Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers were an American smooth harmony[1] popular music singing group of the mid-20th century consisting of Carroll and three male singers: Bob Lange, Ted Hansen, and Art Lambert.[2][3]
Helen Carroll was the stage name of Helen Kress (né Fulk) (May 23, 1914, inBloomington, Indiana – February 21, 2011, inRye, New Hampshire).[4] Helen Carroll began her singing career as a teenager onold-time radio inMemphis, Tennessee. Carroll returned to Indiana and enrolled at theIndiana University (with campuses inBloomington andIndianapolis) for college, but left college in her senior year to pursue a career in broadcasting. She settled on theEast Coast in New York City with hopes of working onBroadway theater entertainment, making her debut in the chorus of the short livedGeoffrey O'Hara musicalRogues and Vagabonds in 1930. Her appearances on Broadway were sporadic, including the roles of Daphne inArthur Schwartz'sVirginia (1937),[5] the Citizen of New Amsterdam inKnickerbocker Holiday (1938–1939), and a woman tourist inKey Largo (1939).[6] She found regular employment performing after auditioning for a group called the Merry Macs.[7] Withthe Merry Macs, she appeared onFred Allen's (1894–1956) show and in the 1940 movieLove Thy Neighbor.[4][8] Carroll left the group when it relocated west to California; she signed on with the vocal group The Satisfiers only after that group promised to remain in New York City. Carroll was married to guitaristCarl Kress (1907–1965); the couple had a son, Rick, who became a drummer, and went on to become a professor of harmony at theBerklee College of Music inBoston, Massachusetts.[7]
Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers were regulars onPerry Como'sChesterfield Supper Club[9] which ran from 1944 to 1949.[10] (One ofChesterfield's long-term advertising taglines was "They Satisfy",[11][12] and the Satisfiers were named on this basis.)[10][better source needed] With or without Carroll, the Satisfiers also backed Como on some recordings.[13] Most of the group's recording on their own were made with trumpeterRuss Case's orchestra for instrumental accompaniment.
Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers' recording of "Old Buttermilk Sky" reached No. 7 on theBillboard top-selling retail records chart for November 23, 1946[14] (there was no unifiedBillboard Hot 100 chart yet, but the retail sales chart is sometimes (although not always) considered the nearest approximation).Billboard described the record as exhibiting "easy flowing melodies and rhythms" which "fall easy on the ears" making for a "bright and breezy" performance.[15] This recording also appeared onBillboard's chart of songs most played on jukeboxes.[16]
Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers performed the theme song for theLittle Lulu theatrical animated shorts. The song was written byBuddy Kaye,Fred Wise, andSidney Lippman for the series, of which 26 cartoons were produced byFamous Studios for Paramount Pictures between 1943 and 1948.
Carroll, with an ad-hoc group called the Swantones, backedFrank Sinatra on one 1950 single, "Life is So Peculiar".[17][18]
"Connee Boswell" with the Satisfiers ("Who'll Lend Me A Rainbow" Decca 18689 and "When I Come Back Crying/You Can't Say I Didn't Try" Coral 60040) -1945
"Perry Como with the Satisfiers & Russ Case Orchestra ("Dig You Later" also titled "A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba") Victor 20-1750, October 1945
"(L'il Abner) Don't Marry That Girl!" / "The Boogie Woogie Barnyard" (with the Russ Case Orchestra) (Victor 20-1928, 1946)[19]
"Let's Sail to Dreamland" / "Ole Buttermilk Sky"[note 1] (with the Russ Case Orchestra) (Victor 20-1952, 1946)[20]
"Who'd A Thunk It" / "(Why, Oh Why, Did I Ever Leave) Wyoming?" (with the Russ Case Orchestra) (Victor 20-2191, 1947)[21]
"Smoke Dreams"[note 2] / "Do You Love Me Just As Much As Ever?" (with the Russ Case Orchestra) (RCA Victor 20-2300, 1947)[22][23]
"Love Is So Terrific (Ouch! Terrific Thing)" / "A Little Consideration" (with the Russ Case Orchestra) (RCA Victor 20-2672, 1948)[24]
"Shauny O'Shea" / "Little Lulu" (with the Russ Case Orchestra) (Victor 20-2673, 1948)[25]
"Big Brass Band from Brazil" / "The Secretary Song (Bidibi Bot Bot)" (with the Russ Case Orchestra) (Victor, 1948)[26]
"Takin' Miss Mary to the Ball"[note 3] / "Walk A Little, Talk A Little" (with the Russ Case Orchestra) (RCA Victor 20-2868, 1948)[27]
"Raggedy Ann"[note 4] / "Highway to Love" (Victor 20-2915, 1948)[28]
Compilations
"Auld Lang Syne" (featuringBeryl Davis; with Russ Case & His Orchestra) onThe Very Best of Beryl Davis (2012, Stardust Records)[29][30]
"I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (featuring Perry Como) onAdapting the Classics (2013, Sounds of Yesteryear)[31]
^"Record Reviews".Billboard. Vol. 59, no. 23. June 14, 1947. p. 119. RetrievedDecember 28, 2014.
^The Radio Annual. Radio Daily. 1948. p. 845. RetrievedJanuary 9, 2017.
^Macfarlane, Malcolm; Crossland, Ken (2012).Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record (Reprint ed.). McFarland. p. 46.ISBN978-0786471669.
^ab"Helen Kress". Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory. 2011. Archived fromthe original on May 25, 2024. RetrievedDecember 29, 2014.
^Brooks Atkinson (September 3, 1937). "THE PLAY: 'Virginia' Opens the Season With a Large Musical Drama at the Center Theatre Theatre Units' Plays Tonight".The New York Times. p. 13.
^Eugene Burr (December 9, 1939). "Legitimate: New Plays on Broadway – BARRYMORE".Billboard. Vol. 51, no. 49. p. 15.
