Sonny Til (vocals; born August 18, 1928, died September 9, 1981), Tommy Gaither (guitar; born 1930, died November 5, 1950), George Nelson (vocals; birth date unknown, died 1959), Johnny Reed (vocals; birth and death dates unknown), Alexander Sharp (vocals; birth and death dates unknown)

The Orioles have been called “the first R&B vocal group.” Formed in 1947 as the Vibranaires in their hometown of Baltimore, they changed their name to the Orioles (the Maryland state bird) a year later. These five street-corner harmony pioneers imparted a skilled, soulful edge to the standard pop-crooning style of the day, and their appearance marked a shift in popular taste from big bands to small vocal groups. The Orioles established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound: wordless, melismatic harmonies surrounding the tenor vocals of Sonny Til (born Earlington Carl Tilghman) and George Nelson’s baritone. Their string of hits included three #1 R&B singles in the late Forties and early Fifties: “It’s Too Soon to Know,” “Tell Me So” and “Crying in the Chapel,” all recorded for the Natural label (later Jubilee).

The Orioles differed from groups like the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots in that they made purely vocal music without orchestration and accompanied only by the solo guitar of Tommy Gaither. They began to make a name for themselves with performances at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and on Arthur Godfrey’s talent show. From 1948 to 1954, the Orioles cut 121 sides for the Natural and Jubilee labels, including such vocal-group classics as “I Need You So” and “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.” Music historian Greil Marcus has likened the Orioles’ debut single, “It’s Too Soon to Know,” to Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right (Mama),” “Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” in that it came out of nowhere: “a shock...a sound that was stylistically confusing and emotionally undeniable.” The song was written by their manager, Deborah Chessler, who also penned “Forgive and Forget,” a Top Five R&B hit.

While the Orioles’ singles fared well on the R&B charts, orchestrated covers by white pop singers tended to be the versions that made the pop charts - with the notable exception of “It’s Too Soon to Know” and “Crying in the Chapel,” which reached #11 and #13, respectively. (A decade later, Elvis Presley covered “Crying in the Chapel” in a version faithful to the Orioles for his gospel album How Great Thou Art.) “It’s Too Soon to Know,” which went to #1 on Billboard’s R&B and Jukebox charts and #2 on the Best Seller chart, was a watershed recording in the history of American vocal-group music.

The Orioles’ breakthrough triggered the formation of more vocal groups who sang in a similar style and also adapted bird names. Among them were the Penguins, the Flamingos, the Falcons and the Robins (later the Coasters). At the height of the Orioles’ popularity, an automobile accident in 1950 claimed the life of one member (Tommy Gaither) and seriously injured two others (George Nelson and Johnny Reed). Nelson left the group shortly thereafter, and he and Gaither were replaced by Gregory Carrol and Ralph Williams, respectively. The reconstituted lineup had some of their biggest hits over the next few years, including “Baby Please Don’t Go” (1952) and “Crying in the Chapel” (1953).

More personnel changes ensued after 1954, with lead singer Til keeping the name alive with various Orioles ensembles. The Orioles – often billed as Sonny Til and the Orioles - went on to record for a variety of labels, including Vee-Jay and RCA. Diz Russell, who joined in 1955 and left at the end of the decade, leads a latter-day version of the Orioles, including former members of other well-known harmony groups. There is also an outfit called “Sonny Til’s Orioles,” though Til himself died in 1981.



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Comment by Edie Antoinette on January 11, 2008 at 5:35am
I do...that's tight! Perfect! Thank you so much again.
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on January 11, 2008 at 4:00am
BIG SMILE....I knew you would love it Mama Edie.
Comment by Edie Antoinette on January 10, 2008 at 10:44pm
The music adds such a special touch to these masterpiece blogs--lord. You keep taking me to a paradisaical corner under the streetlamps....this is the best, best atmosphere--just wonderful, and then to look over and see my own pic so beautifully done by you. It's an indescribable joy, my precious son---just .....*I'm speechless*

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  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
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The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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