The Dukes (Ohio)

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The Dukes
General information
Genre (s) Doo Wop
founding 1952
resolution 1955
Members
singing
 James cousar
singing
 Phillip Murph
singing
 Caleb Talbert
singing
 James McCarey
Bobby Shaw
singing
 Otis J. Lee
singing
 Eddie Smith
singing
 Tim Kimbrough

The Dukes were a doo-wop group that originally hailed from Columbus , Ohio, but only released recordings at Specialty Records in Los Angeles , California.

The young singers all came from The Beezark, a neighborhood in Columbus, where they attended East High School together and formed a gospel and doo-wop group. They first called themselves "The 4 Dukes", then "4 Dukes and a Count" after the recording of the bongo player Shaw. The group sang their repertoire in local clubs, which consisted of many songs from the then popular Swallows . Eddie Smith replaced Caleb Talbert, who joined the Army, in early 1954. In the same year they decided to seek their fortune in California, where they wanted to audition for an established record label. Percussionist Bobby Shaw stayed in Columbus.

In Los Angeles, the musicians first lived with Jackie Robinson's mother Mallie, who was known for her hospitality. After Otis Lee replaced Eddie Smith from the Cobras , the group moved to a shared apartment in Pasadena , California. James Cousar graduated from high school while on-site. After a few months of intensive rehearsal, Lee contacted Art Rupe , head of Specialty Records, and arranged a recording session for September 1, 1954. The saxophonist Chuck Higgins and his band were used as musicians in the five-hour session . The group had already brought with them the title Ooh Bop She Bop composed by Caleb Talbert from Columbus , for which Phillip Murph took over the lead. James McCarey led on Come On and Rock , while James Cousar's voice dominated the other five titles. Art Rupe also had the Dukes sing a vocal harmonic for Chee-Koo Baby by his star Lloyd Price . Price had already recorded the songs in 1952 in the same session as his million- seller Lawdy Miss Clawdy and was temporarily stationed in Korea as a soldier. Apparently Rupe was not very satisfied with the Dukes' recordings. A second session took place on October 11th, in which Oh Kay , I Was a Fool , Ooh Bop She Bop and Chee-Koo Baby were sung again. There was also a vowel set for Oo-Ee Baby , another Lloyd Price title. Rupe overdubbed the Dukes over Lloyd's vocals and released Oo-Ee Baby with Chee-Koo Baby as Specialty 535. Steve Propes questions the identity of the Dukes on Price's record with the Dukes from Ohio in his book on Rhythm and Blues in Los Angeles.

In late October, former Duke Eddie Smith learned that his mother had died in Columbus. His former band mates accompanied him home. In the five months of their stay in California, the Dukes had recorded seven songs, plus two vocal sets for Lloyd Price, without any of the recordings had already been released. The band earned their living busking and doing odd jobs, as well as the generosity of Mallie Robinson. The Dukes heard their title Ooh Bop She Bop on the radio in January 1955. Since the record did not attract national attention and the band was no longer there, Art Rupe decided not to release the other master recordings. With Tim Kimbrough as tenor, the Dukes continued to perform in Ohio for a while until they broke up at the end of the year.

Discography

  • 1954 - Oo-Ee Baby / Chee-Koo Baby , Specialty 535 (as Lloyd Price and the Dukes)
  • 1955 - Ooh Bop She Bop / Oh Kay , Specialty 543

The unpublished master recordings appeared in the 1970s under the wrong title on bootleg singles, which were modeled on the Imperial Records label .

  • I'll Found a Love (actually So Long Love ) / Come On and Rock , Imperial 5344 (Bootleg)
  • Someday, Somewhere (actually I'll Find Her ) / Tell Me Why , Imperial 5385 (Bootleg)
  • My Love Is Beautiful (actually Oh Kay ) / I Was a Fool , Imperial 5399 (Bootleg)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Steve Propes, Galen Gart: LA R&B Vocal Groups 1945–1965 . 1st edition. Nickel Publications, Milford 2001, ISBN 0-936433-18-3 , The Dukes, pp. 47 (American English).
  2. ↑ a b c d e Marv Goldberg: The Dukes. In: Marv Goldberg′s R&B Notebook. Retrieved April 7, 2010 (2004/2009).

Web links