The Midnighters

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The Midnighters were an American R&B band from Detroit , Michigan who had a number of hits in the 1950s and early 1960s. They are best known as Hank Ballard's band ("Hank Ballard & The Midnighters") and for their title The Twist (1958 original recording by the Midnighters, 1960 a hit for Chubby Checker ).

history

The Midnighters originated in 1952 as "The Royals". The original members were Alonzo Tucker, Henry Booth, Charles Sutton, Lawson Smith, and Sonny Woods. In 1953, Hank Ballard came on for Smith. They were discovered by Johnny Otis , who became their manager. In the same year they made their first recordings for King Records . With Get It , written by Ballard, they had their first hit.

In 1954 they changed their name to "The Midnighters" because "The Royals" could lead to confusion with the "5" Royales . The Midnighters had a hit series until 1955, followed by a period without any major success. King now relied on James Brown , who counted the Midnighters among his models. The line-up of the Midnighters went through a number of changes.

In 1959, Teardrops On Her Letter was their first hit since 1955. They now appeared as "Hank Ballard & The Midnighters". The back of Teardrops On Her Letter was The Twist , which was republished as A-side in 1960 and became a worldwide hit for Chubby Checker that same year .

After that, the Midnighters still had a few titles in the charts, but the success waned. In the mid-1960s, the group disbanded. A new edition of the Midnighters was temporarily on tour with the James Brown Revue.

In 1999 "Hank Ballard & The Midnighters" were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame . In 2012 the "Midnighters" were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , after Hank Ballard was inducted in 1990.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Allmusic, see web links
  2. ^ Vocal Group Hall of Fame , see web links
  3. ↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , see web links