The Orioles were an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the
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 ...
sound.
The Orioles are generally acknowledged as R&B's first vocal group. Baltimore natives, they blended rhythm with group harmonies. Dubbing themselves after Maryland's state bird, the Orioles started the trend of bird groups (
The Cardinals
The Cardinals were an American R&B group of the 1950s. Sharing a legacy with the Orioles, The Cardinals are remembered as one of the best R&B ballad acts to come out of Baltimore.
Origins
The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year before ...
,
The Crows
The Crows were an American R&B singing group formed in 1951 who achieved commercial success in the 1950s. The group's first single and only hit, " Gee", released in June 1953, has been credited with being the first rock n’ roll hit by a rock ...
,
The Flamingos
The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and m ...
,
The Larks The Larks were an American vocal group, active in the early 1950s. They were not the same group as the Los Angeles-based Larks (originally The Meadowlarks) featuring Don Julian, nor the Philadelphia-based group The Four Larks.
Original members
* ...
,
The Penguins
''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 ...
,
The Ravens
''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 ...
,
The Wrens
The Wrens were an American indie rock band from New Jersey. The group consisted of Charles Bissell (guitar/vocals), brothers Greg Whelan (guitar/vocals) and Kevin Whelan (bass/vocals), and Jerry MacDonald (drums). They released three albums; a fo ...
, etc.).
They brought their winning formula to their first charted hit "
It's Too Soon to Know"; a #1 record in November 1948, soon followed by the group's second hit, "
(It's Gonna Be a) Lonely Christmas "(It's Gonna Be a) Lonely Christmas" is a Christmas song recorded by The Orioles in 1948. It was their second hit (following " It's Too Soon to Know"), reaching position #8 on Billboard’s Juke Box charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph ...
", in December that same year.
Original members
*
Sonny Til
Earlington Carl Tilghman, known as Sonny Til (August 18, 1928 – December 9, 1981),
- accessed May 2010 was an American singer. He ...
(born Earlington Carl Tilghman, 18 August 1928,
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
— died 9 December 1981,
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
) (lead tenor)
*Alexander Sharp (born 6 December 1919, Baltimore — died January 3rd 1970) (high tenor)
*George Nelson (born 1925, Baltimore — died June 30th 1959)
(baritone)
*Johnny Reed (16 August 1923, Baltimore — 18 June 2005) (bass vocals and double bass)
*Lloyd Thomas "Tommy" Gaither III (born March 5th 1920, Baltimore — died 5 November 1950, Baltimore)
(guitar)
Early years
Around 1947,
Sonny Til
Earlington Carl Tilghman, known as Sonny Til (August 18, 1928 – December 9, 1981),
- accessed May 2010 was an American singer. He ...
sang regularly in amateur shows at the Avenue Cafe in Baltimore, where he met Nelson, Sharp and Gaither. They decided to form a group, calling themselves The Vibra-Naires, and aspiring songwriter
Deborah Chessler
Deborah Chessler (1923 – October 10, 2012) was a songwriter whose song " It's Too Soon to Know" was number one on the American rhythm and blues charts in November 1948 and is considered by some to be the first rock and roll song. Chessler h ...
became their manager. In April 1948 the group appeared on the
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 ...
radio talent show in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, with Richard Williams as bass singer, but he was then replaced by Johnny Reed.
The group won a recording deal with the "It's A Natural" record label, a subsidiary of
Jubilee Records
Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the company ...
, and changed their name to The Orioles in honor of the
state bird of Maryland and in emulation of another popular group,
The Ravens
''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 ...
. In July 1948, they recorded Chessler's song "It's Too Soon to Know", with Sonny Til taking lead vocals.
The record reportedly sold 30,000 copies in its first week, rising to #1 on the national R&B charts in November 1948, and leading to cover versions by artists such as
the Ravens
''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 ...
,
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
and
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...
. It was also one of the first "race" songs to cross over into mainstream markets, reaching # 13 on the pop charts.
The Orioles then began touring widely, and started recording for the Jubilee label. Their next smash hit was "Tell Me So" in 1949, which again reached # 1 in the R&B chart but this time failed to cross to the pop charts. Other hits included "Forgive And Forget" and "Lonely Christmas".
In performance, The Orioles were a phenomenon, with girls in the audiences screaming, fainting, and attempting to reach their idol Sonny Til in particular. They differed from groups like the
Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies a ...
and the Delta Rhythm Boys in that they made vocal music with limited orchestration and accompanied only with the guitar of Tommy Gaither and the bass Johnny Reed. From 1948 to 1954, they cut over 120 sides for the Natural and Jubilee labels. By late 1950 they were major stars, although their supply of hit records had dried up.
Tragedy struck in November 1950. The group was traveling in two cars near Baltimore. Gaither drove one, with Reed and Nelson as passengers. He took a corner too fast and lost control of the car, which rolled down an embankment and crashed into a
drive-in restaurant
A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...
. Gaither was killed and Nelson and Reed were severely injured. Til and Sharp, in the other car, were not near enough to witness the accident and only heard about it when they arrived home.
