The Chips were a short-lived

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 ...

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 ...

vocal group consisting of teenage friends Charles Johnson (lead vocal), Nathaniel Epps (baritone), Paul Fulton (bass),

Sammy Strain Samuel Strain Jr. (born December 9, 1939) is an American R&B vocalist, known for his time as a member of Little Anthony and the Imperials (1958–1972; 1992–2005) and The O'Jays (1975–1992). He holds the unusual distinction of being twice in ...

and Shedrick Lincoln (tenors). The group's first recording is their most enduring; "

Rubber Biscuit "Rubber Biscuit" is a novelty doo-wop song performed by the vocals-only team the Chips, who recorded it in 1956. It was covered by the Blues Brothers on their 1978 debut album, ''Briefcase Full of Blues'', among many other artists, as well as bei ...

" started life as Johnson's answer to the marching rhythms of the Warwick School For Delinquent Teenagers while he was an intern there.http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.730.2954&rep=rep1&type=pdf When Josie Records heard the tune they signed the group and the record was issued in September 1956. Although it did not chart, "

" became an instant east coast radio favourite, and saw its performers touring alongside

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

Cadillacs The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed in ...

, and

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

, but the momentum gained by their debut single was waning and the group broke up at the end of 1957. Only

went on to success in the music industry, as a member of

Little Anthony & The Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

from about 1961 to 1972 when he left to join

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

. Strain left the O'Jays in 1992 to return to The Imperials, where he remained until his retirement in 2004. Shedrick died in 1988. "Rubber Biscuit" was resurrected in 1973 in

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

's film ''

Mean Streets ''Mean Streets'' is a 1973 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and co-written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973. De Niro won the National ...

'', about small-time gangsters. In 1978,

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

recorded a cover of "Rubber Biscuit" on the album ''

Briefcase Full of Blues ''Briefcase Full of Blues'' is the debut album by The Blues Brothers, released on November 28, 1978, by Atlantic Records. It was recorded live on September 9, 1978, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, when the band opened for comedian ...

''; this version was released as a single that peaked at #37 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #44 in Canada. "Rubber Biscuit" is also heard in the 1990

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

film ''

Cry-Baby ''Cry-Baby'' is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. It was the only film of Waters's over which studios were in a bidding war, coming off the heels of the successful ''Hairspray''. The film sta ...

'', the soundtrack to the film ''

Super Size Me ''Super Size Me'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003, during which he ate only McDonald's f ...

'', and was the theme music to the 2009 BBC television show ''Jimmy's Food Factory''.

External links

* *
soul-patrol.net
*Audio interview with Sammy Strain of The Imperials, The Chips and The O'Jays

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chips, The Doo-wop groups Musical groups from New York City