William James Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.
The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and led by Ben E. King, were originally an up-and-coming group named The Five Crowns. After 1965 members drifted in and out of both groups and many of these formed other groups of Drifters as well. Over the succeeding decades, several different bands, all called the Drifters, can trace roots back to these original groups, but contain few—if any—original members.
The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and most influential vocal groups in pop and doo wop music history. In 2001, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess and its subsidiary labels Checker and Argo/Cadet. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records and Universal Music Enterprises.
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in 1943 as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was changed to the Oak Ridge Boys in the early 1960s, and they remained a gospel group until the mid-1970s, when they changed their image and concentrated on country music.
Eugene "Jug" Ammons, also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R&B.
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocalion Records, Stop Records, and many other smaller independent labels.
The Statesmen Quartet were an American southern gospel quartet founded in 1948 by Baptist Minister Hovie Lister. Along with the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen Quartet were considered the most successful and influential gospel quartet of the 1950s and 1960s and had a wide influence on artists during that time from the gospel, country, pop, and rock and roll genre. Along with hits spanning many decades, The Statesmen Quartet had many notable successes including being the first Gospel group to receive endorsement deals. Additionally, they made television commercials, appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, and were signed to RCA Victor before launching their own record label, Skylite Records, with The Blackwood Brothers.
Truly for You is an album by American R&B vocal group the Temptations released on October 15, 1984, by Gordy Records. The album reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 25 on the New Zealand Pop Albums chart.
Lee Andrews and the Hearts were an American doo-wop quintet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formed in 1953. They recorded on the Gotham, Rainbow, Mainline, Chess, United Artists, Grand and Gowen labels. Managed by Kae Williams, in 1957 and 1958 they had their three biggest hits, "Tear Drops", "Long Lonely Nights" and "Try the Impossible".
Tell Mama is the seventh studio album by American singer Etta James. Her second album release for Cadet Records, produced by Rick Hall at his FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, it was James's first album since 1964 to enter the Billboard 200 chart. It contained her first Top 10 R&B hits since 1964 – the title cut and "Security". The "Tell Mama" single gave James her all-time highest Billboard Hot 100 position, reaching number 23.
The Dynamic Superiors are an American, Motown group from Washington, D.C., United States.
The Danleers were an American doo-wop group formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1958. The group's original and most famous lineup consisted of Jimmy Weston, Johnny Lee, Willie Ephraim, Nat McCune, and Roosevelt Mays. One of many streetcorner vocal groups in Brooklyn, they rose to prominence in 1958 on the strength of the single "One Summer Night", written by their manager, Danny Webb, who also named the group. The single was one of the biggest hits of that year and sold over one million copies. Further releases were not so successful and the group mostly dissolved by the mid-1960s. It continued to tour for several decades with Weston as the main original member.
The Larks were an American vocal group, active in the early 1950s. They were not the same group as the Los Angeles–based Larks featuring Don Julian, nor the Philadelphia-based group The Four Larks.
"A Fool in Love" is the debut single by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on Sue Records in 1960. The song is Tina Turner's first release with the stage name "Tina Turner" although she had been singing with Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm since 1956. It was the first national hit record for bandleader Ike Turner since the number-one R&B hit "Rocket 88" in 1951, for which he did not receive proper credit.
The Innocents were an American pop group from Sun Valley, California, United States. The trio existed primarily between 1958 and 1964, although they did reform in the 1990s.
"My Babe" is a Chicago blues song and a blues standard written by Willie Dixon for Little Walter. Released in 1955 on Checker Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, the song was the only Dixon composition ever to become a number one R&B single and it was one of the biggest hits of either of their careers.
Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston was an American blues pianist and guitarist. He is best noted for the tracks "Blues at Midnight" and "I'm Gonna Walk Your Log".
Leonard Caston Jr. is an American rhythm and blues songwriter, record producer, pianist and singer. He recorded for both the Chess and Motown labels in the 1960s and 1970s, and co-wrote or co-produced several major hit records, including Mitty Collier's "I Had A Talk With My Man" (1964), The Supremes' "Nathan Jones" (1971), Eddie Kendricks' "Keep On Truckin'" (1973) and "Boogie Down" (1974).
The Williams Brothers is an American traditional black gospel music group from Jackson, Mississippi, they were formed in 1960 by Leon "Pop" Williams, who was the Williams' father, and early on the Williams' brother Frank Douglas was a member. At its inception, The group consisted of three brothers, Doug Williams, Leonard Williams, Melvin Williams, and their cousin, Henry Green and a non-family member Maurice Surrell. Later on the group would add Derrick Horne, Maulty "Tuff" Jewell IV, Pharis "June Bug" Evans Jr., Ralph Lofton Jr., and Terrell Midge Gatlin. They released 42 albums with various labels during their tenure, and 23 albums charted on the Billboard charts, mostly on the Gospel Albums chart. They have been nominated for the Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category at the 34th, 37th, 43rd, 47th, and the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. In 1999, the group was inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame, which is in Detroit, Michigan.
