 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Dells" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Dells | |
|---|---|
 The Dells in 1967: (Top row, L-R): Michael McGill, Marvin Junior, Verne Allison. (Bottom row, L-R): Chuck Barksdale,Johnny Carter. | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The El-Rays, The Mighty Dells |
| Origin | Harvey, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B,doo-wop,soul |
| Years active | 1953–2012 |
| Labels | Cadet/Chess,Vee-Jay,Mercury,ABC, 20th Century Fox, Ichiban,Virgin,Philadelphia International, Volt |
| Past members | Marvin Junior Verne Allison Michael McGill Chuck Barksdale Johnny Funches Lucius McGill Johnny Carter |
| Website | Themightydells.com |
The Dells were an AmericanR&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.[1] They released their first recording in 1954 and two years later had their first R&B hit with "Oh What a Night".[1] After disbanding due to a near-fatal car crash in 1958, the band re-formed in 1960 with Funches being replaced byJohnny Carter.[1] This lineup remained together until Carter's death in 2009.[2] In 2004 the Dells were inducted into both theRock and Roll Hall of Fame[3] and theVocal Group Hall of Fame.[4] 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.
The Dells grew up inHarvey, Illinois, and began singing together while attendingThornton 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 withChecker Records, releasing their first single, "Darling I Know", which flopped.[1]
In 1955, the group renamed themselves the Dells and signed withVee-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),[5] which hit the top 5 of the R&B singles chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded agold disc.[6] The song is ranked No. 260 on theRolling Stone magazine's list ofThe 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.[citation needed] The group temporarily disbanded and Barksdale sang as a member ofHarvey Fuqua's spinoffMoonglows act, Harvey and the Moonglows, which included a youngMarvin Gaye. In 1961, the Dells reunited and auditioned forDinah Washington. After Washington agreed to hire them, Johnny Funches left the group to take care of his family. Funches was replaced byFlamingos founding memberJohnny Carter and sang background for Washington for two years. In 1966, they were hired to open forRay Charles, only to be fired after a performance resulted in several standing ovations.[7] The group would also sing background forBarbara Lewis, mainly on Lewis' 1963 hit, "Hello Stranger", while also working withQuincy Jones, who helped to fine-tune their vocals forstandards and jazz material.
In 1966, the Dells returned to Chess under the label's Cadet subsidiary working with Bobby Miller and futureEarth, Wind & Fire arrangerCharles Stepney. In 1967, the Dells issued the albumThere 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),[8] and their first No. 1 R&B hit and first top ten pop hit, 1968's "Stay in My Corner",[1] 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 theBillboard Hot 100. For a second time, the song sold over a million copies.[6] Subsequent hits included "Open Up My Heart", "Oh What a Day", and "On the Dock of the Bay".[1] 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.[6] The song waswritten byL.V. Johnson[9] and produced byDon Davis.
Leaving Cadet around the end of 1974 with the parent company in financial difficulties, the group would continue recording in order under theMercury,ABC, andVirgin 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 toRobert Townsend's acclaimed 1991 film,The Five Heartbeats, which was loosely based on the lives of The Dells and other groups of its era.[10] 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 withPIR, 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 theVocal Group Hall of Fame and theRock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2022 intoNational Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. The group continued performing until 2012, where they gave their farewell concert at theRock and Roll Hall of Fame museum inCleveland that June.
Original Dells vocalist Johnny Funches died ofpneumonia on January 23, 1998, at the age of 62.
Johnny Carter died ofcancer on August 21, 2009, at the age of 75.[11] Carter is one of the few artists to be a double Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted withThe Flamingos in 2001, and the Dells in 2004.
On May 29, 2013, founding member Marvin Junior died in his sleep at his home inHarvey, Illinois, succumbing to complications ofkidney failure and a weak heart at the age of 77.[12]
Chuck Barksdale died on May 15, 2019, at the age of 84.[13]
Members
Group Lineup
| 1952-1958 1960-1961 | 1961-2009 | 2009-2012 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
The Dells were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, the same year they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
'Then we played Carnegie Hall and got like five standing ovations. So Ray's manager came round to our dressing room and said, "Listen, there's only room for one star in this show and that's Ray Charles. Where you want us to drop you off at?"'
Loosely based on the life and times of several R&B; artists (The Dells, The Temptations, Frankie Lymon, Sam Cooke and others) The Five Heartbeats traces the rise and fall of a popular African-American 1950s singing aggregation
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |