The Flamingos
Encyclopedia
The Flamingos were a doo wop group from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, most popular in the mid to late 1950s and best known for their 1959 cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of "I Only Have Eyes for You
I Only Have Eyes for You
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a popular song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler....

".

Early quintet

Jacob Carey (Jake) and Ezekial Carey (Zeke), bass and 2nd tenor, respectively, formed the group in Chicago, Illinois, after meeting cousins baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

 Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson may refer to:*F. Paul Wilson , American science fiction and horror author*R. Paul Wilson, sleight of hand expert*Paul Wilson , pitcher in Major League Baseball...

 and first tenor John E. "Johnny" Carter
Johnny Carter (singer)
Johnny Carter was an American doo-wop and R&B singer. He was a founding member of The Flamingos and a member of The Dells. Both groups have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making Carter one of the few multiple inductees...

 at a Hebrew Israelite
Church of God and Saints of Christ
The Church of God and Saints of Christ is a Hebrew Israelite religious group established in Lawrence, Kansas, by William Saunders Crowdy in 1896. William Crowdy began congregations in several cities in the Midwestern and Eastern United States, and sent an emissary to organize locations in at least...

 congregation. Earl Lewis (not the Channels
The Channels
The Channels were an American doo wop group from New York City.The Channels formed in 1955 around the singers Larry Hampden, Billy Morris, and Edward Doulphin; they started as a quintet with two additional part-time members, but soon after they permanently added Earl Michael Lewis and Clifton...

 lead) soon joined, and after a series of name changes, (The Swallows, El Flamingos, The Five Flamingos), wound up being known as The Flamingos. Sollie McElroy soon replaced Lewis (who joined The Five Echoes). The Flamingos' first single (for Chance Records
Chance Records
Chance Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1950 by Art Sheridan. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel.Among the acts who recorded for Chance were The Flamingos, The Moonglows, Homesick James, J. B. Hutto, Brother John Sellers, and Schoolboy Porter...

), "If I Can't Have You
If I Can't Have You
"If I Can't Have You" is a song written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees. It was most famously recorded by Yvonne Elliman for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.-Background:...

", was a moderate local success, as was the follow-up "That's My Desire
That's My Desire (1931 song)
"That's My Desire" is a 1931 popular song with music by Helmy Kresa and lyrics by Carroll Loveday.The highest-charting version of the song was recorded by the Sammy Kaye orchestra in 1946, although a version of the song recorded by Frankie Laine has become better known over the years, being one of...

", but it was Johnny Carter's composition of "Golden Teardrops," with its complex vocal harmonies and Carter's soaring falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...

, that cemented their reputation as a top regional act of the day.

The Flamingos left Chance Records sometime after their December 1953 session and signed with DJ Al Benson's Parrot Records
Parrot Records (blues label)
Parrot Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1952 by disc jockey Al Benson. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel. The company began operating in earnest in the summer of 1953, and lasted till the middle of 1956. Several Parrot recordings were later released by Chess...

. Sollie McElroy was on their first Parrot session, but left the group in December 1954, to be replaced by tenor Nate Nelson (who was on their second Parrot session; he's lead on "I'm Yours," released in January 1955). In early 1955, the Flamingos signed with Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....

, to record for their Checker Records
Checker Records
Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary to Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded Tape in 1969, shortly before Leonard's death.The label...

 subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

. At Chess/Checker, the Flamingos achieved their first national chart hit with "I'll Be Home
I'll Be Home
"I'll Be Home" is a 1956 song that was a hit for singer Pat Boone. It was written by Ferdinand Washington and Stan Lewis and produced by Randy Wood. It was released as a single by Pat Boone with "Tutti Frutti" as the B-side. It was a number one hit in the United Kingdom, spending five weeks at #1,...

", which went to #5 on Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

 chart (Pat Boone's
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...

 cover version, complete with incorrect lyrics, was a hit on the pop charts). The group also had moderate success for the label with other chestnuts like "A Kiss From Your Lips," "The Vow," and "Would I Be Crying". The Flamingos also appeared in the 1956 Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...

 movie, Rock, Rock Rock
Rock, Rock, Rock (film)
Rock, Rock, Rock is a 1956 black-and-white motion picture featuring performances from a number of early rock 'n' roll stars, such as Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Teddy Randazzo, The Moonglows, The Flamingos, and The Teenagers with Frankie Lymon as lead singer. Future West Side Story cast member David...

