Personnel: Eric Miller , Tiger Haynes, Tiny Grimes, Skeeter Best (vocals, guitar); Bill Johnson (vocals, alto saxophone); Joe Springer , Egbert Victor (vocals, piano); Doc West, Jimmy Robinson , Bass Robinson, Earl Plummer, Jeff Jordon, Thelma Carpenter (vocals); George "Bon Bon" Tunnell (tenor, piano); George Lawson, Matthew McQuater, Danny Owens, Gene Alford, Bob Pease, Robert O'Neil, Fred Hamilton, Joe Van Loan, Pico Payne, Jimmie Nabbie, Richard Palmer, John Bruce Wallace (tenor); Slim Furness (baritone, guitar); Clarence Dixon, James Waters, Jr., Harold Lucas, James Miller, Harry Douglass, Norval Taborn, John "Sly" Wilson (baritone); Harold Winley, Jimmy Gordon , Oscar Broadway, Edward Ware, Otis Jackson, Sr., Cliff Givens, Raymond Johnson (bass voice); Bill Harris Quintet (guitar); Harold "Doc" West (drums).
Recording information: Charlotte, NC (09/08/1932-??/??/1951); New York, NY (09/08/1932-??/??/1951); Oakland, CA (09/08/1932-??/??/1951).
This delightful 20-track set sketches out an introduction to black harmony vocal groups from the early 1930s through the early '50s, moving from jump and jive sides to the first fledgling strains of doo wop. Highlights include the carefully arranged "Somebody Stole Gabriel's Horn" by the Three Keys, the risqu? and infectiously fun "Garbage Man" by the Four Aces (with the school yard refrain of "stick out your can/here comes the garbage man") and an elegant, slow and amazingly poignant version of "Yes Sir That's My Baby" by the Clovers. ~ Steve Leggett
