The Mariners were a pop and gospel vocal group of the mid 20th century, particularly noted for their work with

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...

. The Mariners were a four-piece all-male racially integrated group (two white and two African American members). They formed during World War II, in 1942, at

Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn Manhattan Beach is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east, by Sheepshead Bay on the north, and Brighton Beach to the west. Traditionally known as an Italian a ...

; the four members (Tom Lockard, Jim Lewis, Nat Dickerson and Martin Karl) were serving in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

there. They toured Pacific military bases in 1945. Arthur Godfrey hired them, and they were regulars on his radio show and later his television shows for several years. The presence of the integrated Mariners brought complaints from

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

politicians and Southern

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

affiliates, which Godfrey publicly and scathingly rebuffed. Godfrey summarily fired The Mariners in 1955 (a fairly common modus for Godfrey during these years). The Mariners then guested on other shows such as the

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

and continued to record (on the

Cadence Records Cadence Records was an American record company based in New York City whose labels had a picture of a metronome. It was founded by Archie Bleyer, who had been the musical director and orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey in 1952. Cadence also laun ...

label founded by Godfrey's musical director

Archie Bleyer Archibald Martin Bleyer (June 12, 1909 – March 20, 1989) was an American song arranger, bandleader, and record company executive. Early life Bleyer was born in the Corona section of the New York City borough of Queens. His father was a well-kn ...

) and appear on New York radio, but with diminishing popularity.

Discography

Singles

* rthur Godfrey with The Mariners "Turkish Delight" (1948, Columbia 38246) *"On the Island of Oahu" (1949, Columbia) *"Sometime" (1950) (charted at #16) *" With These Hands" *"

They Call the Wind Maria "They Call the Wind Maria" is an American popular song with lyrics written by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe for their 1951 Broadway musical, '' Paint Your Wagon'', which is set in the California Gold Rush The California Gol ...

" (1951, Columbia 39568) (charted at #30) *"

I See the Moon "I See the Moon (Over the Mountain)" is a popular song, written by Meredith Willson in 1953. Recordings The Mariners, in the United States, and The Stargazers, in the United Kingdom, had the best-known versions. The Stargazers' recording, r ...

" (1952) (charted at #14, their biggest (and last) hit) * rthur Godfrey and The Mariners "Oh Mo'nah" (1954, Columbia 40271) *"Zindy Lou" (1955, Cadence 1278) *"I Heard Ya the First Time" (1958,

Tiara A tiara (from la, tiara, from grc, τιάρα) is a jeweled head ornament. Its origins date back to ancient Greece and Rome. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women ...

T45-6111)

Albums

*''The Mariners Sing Spirituals'' (c. 1956,

Cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999) ...

CLP-1008) *''Hymns By The Mariners'' (1956, Columbia B-217) *''Fourteen Best-Loved Hymns'' (Columbia CL 609) *''Great American Hymns'' (

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

HL 7168) *''Christmas 'Round The World'' (Columbia CL 6227) *''Seven Years Before the Mike'' he Mariners with Arthur Godfrey (Columbia CL-6295 10" 33-1/3 rpm disk) * ith_Haleloke_Kahauolopua_and_Arthur_Godfrey.html" ;"title="Haleloke_Kahauolopua.html" ;"title="ith

ith_Haleloke_Kahauolopua_and_Arthur_Godfrey">Haleloke_Kahauolopua.html"_;"title="ith_Haleloke_Kahauolopua">ith_Haleloke_Kahauolopua_and_Arthur_Godfrey_''Hawaiian_Blossoms''_(Coronet_Records.html" "title="Haleloke Kahauolopua">ith Haleloke Kahauolopua and Arthur Godfrey">Haleloke_Kahauolopua.html" ;"title="ith Haleloke Kahauolopua">ith Haleloke Kahauolopua and Arthur Godfrey ''Hawaiian Blossoms'' (Coronet Records">Coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara does ...

KLP 024) ;Singles compilation *''In Command'' (2006, Jasmine Records)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariners, The Musical groups from Brooklyn Musical groups established in 1942 American vocal groups Traditional pop music singers American gospel musical groups Columbia Records artists 1942 establishments in New York City