. Both Zeke Carey and Carter were drafted that year (Carter was drafted in September).

Nate Nelson, Jake Carey, and Paul Wilson continued the group with new member Tommy Hunt
Tommy Hunt
Tommy Hunt is an American soul/northern soul singer, and a member of The Flamingos.- Early life :...

 (added in October 1956). Another new member, tenor/lead, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

, and arranger Terry "Buzzy" Johnson, joined in late December of that year. This group (Nate Nelson, Tommy Hunt, Terry Johnson, Paul Wilson, and Jake Carey) began recording for Decca Records in April 1957
1957 in music
-Events:*January 5 – Renato Carosone and his band start their American tour in Cuba.*January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show.*January 16 – The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool, UK....

. Their most notable single was Johnson's arrangement of "The Ladder of Love", but legal entanglements between Checker and Nate Nelson ruined any chance of commercial success. Zeke Carey returned to the Flamingos in 1958, making the group a sextet
Sextet
A sextet is a formation containing exactly six members. It is commonly associated with vocal or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six similar or related objects are considered a single unit....

. (When Johnny Carter was discharged from the service, he joined The Dells
The Dells
The Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...

; he had been with them for almost 50 years up until his death in 2009.)

Zeke and Jake Carey were not blood-related, but were considered cousins, because of Zeke being adopted by Jake's aunt and uncle.

End Records

That year, the Flamingos began recording for George Goldner's
George Goldner
George Goldner was an American record label owner and promoter. He worked, amongst others, with The Crows, The Flamingos, The Cleftones, The Shangri-Las, The Teenagers, The Chantels, Little Richard and Lou Christie. He had a son named Cary and a wife named Grace...

 End Records
End Records
End Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner. In 1962 the label was acquired by Morris Levy and incorporated into Roulette Records. Among its more successful recording acts were The Flamingos, The Chantels, and Little Anthony and the Imperials...

 in New York City, where they had several national hits. Almost immediately, the group had their first pop chart hit with "Lovers Never Say Goodbye", written by Terry Johnson, who shared lead chores on the song with Paul Wilson. The formula was a winner as Terry and Paul also led three of the 12 songs selected for their first album Flamingo Serenade - George Gershwin's
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...

 "Love Walked In
Love Walked In
"Love Walked In" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was composed in 1930, but the lyrics were not written until 1937, for the movie musical The Goldwyn Follies . Hit versions include Sammy Kaye , The Hilltoppers , Ella Fitzgerald , and Dinah Washington...

", "But Not For Me
But Not for Me (song)
"But Not for Me" is a popular song, composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.It was written for their musical Girl Crazy and introduced in the original production by Ginger Rogers. It is also in the 1992 musical based on Girl Crazy, Crazy for You...

" and "Time Was
Time Was
Time Was... is a documentary television series that premiered on Home Box Office on November 11, 1979. It was hosted by Dick Cavett with each program looking at one decade from the past starting from the 1920s up to the 1970s. The historical program looked at the lifestyles and society during the...

". The Flamingos would have their biggest seller in 1959 with another old standard from that LP, on which Nate Nelson handled lead chores. "I Only Have Eyes for You
I Only Have Eyes for You
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a popular song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler....

" (written in 1934 by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin for the film Dames
Dames
Dames is a 1934 Warner Bros. musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright with dance numbers created by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, ZaSu Pitts, and Hugh Herbert...

) became their biggest seller, and has been featured in dozens of movies and TV shows. A long series of hits followed, including the Johnson-penned "Mio Amore", Doc Pomus
Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder, better known as Doc Pomus , was a twentieth-century American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into...

' composition "Your Other Love", "Nobody Loves Me Like You" (written for the group by Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...

