The Dells

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:More citations needed Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays.<ref name="Larkin"/> They released their first recording in 1954 and two years later had their first R&B hit with "Oh What a Night".<ref name="Larkin"/> After disbanding due to a near-fatal car crash in 1958, the band re-formed in 1960 with Funches being replaced by Johnny Carter.<ref name="Larkin"/> This lineup remained together until Carter's death in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2004 the Dells were inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame<ref name="rnr hofame">Template:Cite web</ref> and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.<ref name="vocal hofame">Template:Cite web</ref> The group performed until illness forced longtime lead singer Marvin Junior and bass vocalist Chuck Barksdale into retirement, ending the group's 60-year run.

History

Early career

The Dells grew up in Harvey, Illinois, and began singing together while attending Thornton Township High School. Forming in 1952 under the name the El-Rays, the group initially consisted of Marvin Junior, Michael McGill, Lucius McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, and Johnny Funches. Lucius McGill soon left the group and the remaining quintet signed with Checker Records, releasing their first single, "Darling I Know", which flopped.<ref name="Larkin"/>

In 1955, the group renamed themselves the Dells and signed with Vee-Jay Records. In 1956, they recorded their first hit, "Oh, What a Night" (a song co-written by Johnny Funches, who also sang lead on the recording alongside Marvin Junior),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which hit the top 5 of the R&B singles chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">Template:Cite book</ref> The song is ranked No. 260 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In November 1958, the Dells suffered a car accident that left McGill in a hospital in Ohio for six months.Template:Citation needed The group temporarily disbanded and Barksdale sang as a member of Harvey Fuqua's spinoff Moonglows act, Harvey and the Moonglows, which included a young Marvin Gaye. In 1961, the Dells reunited and auditioned for Dinah Washington. After Washington agreed to hire them, Johnny Funches left the group to take care of his family. Funches was replaced by Flamingos founding member Johnny Carter and sang background for Washington for two years. In 1966, they were hired to open for Ray Charles, only to be fired after a performance resulted in several standing ovations.<ref name="more miles">Template:Cite book</ref> The group would also sing background for Barbara Lewis, mainly on Lewis' 1963 hit, "Hello Stranger", while also working with Quincy Jones, who helped to fine-tune their vocals for standards and jazz material.

Successful years

In 1966, the Dells returned to Chess under the label's Cadet subsidiary working with Bobby Miller and future Earth, Wind & Fire arranger Charles Stepney. In 1967, the Dells issued the album There Is which included their first R&B chart-topper in years with the title track, which showcased the sharp baritone of Marvin Junior and the harmonies with the four other Dells. The song was also their first top 20 pop hit.

Subsequent R&B hits included "Wear It on Our Face", "Always Together" (top 20 pop), "I Can Sing a Rainbow - Love is Blue (medley)" (UK No. 15),<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref> and their first No. 1 R&B hit and first top ten pop hit, 1968's "Stay in My Corner",<ref name="Larkin"/> which reached No. 10 on the pop chart and showcased both Carter and Marvin in lead vocals. In the following year, 1969, The Dells' soulful remake of their debut hit, "Oh What a Night" gave the group their second chart-topping R&B single and also reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. For a second time, the song sold over a million copies.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> Subsequent hits included "Open Up My Heart", "Oh What a Day", and "On the Dock of the Bay".<ref name="Larkin"/> In 1971, the Dells' "The Love We Had Stays on My Mind" became another top ten hit on the R&B chart, also reaching the pop top 30. By this time Charles Stepney had taken over production duties from Bobby Miller. 1973's "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation" was their third certified gold record.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> The song was written by L.V. Johnson<ref name="AMG">Template:Cite web</ref> and produced by Don Davis.

Later years

Leaving Cadet around the end of 1974 with the parent company in financial difficulties, the group would continue recording in order under the Mercury, ABC, and Virgin labels finding some hits, including 1980's "I Touched a Dream", which returned the group to the top 40 on the R&B chart. The Dells were confined mostly to the oldies market afterwards until they were asked to be creative consultants to Robert Townsend's acclaimed 1991 film, The Five Heartbeats, which was loosely based on the lives of The Dells and other groups of its era.<ref name="5heartbeats msn">Template:Cite web</ref> The group recorded a composition titled "A Heart Is a House for Love", which reached number 13, making them the first group to chart a top 40 R&B hit in five consecutive decades. It was the group's 33rd and final top 40 R&B entry. The following year, signing with PIR, they released the album, I Salute You. The Dells continued performing and recording sporadically in the early years of the new millennium. In 2004, the group were inducted to both the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2022 into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. The group continued performing until 2012, where they gave their farewell concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland that June.

Losses

Original Dells vocalist Johnny Funches died of pneumonia on January 23, 1998, at the age of 62.

