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Over the years, many R&B vocal groups have come and gone. Sometimes,
many separate even after their first string of hits. Or, could be
personality differences, among themselves, or for just, silly
egotistical reasons. There's is one group that stood the test of time,
even though many hardships. They have managed to stay in each other's
corner for practically 52 years ! Ladies and Gentlemen....put
your hands together...for the Mighty Mighty Dells !!!!
Let's start from the beginning.....The group was
formed in the south of
Chicago, located in Harvey, ILL, in 1953. They were called the
El-Rays. They
consisted of Marvin Junior (lead baritone), Johnny Funches (lead
tenor), Mickey
McGill ( second baritone), Verne Allison and Lucius McGill
(tenors) and Chuck
Barksdale (bass). The group signed with the Chess label and recorded
their first
release, "Darling I Know". It was an instant flop. Not
long after that, Lucius McGill
would soon drop out of the group. Now becoming a quintet, they now
called
themselves the Dells. Two years later in 1955, the group signed to Vee-Jay
records,
where they had a regional hit with, " Dreams Of Continment".
In 1956, they would
score big with, "Oh What A Night", with Johnny Funches leading. This
classic song is about the Dells out at a party with their girlfriends
and the guys come home and chat about that night. The song hit (No 4 on
t he R&B Singles charts). In 1958, on their way to Philadelphia, in
their station wagon, an accident would occur, leaving Marvin
Junior voice nearly impaired and Mickey McGill, a near lost of a leg.
The Dells regrouped in 1960, without Johnny Funches, and continued to
tour as vocal back-up for the Queen Of The Blues", Dinah Washington.
Around this time a former falsetto singer from the Flamingos, Johnny
Carter, replaced Johnny Funches and join the group on their tour with
the swingin Ms. D ! A Vee-Jay Lp entitled, "Oh What A Night",
was released around 1959. A vocal coach named Kirk Stewart, would help
the Dells, incorporate jazz flavor into their vocal style of singing.
The tour with Ms D would last for two years, and then sign with the
jazz subsidiary label of Chess, Argo records. The group came out with
4 releases but only one would become a regional hit entitled, "The ( Bossa Nova) Bird", in 1962, which only hit
No. 38 on Cash Box (another music trade paper like Billboard
Magazine), to
capitalize on the new dance craze, the Bossa Nova, at the time. They
again returned
back to the Vee-Jay and record more flops until they finally hit with,
Stay In My
Corner", in 1965. This first recording of the song would hit (No
23), during the summer
of that year. I would also like to mention that the Dells would also
be featured doing
background work on such classic hits for Barbara Lewis: Hello
Stranger", Think
A Little Sugar", and Puppy Love". Also you can hear
them stomping their
feet on a two by four on Betty Everett's hits such as, Youre No
Good", and
singing background to, I Can't Hear You No More". In 1966, the
group would
sign back with Chess records, after Vee-Jay records would declare
bankruptcy, that
same year. They would record two cuts for the label.
"Thinking About You",
and my favorite, "Run For Cover". Both songs became local hits.
They would
also during this time tour with "High Priestest Of Soul", Ray Charles,
as back-up.
The following year of 1967, would proved better for the Dells career,
when they were
assigned two new people, producer and songwriters, Bobby Miller and
Charles
Stephey, to work with the group. That summer, they would release the
beautiful
harmonic, O-O I Love You". It was a smash hit, hitting No 22 on
the R&B Singles
Chart. Thus, this would lead into early 1968, where the flip
side of O-O I Love You,
"There Is", would hit (No 11 on March 9). The Dells would yet
release another great dance cut entitled, Wear It On My
Face", (hitting No 27 on June 22).
During the heated summer of 68', their next
release would make the Dells a
household name. The re-recording of, Stay In My Corner".
Charles Barksdale
explained that they needed space on the album. They had the original
charts for
the song and had Charles Stepney rearrange everything, even the length
of the
song, 6 minutes and 18 seconds long! The Dells wanted to record
the song the
way they performed it on stage with Marvin Junior holding the note
near the end of
the song. The audience would react with such excitement, so they knew
that if they
record it that way, it would be a hit instantaneously!! They
were right! Stay In
My Corner", would hit No 1 (R&B Singles) for 3 weeks and No 10 (Pop
Singles) for two weeks ! The musicians featured in this masterpiece
recording are,
Phil Upchurch on the guitar, Morris Jennings on drums, Louis
Satterfield on bass
and playing those gorgeous strings are, the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra.
The "There Is" LP released in the late spring of 68', would hit No 5
on the R&B LP
Charts and remain there for an amazing 39 weeks!!!! The flip
side of "Stay In My
Corner" is another classic entitled, Love Is So Simple". They
demonstrated their
continuous great doo-wop street corner harmony that cannot be matched!
It's a beautiful haunting masterpiece!!!
Speaking of masterpieces, another released in the fall of 68' called,
"Always Together", peeked at No 3 (R&B Singles).1969 also proved to
be a great triumph for the Dells ! A follow up LP entitled, "Musical Menu", (retiled "Always Together" by Billboard Magazine
on March 8 1969), released that winter of 68', (hitting No 10 on
April 5, 1969), and continue to stay on the LP charts for 20 weeks !!!
Besides, "Always Together", 2 other great releases from this
classic LP, "Does Anybody Know I'm Here" ( No 15 on Feb 5, 1969)
and
"I Can't Do Enough" / Hallways Of My Mind" ( No 20 April 26,
1969), are both
total eargasms !!! Does Anybody Know I'm Here, tells a heart
wrenching story
of a soldier's return home from Vietnam and no one acknowledges him.
In May of
69', The Dells continued to release hit after hit with, I Can Sing A
Rainbow / Love
Is Blue" (No 5 on June 5), and their second million seller, the remake
of their hit
of 1956, Oh What A Night". The song would become their second
No. 1 hit on
the R&B Singles for one week on Sept 20 and No 10 Pop. A 3rd LP
entitled, "Love
Is Blue", would hit No 3 (R&B LP charts) and stay for 34 weeks!!!!
Just as, "Oh What
A Night", zoomed up the charts, Leonard Chess (founder of Chess
Records along
with his brother Phil), died of heart attack. After their next
release from the album,
"Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay" ( hitting No 13), and a greatest
hits LP entitled
"The Dells Greatest Hits", the group would continue ongoing
success as the new generation decade would emerge.....The 1970's
!!!!!!!!
Enjoy !!!!!
Mike Boone
(Chancellor of Soul)
Material should not be used without the expressed
permission of the writer, Mike Boone (Chancellor of Soul)
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