), and "I Was Such a Fool". LP cuts "Love Walked In" and "Time Was" were also issued as singles. That same year, they appeared in the Alan Freed movie, Go, Johnny, Go, singing a frenetic version of "Jump Children" (originally recorded for Chance Records
Chance Records
Chance Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1950 by Art Sheridan. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel.Among the acts who recorded for Chance were The Flamingos, The Moonglows, Homesick James, J. B. Hutto, Brother John Sellers, and Schoolboy Porter...

 in the early days). The group became known almost as much for their stage show and choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...

 as for their harmonies. Groups including The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...

 and The Tavares
Tavares (band)
Tavares are a successful American R&B, funk and soul music group, composed of five Cape Verdean-American brothers from New Bedford, Massachusetts.-Band members:...

 would later credit the group as major influences.

Splintering

The group began to come apart at the turn of the decade. Tommy Hunt left for a solo career in 1960. Nate Nelson and Terry Johnson split to form the "Modern Flamingos" in 1961, and went on to record as The Starglows on Atco Records
Atco Records
ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...

 in 1963. (The Modern Flamingos name was used later; the group would include members of the defunct Del-Knights in the late 1960s). New members were brought in, making the group Zeke Carey (tenor), Jake Carey (bass), Paul Wilson (baritone), Billy Clarke
Billy Clarke
William Charles "Billy" Clarke is an Irish footballer who plays for Blackpool. He is a striker and has played for Ireland at various levels up to under-21.-Ipswich Town:...

 (tenor), Eddie Williams
Eddie Williams (saxophonist)
Eddie Williams was an American jazz saxophonist.Williams played with Claude Williams early in the 1930s and worked with his own band at the Savoy Ballroom in the middle of the decade...

 (tenor), Alan Fontaine (guitar), and Julien Vaught (saxophone). Clarke and Williams took duties on most new lead vocals.

A sixth vocalist, Doug McClure, was added in 1962. Shortly afterwards, Clarke and Williams left the group. Founding member Paul Wilson left in 1964
1964 in music
-Events:*January 1 – Top of the Pops is broadcast for the first time, on BBC television.*January 3 – Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show....

, new member Sidney Hall joined in 1966, and Jacob Carey's son J.C. Carey joined in 1969. They recorded several uptempo songs through the 1960s, peaking at #26 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 with "The Boogaloo Party". Around this time, the Flamingos formed their own label, Ronze, and produced many of their own recordings.

The group continued recording into the 1970s. A new album was released in 1972 on Ronze, entitled The Flamingos Today. By this time, the group was the Careys, McClure, Fontaine, the returning Billy Clarke, and former Limelite
Shep and the Limelites
Shep & The Limelites was an American doo-wop group of the early 1960s. They are best known for their 1961 hit recording, "Daddy's Home".-Career:...

 Clarence Bassett, Jr. New member Frank "Mingo" Ayers joined soon after. More mildly successful recordings came in this decade, including the uptempo "Heavy Hips", and "Buffalo Soldier".

By 1980 the group was Jake Carey, Zeke Carey, Frank Ayers, and Jerome Wilson. Ayers left around this time, joining the Del Vikings. In 1984, two new members joined: Bennie Cherry and Archie Satterfield. In 1988, the group was featured at the 1988 Grammy Awards.

By the early 1990s, the group was the Careys, Satterfield, Ron Reace, and Kenny Davis
Kenny Davis
Kenny Davis is an American jazz bassist.Davis released two albums as leader for Soul Note.He was also member of the Blue Note Records group Out of the Blue and has appeared on albums by Gary Bartz, Art Farmer, Don Byron, Eric Person, Michele Rosewoman, Onaje Allan Gumbs and others.Kenny is...

. Later, it was the Careys, Reace, and King Raymond Green. Jake Carey died in 1997. The group recorded a new album, Unspoken Emotions, under the Ronze label in 1999. It featuring re-recordings of "Ain't Nothing But A Party" and "I'll Be Home", led by Zeke Carey. The group appeared on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 television special Doo Wop 50
Doo Wop 50
Doo Wop 50 was a PBS pledge drive special created and produced for PBS member station WQED-TV by TJ Lubinsky, grandson of Herman Lubinsky...

that same year. The lineup was Zeke Carey, J.C. Carey, Ron Reace, King Raymond Green, and Larry Jordan
Larry Jordan
Larry Jordan is an independent filmmaker who has been working in the Bay Area in California since 1955, and making films since 1952. He has produced some 40 experimental and animation films, and three feature-length dramatic films. He is most widely known for his animated collage films. In 1970 he...