Johnny Carter died of cancer on August 21, 2009, at the age of 75.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Carter is one of the few artists to be a double Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted with The Flamingos in 2001, and the Dells in 2004.

On May 29, 2013, founding member Marvin Junior died in his sleep at his home in Harvey, Illinois, succumbing to complications of kidney failure and a weak heart at the age of 77.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Chuck Barksdale died on May 15, 2019, at the age of 84.<ref name="barksdale obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

Personnel

Members

  • Marvin Junior (born Marvin Curtis Junior, January 31, 1936, Harrell, Arkansas<ref name=washingtonpost>Template:Cite news</ref> – May 29, 2013) - lead baritone, lead vocals (1952-1958, 1960–2012)
  • Verne Allison (b. June 22, 1936, Chicago)<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> - second tenor, background vocals (1952-1958, 1960-2012)
  • Michael McGill (b. February 17, 1937, Chicago)<ref name="Larkin"/> - baritone, background vocals (1952–1958, 1960-2012)
  • Chuck Barksdale (born Charles Barksdale, January 11, 1935<ref name="Larkin"/> – May 15, 2019) - bass, background vocals (1952–1958, 1960-2012)
  • Johnny Funches (July 18, 1935, Chicago – January 23, 1998) - first tenor, lead vocals (1952–58, 1960-1961)
  • Lucius McGill (b. 1935, Chicago)<ref name="Larkin"/> - second tenor, background vocals (1952–54)
  • Johnny Carter (June 2, 1934, Chicago<ref name="Larkin"/> – August 21, 2009) - first tenor/falsetto, lead vocals (1961–2009)

Group Lineup

1952-1958

1960-1961

1961-2009 2009-2012
  • Marvin Junior - lead/baritone
  • Verne Allison - second tenor
  • Michael “Mickey” McGill - baritone
  • Chuck Barksdale - bass
  • Johnny Funches - first tenor
  • Marvin Junior - lead/baritone
  • Verne Allison - second tenor
  • Michael “Mickey” McGill - baritone
  • Chuck Barksdale - bass
  • Johnny Carter - first tenor/falsetto
  • Marvin Junior - lead/baritone
  • Verne Allison - second tenor
  • Michael “Mickey” McGill - baritone
  • Chuck Barksdale - bass

Timeline

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Colors = 

id:Lead        value:red        legend:Lead_Vocals
id:Tenor       value:green      legend:Tenor_Vocals
id:Barry       value:purple     legend:Baritone_Vocals
id:Bass        value:blue       legend:Bass_Vocals
id:lines       value:black      legend:Studio_albums

BarData = 

 bar:Marvin    text:"Marvin Junior"
 bar:Verne     text:"Verne Allison"
 bar:Michael    text:"Michael  McGill"
 bar:Chuck     text:"Chuck Barksdale"
 bar:Johnny    text:"Johnny Funches"
 bar:Lucius    text:"Lucius McGill"
 bar:Johnny2   text:"Johnny Carter"

PlotData= 

 width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

bar:Marvin  from:start      till:01/01/1958 color:barry width:3
bar:Marvin  from:01/01/1960 till:end        color:barry width:3
bar:Marvin  from:start      till:01/01/1958 color:lead
bar:Marvin  from:01/01/1960 till:end        color:lead
bar:Verne   from:start      till:01/01/1958 color:tenor
bar:Verne   from:01/01/1960 till:end        color:tenor   
bar:Michael  from:start      till:01/01/1958 color:barry
bar:Michael  from:01/01/1960 till:end        color:barry
bar:Chuck   from:start      till:01/01/1958 color:bass
bar:Chuck   from:01/01/1960 till:end        color:bass
bar:Johnny  from:start      till:01/01/1958 color:tenor width:3
bar:Johnny  from:01/01/1960 till:01/01/1961 color:tenor width:3
bar:Johnny  from:start      till:01/01/1958 color:lead
bar:Johnny  from:01/01/1960 till:01/01/1961 color:lead
bar:Lucius  from:start      till:01/01/1954 color:tenor
bar:Johnny2 from:01/01/1961 till:01/01/2009 color:lead
bar:Johnny2 from:01/01/1961 till:01/01/2009 color:tenor width:3

LineData = 

at:01/06/1959 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1965 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1968 color:black layer:back
at:01/03/1969 color:black layer:back
at:01/09/1969 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1970 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1971 color:black layer:back
at:01/03/1972 color:black layer:back
at:01/09/1972 color:black layer:back
at:01/03/1973 color:black layer:back
at:01/09/1973 color:black layer:back
at:01/03/1974 color:black layer:back
at:01/09/1974 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1975 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1976 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1977 color:black layer:back
at:01/03/1978 color:black layer:back
at:01/09/1978 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1979 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1980 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1981 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1984 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1988 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/1992 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/2000 color:black layer:back
at:01/06/2002 color:black layer:back

</timeline>

Discography

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Awards

References

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