleader from Philadelphia. He had an R&B Top 30 hit with " I'm Walking Out On You". He is also a songwriter. He also wrote the regional hit "God Only Knows" for The Capris in 1954. Background Wright was a ...

, guitarist Johnny Stiles, sax player Harrison Scott and drummer Norman Conners. Wright was formerly with Philadelphia group

The Capris ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and had written their hit

God Only Knows "God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typica ...

. In 1961, it entered the charts at no 78 for the Week Ending 1 January. It eventually rose to no 69 on the ''

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 ...

'' pop charts. Their last released was on the Uptown label with "Keep Climbing Brothers" bw "It's Unbelievable" in 1969.

Later years

Weldon McDougal would later become a producer and work for

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

. He also has a place in history by paving the way for the

Philly Sound Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featu ...

.''

Cleveland Scene The ''Cleveland Scene'' is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland-area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising. The first edition of the newspaper was pub ...

'', Friday, Jan 22, 2010
Black History Month at the Rock Hall By Michael Gallucci
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Discography

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Larks, The African-American musical groups American rhythm and blues musical groups American vocal groups Musical groups from Philadelphia Doo-wop groups Musical groups established in 1958 1958 establishments in Pennsylvania