Rhythm Revue Spotlight with R&B group The Flamingos

R&B pioneers laid the groundwork for soul, funk and hip-hop. If you ask young people today what R&B is, you’d be surprised how many of them don’t know. In 1949, Billboard, a music industry magazine, coined the phrase rhythm and blues. Also in the 1940s a trend began among vocal groups to name themselves after birds. Some of these early R&B bird groups included New York’s Ravens and Baltimore’s Orioles with lead singer Sonny Till.

Many more followed in the 1950s. Among the most famous of them were Flamingos. They formed in Chicago in the early 1950s.

Two of their founding members were cousins Zeke and Jake Carey. It was the first regional hit for the Chicago group — Tears of gold,‘ which featured frontman Sollie McElroy. Unfortunately, a personality clash prevented Sollie McElroy from continuing with the group as lead singer.

I interviewed the group’s founding members, cousins ​​Zeke and Jake Carey, in the 1980s.

Zeke Carey: “So I found Nate Nelson, who’s been with the group for a few months, and I know we’ll never forget her. Sully left on Thanksgiving, of course. I don’t know. And on Thanksgiving, I had an engagement in Chicago and he just didn’t show up. So Nate was forced to take over then.

With Nate Nelson as their new lead singer, the Flamingos they went looking for a label that better suited their needs.

“I was with a record company called Parrot Records, which was owned by a local disc jockey from Chicago named Al Benson. He was very, very big at the time, black DJ. And we managed to break the contract with him and go with The chess brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess.

Leonard Chess at Chess records he was already familiar with the Flamingos and their original lead singer. Early on, Leonard Chess tried to encourage the Flamingos to bring back Sollie McElroy, but Carey Cousins ​​wouldn’t budge.

“I did a few records with him. The first fell dead. The second one, which was a song called When It was a pretty song, but it just didn’t go anywhere. And after that, I did, he came out with “I’ll be home.” And when I came out with “I’ll Be Home”, of course, success changes everyone’s mind. And suddenly he was an acceptable advertisement for Leonard Chess with the hit song “I’ll Be Home.”

“I’ll Be Home” was the first national hit for the Flamingos, reaching #5 on the R&B charts in 1956.

The Flamingos biggest and best known record came out in the summer of 1959. It was a revival of a song from the 1930s rock and roll era. The Flamingos gave the song a catchy hook described by Jay Carey.

“And we came up with something that was really unique. What was I saying? Do Bop Shoo Bop’

The Flamingos continued to record into the Soul era and had a minor hit in 1970 with “Buffalo Soldier”. Zeke Carey died on Christmas Eve 1999 and Jake on December 10, 1997. The Flamingos were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.