. Zeke Carey died in 2001. King Raymond Green and Ron Reace left around that time and were replaced by Earnest "Just Mike" Gilbert and former Dynamic Superior
The Dynamic Superiors
The Dynamic Superiors are a Motown group from Washington, D.C., United States.The group formed in 1963 with members Tony Washington , George Spann , George Peterback, Jr. , Michael McCalpin , and Maurice Washington . After a ten year wait, they received their first recording contract in 1974...

 George Spann. James Faison entered shortly thereafter. Tommy Hunt has flown in from England (where he has lived since 1970) to perform with this group twice since 2001.

The group split up in late 2005 due to money disputes. Spann, Jordan, Gilbert, and Faison grouped together to reform Spann's old group, The Dynamic Superiors. Carey brought in new members, and toured with Tommy Hunt starting in April 2007. The current lineup is Carey, Victor Brown, Philip "Flip" Thomas (founding member of Crown Heights Affair
Crown Heights Affair
Crown Heights Affair was an American R&B / funk / disco group from New York, founded in the early 1970s.-Career:Originally known as Ben Iverson and the Nue Dey Express on Britne Records, founded by then bassist Donnie Linton, the group took their new name from a district of their native Brooklyn,...

), the returning Sidney Hall and Doug McClure.

Other Flamingos groups

Terry Johnson owns the trademark "The Flamingos" and leads a Flamingos' group, which has appeared on two PBS specials: Doo Wop at Fifty (in which they were the only group to have more than two songs featured) and Doo Wop Cavalcade: The Definitive Anthology. Terry always has talented singers from around the country, to join him in representing The Flamingos' name and music.. Johnson's group maintains a full schedule of doo wop revival concerts and private functions. They are working on a 50th anniversary album and Johnson is working on a solo album, entitled 'Still in the Pink'.

Ron Reace also leads a Flamingos group.

There was an unrelated doo-wop group based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 that called itself "The Flamingos", operating in the early fifties. Its members were Gaynel Hodge, Cornelius Gunter, Joe Jefferson, Curtis Williams and Richard Berry. When the Chicago Flamingos hit nationally, they changed their name to the Turks, but eventually disbanded, and went on to greater things. Williams was one of the founders of The Penguins
The Penguins
The Penguins were an American doo-wop group of the 1950s and early 1960s, best remembered for their only Top 40 hit, "Earth Angel ", which was one of the first rhythm and blues hits to cross over to the pop charts...

; Hodge, Gunter and Jefferson joined the pre-recording-career edition of The Platters
The Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...

, Gunter eventually joining The Coasters, while Richard Berry went on to sing on "Riot in Cell Block #9
Riot In Cell Block Nine
"Riot In Cell Block #9" is a classic and pervasive R&B song composed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.In this song, a man is serving his sentence in federal prison for armed robbery. At 4:00 AM on July 2, 1953, he wakes up to a rather alarming disturbance: a jail riot! It started in cell block #4...

" and "The Wallflower", and to write "Louie Louie
Louie Louie
"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists...

".

Pepsi lawsuit

Current Flamingos member J.C. Carey, along with Terry Johnson, Tommy Hunt, and descendants of Nate Nelson and Paul Wilson, sued PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...

 for having used "I Only Have Eyes For You" in a 1998 television commercial, allegedly without having consulted the group. The group was awarded $250,000.

Awards

The Flamingos received the Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Award in 1996 (where Terry Johnson, Jake Carey, Zeke Carey, Tommy Hunt and Johnny Carter performed) and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Vocal Group Hall of Fame
The Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor outstanding vocal groups throughout the world. It is headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes a theater and a museum....

 in 2000, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...

in 2001, and the Doo-Wopp Hall of Fame in 2004. The group that performed at the Rock Hall ceremony included Terry Johnson on lead, Tommy Hunt and Johnny Carter. In 2003, The Flamingos recording of "I Only Have Eyes For You" (co-wrote by Walle (Walter) Dillard) was inducted into the Grammy Award Hall of Fame.

External links

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