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NEW FEATURE
 Ravens' song clips! |
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JUKEBOX CLIP
 1950 |
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"Top Vocal Group" — 1948
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Cashbox magazine award
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THE RAVENS
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| The Ravens, a New York quartet, were formed in 1945 by Jimmy Ricks and Warren Surttles, who soon added members Leonard Puzzy and Henry Oliver Jones. | |||
| The Ravens were a professional group, professionally managed. They signed with Ben Bart and recorded six sides for his Hub label in 1946 and were then sent out on the chitlin circuit — .a series of theatre venues on the East Coast and in the Midwest | |||
| Before long, "Ollie" Jones was replaced by Maithe Williams (who changed his name to Maithe Marshall.) | |||
| Marshall had an extremely high falsetto voice that played very effectively against Rick's low bass voice. So effectively, in fact, that they re-recorded all six sides to feature Marshall's high tenor playing against Ricks' bass. The die was cast. | |||
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The success of the Ravens was built on, more than anything else, showcasing the magnificent bass voice of Jimmy Ricks . |
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| Although they had several chart successes, the Ravens never enjoyed a #1 hit. Perhaps this is because they wanted their songs to be accepted on the white Pop charts as were the songs of the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers. The Ravens sang ballads, jump blues, novelty songs and pop standards. One of their songs, however, did cross over — Write Me A Letter. It was also their biggest hit on Billboard's Race Records chart.1 | |||
| The Ravens were a transitional vocal group that bridged the gap between the sophisticated pop sounds of the Ink Spots/ Mills Brothers and the unsophisticated street corner sounds of harmonizing teenagers. Standing just around the corner were the Orioles, followed by the bird groups of the early 1950s.2 | |||
| Most of their chart hits had a Blues structure and feeling, but their two most memorable recorgings had Pop origins — Ol' Man River and Count Every Star. | |||
| The Ravens were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. | |||
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In 1942 Billboard magagazine added the Harlem Hit Parade to its weekly record listings. In 1945 this was changed to Race Records and, in 1949, changed again to Rhythm & Blues. | ||
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The Orioles are deemed by many to be the first of the doo wop groups. Their chart successes in the late 1940s spawned a number of doo wop bird groups in the early 1950s, including the Cardinals, the Crows, the Robins, the Larks, the Wrens and the Penguins. | ||
 .Record Labels . |
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Hub (1946)
released 6 first songs |
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King (1947)
purchased 6 first songs |
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National (1947–1950)
released bulk of classic material |
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Columbia/Okeh (1950–1951)
excellent recordings of lesser material |
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Mercury (1951–1953)
"Rock Me All Night Long" |
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Jubilee (1953–1956)
Four R&R-influenced recordings including "Green Eyes" and "Rockin' At The Record Hop" |
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Chess/Argo (1956)
no chart hits |
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.Milestone Recordings . |
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Write Me A Letter (1947)
#5 on Juke Box chart / #24 on Pop chart |
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Ol' Man River (1947)
#10 on Race Records chart / international popularity |
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Send For Me If You Need Me (1948)
#7 on Juke Box chart |
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White Christmas (1948)
#9 on Juke Box chart / inspiration for Drifters' version |
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Ricky's Blues (1949)
#8 on Juke Box chart |
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I Don't Have To Ride No More (1950)
#13 on Juke Box chart |
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Count Every Star (1950)
uncharted hint of Doo Wop |
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Rock Me All Night Long (1952)
#8 on R&B chart |
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