The flamingos

The flamingos
Tommy Hunt, 1962
General information
Genre (s)	Doo Wop
founding	1952 as The Swallows
Founding members
Lead vocals	Earl Lewis (until 1952)
Tenor singing	Johnny Carter (until 1956)
Tenor singing	Zeke Carey (until 1956, 1958–2001)
Baritone singing	Paul Wilson (until 1964)
Bass vocals	Jake Carey (until 1996)
Current occupation
singing	Terry Johnson (1956–1962, from 1965)
singing	Starling Newsome Jr. (from 2011)
singing	Stan Prinston (from 2011)
Music director	Theresa Trigg
former members
singing	Sollie McElroy (1952–1955)
singing	Nate Nelson (1955–1962)
singing	Tommy Hunt (1956–1961, from 2001)
singing	JC Carey (from 1996)

The Flamingos were an American doo-wop vocal band that was particularly successful in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Band history

The band was formed in Chicago in 1952 when cousins ​​Zeke and Jake Carey formed a vocal quartet with Johnny Carter and Paul Wilson. A little later they were joined by Earl Lewis and they called themselves The Swallows, but half a year later they found out about another Doo Wop band of the same name (see The Swallows ) and, after a suggestion by Carter, called themselves first El Flamingos, then The Five Flamingos and finally only The Flamingos. When the five singers were performing at a picnic in the fall of 1952, they befriended a certain Fletcher Witherspoon Jr., who arranged for them to perform at a friend's club. There they were discovered by Ralph Leon , who became their manager.

Leon first made sure that Lewis was replaced by Sollie McElroy. At the end of the year, the Flamingos recorded a demo tape for United Records and received a rejection from the label. Instead, they signed to Chance Records in early 1953 , where they released their debut single Someday, Someway , in March . This was followed by a version of Sammy Kayes That’s My Desire and finally the Carter composition Golden Teardrops , which flopped but would later become a classic. The flamingos have since appeared in the opening act for Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton . Their dance choreographies were later covered by bands like the Temptations .

After Blues in a Letter , the band's sixth single, was not a commercial success either, the Flamingos left Chance in late 1954 and signed with Parrot Records , where they released Dream of a Lifetime in early 1955 . A short time later McElroy left the band and was replaced by Nate Nelson, who took over the lead vocals together with Carter on Ko Ko Mo. After Leon's death, the Flamingos moved to Checker Records , a Chess sub-label , where they recorded When in the spring of 1955 . The year ended with the ballad Please Come Back Home , which however also failed to make the charts.

The breakthrough finally came in January 1956: the ballad I'll Be Home made it to number 5 on the R&B charts. A cover version of the song by Pat Boone later made it to the pop charts, a good example of a black song that was more successful in the version by a white artist. The follow-up single A Kiss from Your Lips made number 12 in the R&B charts in the spring of that year. The Flamingos also made their film debut in Alan Freed's 1956 rock 'n' roll film Rock, Rock, Rock and took part in the first rock 'n' roll tour with Bill Haley & the Comets and the Platters , on the both black and white performers played.

But after the release of Would I Be Crying at the end of the year, Carter and Zeke Carey had to join the military. The band found replacements in Tommy Hunt and Terry Johnson. In the new line-up, the Flamingos signed to Decca Records , where they released The Ladder of Love in 1957 . However, since they still had an ongoing contract with Checker, they soon ran into legal trouble. After Zeke Carey finished his military service in 1958, they finally came to an agreement with Checker.

They then moved to New York City , where they signed a contract with George Goldner's End Records in late 1958 . Lovers Never Say Goodbye came to number 25 on the R&B charts and in spring 1959 even to number 52 on the pop charts. Despite the success of the song, Goldner arranged a change in the repertoire from his own compositions to classics. But Not for Me flopped, but Eddy Duchin's song I Only Have Eyes for You was to become the band's biggest hit: It made it to number 3 in the R&B charts and number 11 in the pop charts. The flamingos appeared a little later in another Freed film, Go Johnny Go! , on. Love Walked In made a number 88 in the pop charts in the summer of 1959, and I Was Such a Fool even a 71. The year ended with the release of the debut album Flamingo Serenade , which featured various pop classics, including by George Gershwin and Cole Porter , can be heard.

In 1960 the Flamingos had a small R&B hit with Mi Amore , and Your Other Love even hit the pop charts again. In early 1961, Hunt turned his back on the band to start a solo career. This created tension in the band: The Carey cousins ​​blamed Johnson for the failure of the 62 singles For All We Know and Flame of Love . A little later Johnson left the band with Nelson to form the Modern Flamingos. In 1964, Wilson also left the Flamingos, who signed to Phillips Records in 1965 after Johnson returned and had a mini-hit in 1966 with The Boogaloo Party . In 1970 the band hit the charts for the last time with Buffalo Soldier .

The Flamingos began to make recordings on their own label Ronze Records, where they released the single Love Keeps the Doctor Away in 1976 . After Jake Carey died in 1996, his son JC took his place. Zeke Carey died in 2001 and Hunt returned instead. In the same year, the flamingos were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Johnny Carter died on August 21, 2009 at the age of 75.

In July 2015, The Flamingos appeared on US television for the first time since 1959. You were the star guest on the talk show The View .

Discography

Albums

• 1959: flamingos
• 1959: Flamingo Serenade
• 1960: Requestfully Yours
• 1960: Flamingo Favorites
• 1962: The Sound Of The Flamingos
• 1966: Their Hits Then And Now

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		UK	US	R&B
1959	Lovers Never Say Goodbye	-	US52 (10 weeks) US	R&B25 (2 weeks) R&B
	I Only Have Eyes For You Flamingo Serenade	-	US11 (13 weeks) US	R&B3 (13 weeks) R&B
	Love Walked In Flamingo Serenade	-	US88 (3 weeks) US	-
1960	I Was Such A Fool (To Fall In Love With You) Requestfully Yours	-	US71 (5 weeks) US	-
	Nobody Loves Me Like You Requestfully Yours	-	US30 (10 weeks) US	R&B23 (3 weeks) R&B
	Mio Amore Flamingo Favorites	-	US74 (6 weeks) US	R&B27 (3 weeks) R&B
1961	Your Other Love	-	US54 (5 weeks) US	-
	Kokomo	-	US92 (3 weeks) US	-
	Time what	-	US45 (8 weeks) US	-
1966	The Boogaloo Party Their Hits Then And Now	UK26 (5 weeks) UK	US93 (2 weeks) US	R&B22 (3 weeks) R&B	Chart entry in UK only 1969
1969	Dealin '(Groovin' With Feelin ')	-	-	R&B48 (2 weeks) R&B

literature

• Jay Warner: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . Billboard Books, New York City 1992, ISBN 0-8230-8264-4 , pp. 193-198.

swell

1. ↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Flamingos in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (English)
2. ↑ Death report (English)
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKW-m4atL-A
4. ↑ http://theflamingos.com/the-flamingos-live-of-nbcs-the-view/#
5. ↑ Chart sources: UK US

Web links

• Detailed biography of Marw Goldberg (English)