For a short time, only Til and Sharp performed as the Orioles, but soon added two new members, guitarist/second tenor Ralph Williams and pianist Charlie Harris. Nelson returned in a few days, and Reed a few weeks later. Just a year after their tragic accident, the group were involved in another accident in
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...
, but there were no injuries. In 1952, they had another R&B hit with blues song "
Baby Please Don't Go
An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
", which was an early 45rpm issue available only on red vinyl.
Early in 1953, George Nelson, who had a drinking problem, left the Orioles, and was replaced by
John "Gregory" Carroll, formerly of another Baltimore group, the Four Buddies. In June 1953, they recorded a version of
Darrell Glenn
Darrell Orvis Glenn (December 7, 1935 – April 9, 1990) is an American single and songwriter. He first made his mark in the music business with his recording of "Crying in the Chapel" released in 1953, written by his father, Artie Glenn. He also ...
's country song "
Crying in the Chapel
"Crying in the Chapel" is a song written by Artie Glenn and recorded by his son Darrell Glenn. The song was released in 1953 and reached number six on the ''Billboard'' chart.
The song has also been recorded by many artists including the Oriole ...
".
This was to become The Orioles' biggest hit, staying at # 1 in the R&B charts for five weeks in August and September, and reaching # 11 on the pop charts. it sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.
It was also to be their last big hit, with only a version of "In The Mission Of St. Augustine" later in the year reaching the R&B charts.
Williams left the group briefly in late 1953, and in 1954 the group's manager Deborah Chessler quit. In February 1955, Reed left and eventually joined a version of
The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...
. He was replaced by Maurice Hicks. Williams and Harris left soon after.
The group continued a short time, but then disbanded.
Later years
Left without the Orioles, Til picked up another group, the Regals, whose members were Tex Cornelius, Diz Russell, Jerry Holeman, Billy Adams, and pianist Paul Griffin. This group became the New Orioles. Til liked the Regals' modern harmony style, and the existing tunes were rearranged to match the Regals' style (in many cases, sounding rather different than they formerly had). During this time, they were often billed as "Sonny Til and his New Orioles". They left Jubilee and signed 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 ...
.
They continued with this arrangement until 1957 when Cornelius left the group. He was replaced for a short time by Frank Todd, who was replaced by Jimmy Brown. This line-up went until the last day of 1959. Holeman left the group, and Russel the next day, after finding Sonny's car (their means of transportation) repossessed. This was the end of the second Orioles.
Til recorded briefly as a solo artist before putting together the third Orioles group, with members Delton McCall, Billy Taylor, and Gerald Gregory, former bass of
The Spaniels
The Spaniels were an American R&B and doo-wop group, best known for the hit " Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite".
They have been called the first successful Midwestern R&B group. Some historians of vocal groups consider Pookie Hudson to be the firs ...
. They continued recording, this time for Charlie Parker Records. Gregory left after a couple of years and was replaced by Lawrence Joyner. This group split up in the mid 1960s.
In 1966, Til met Bobby Thomas, a long time Orioles fan. Bobby was singing in a group known as the Vibrannaires — coincidentally the same as the Orioles' original name. This group consisted of Thomas, Clarence Young, Harry Accoo, and Mike Robinson. Thomas, Young, and Robinson joined Til to become the fourth Orioles group. Gregory Carroll was occasionally a member of this group. They recorded until 1975.
Following the breakup of that Orioles group, Til joined George Holmes'
Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...
, who were Til, Holmes, Ann Lawson, and Larry Reed. With the addition of George "Pepi" Grant in 1977, they began touring as both The Ink Spots and The Orioles (as the Orioles, Lawson was billed as a special guest). Til and Grant alternated leads, and Holmes sang bass. They recorded briefly in 1977.
In 1977, Til formed the sixth Orioles group with former members: Diz Russell and Jerry Holeman from the second group, and Billy Taylor from the third group. The group also sometimes featured Eddie Palmer. This group was together in 1981, when Til died from a heart attack. He was 53.
The group continued, and by the late 1990s featured Russell, Reese Palmer, Skip Mahoney, Larry Jordan and musical director Eddie Jones, who also works with
The Cadillacs
The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit "Speedo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting white audiences to ...
. Jones and Mahoney were later replaced by George Spann and Royal Height. Bobby Thomas started his own Orioles group following Til's death. Johnny Reed played with this group until his death in June 2005.
Bobby Thomas died on May 3, 2012, from complications of
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
at the age of 77. John Gregory Carroll died on January 25, 2013, in Creston.
Lead singer Albert "Diz" Russell died November 16, 2016 from congestive heart failure at the age of 83.
Recognition
The original five members of The Orioles were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
in 1995 as early influences.
Both groups were featured in the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
special ''Doo Wop 51'' in 2000, with the groups alternating verses on "Crying in the Chapel" (with Bobby Thomas and Larry Jordan on lead).
In 2015 the musical theater production, ''Soul Harmony'', telling the story of Deborah Chessler, Sonny Til, and the Orioles, premiered in Portland, Oregon.
They were 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 1998.
References
External links
Official website
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orioles, The
Doo-wop groups
African-American musical groups
Jubilee Records artists
Vee-Jay Records artists
Musicians from Baltimore