Biography of the Ink Spots Term Paper

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Ink Spots

"An all-Negro show, headed by the rejuvenated Ink Spots, has everything it takes to be a top entertainment piece. The Spots, making their periodic visit here, were never better. Ella Fitzgerald takes second billing to the Ink Spots, but more than holds up her end with I've got Rhythm, Do Nothing' Till You Hear From Me ....Ink Spots come on with Shoo-Shoo Baby ["Cow-Cow Boogie"?] followed by Lovely Way to Spend An Evening and Don't Sweetheart Me ... Encore with My Heart Tells Me and beg off to thunderous hand with the inevitable If I Didn't Care" (Billboard Magazine, 2/6/44, courtesy More Than Words Can Say: The Ink Spots and Their Music, Goldberg, 1998).

Were the Ink Spots really the "heavyweight champions of quartet singing"? If you believe soul singer Jerry Butler -- founding member of the Impressions who was quoted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Web site -- they were. But beyond the praise and adulation they have received and will continue to receive, there is little doubt that the Ink Spots were pathfinders: they paved the way for many groups to find success, both from the "doo-wop" and from the rhythm & blues movements. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, the Grammy Hall of fame in 1987, the Apollo Hall of Fame, and in 1997 they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

They got their start in Indianapolis in the 1920s, having been inspired by early American Jazz and vaudeville acts; their original members included Deek Watson, Charles Fuqua, Orville "Hoppy" Jones and Jerry Daniels.

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Before they were the Ink Spots they were the "Riff Brothers" and the "Percolating Puppies." After kicking around Indianapolis for awhile, they went to New York City and met singer Bill Kenny (who replaced Daniels as lead tenor in 1936); and in 1939, they evolved from "jazzy swing" (http://www.rockhall.com) to "intimate balladry," which resulted in a series of hit records.

Their first huge smash was the still-lovely, timeless "If I didn't Care," with those patented, mystically soaring tight harmonies, which sold 19 million records and was followed by a string of big hits including: "My Prayer," "We Three," "Maybe," and "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano." They maintained their faithful following into the early 1950s, and, according to the Hall of Fame biographical information, "became one of the first acts to break down racial barriers by performing at previously all-white Southern venues."

The Ink Spots -- still going strong today in clubs and other venues -- feature the following talent (http://www.theinkspots.com/bios.htm): Harold Winley (Bass Singer/Narrator/intellectual) who goes back 40 years with the group; Sonny Hatchett (Second Lead/Second Tenor) is the group's "comedian," who has played comedy clubs in American and Europe; Grant Kitchings (Lead Tenor), who succeeded Jim Nabbie after Jim passed away in 1992; Morris Dow (Baritone/Guitarist) has also toured with Nancy Wilson, Jimmy McGriff, and….....

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