The Ink Spots
| The Ink Spots | |
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| Background information | |
| Genres | Traditional pop, easy listening, rhythm and blues |
| Years active | 1934–1954 |
| Labels | Victor, Decca |
| Associated acts | Ella Fitzgerald |
| Website | http://inkspots.ca |
| Past members | Jerry Daniels: 1934-1936 Deek Watson: 1934-1943 Charlie Fuqua: 1934-1952 Hoppy Jones: 1934-1944 Bill Kenny: 1936-1954 Billy Bowen: 1944-1952 Herb Kenny: 1945-1951 |
The Ink Spots were an African-American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style led to the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely accepted in both the white and black communities, largely due to the ballad style introduced to the group by lead singer Bill Kenny.
In 1989, the Ink Spots (Bill Kenny, Deek Watson, Charlie Fuqua and Hoppy Jones) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1999 they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Since the Ink Spots disbanded in 1954, there have been well over 100 vocal groups calling themselves "The Ink Spots" without any right to the name, and without any original members of the group. These groups often have claimed to be "2nd generation" or "3rd generation" Ink Spots.
The Ink Spots formed in the early 1930s in Indianapolis. The founding members were:
As "Jerry and Charlie", Jerry Daniels and Charlie Fuqua had formed a vocal duo performing in the Indianapolis area around 1931. About the same time, Jones and Watson were part of a quartet, "The Four Riff Brothers", who appeared regularly on radio station WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1933, that group disbanded, and Watson, Daniels and Fuqua got together to form a new vocal, instrumental and comedy group, which was initially called "King, Jack, and Jester". They continued to appear regularly on radio in Ohio, and became a foursome when Jones was added to the group the following year.
In July 1934 they accepted a booking at the Apollo Theater, New York, supporting Tiny Bradshaw. At this point they had changed their name to "The 4 Ink Spots". Later in 1934, the Ink Spots achieved international success touring the UK with Jack Hylton's Orchestra, one review in the Melody Maker stating
They first recorded for Victor Records in 1935, but although the group was growing rapidly in popularity, their early record releases were not commercially successful. Their first recordings included songs such as "Swingin' On The Strings", "Your Feet's Too Big", "Don't 'Low No Swingin' In Here" and "Swing, Gate, Swing".
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