Illustration by: Jorgen Mac
Prior to the onset of rap music, black Milwaukee was awash in our original rhythm and blues, which peaked from 1953-1963. Indeed, this truly American art form flourished throughout inner-city neighborhoods and was loved by teens and adults.
Vocalizing youths copied the styles of black doo-wop groups such as The Spaniels, Clovers, Five Keys, Orioles, Drifters, Moonglows, Counts, El Dorados and Danderliers. Lead singers emulated James (Pookie) Hudson, Buddy Bailey, Rudy West, Sonny Til, Clyde McPhatter, Bobby Lester, Chester Brown, Pirkle Lee Moses Jr. and Dallas Taylor.
Deep voices parroted booming bass-lines by The Spaniels’ Gerald Gregory, as well as Prentiss Barnes, Jimmie Ricks and Bill Pinkney. The latter wowed America in 1954 with his signature bass lead on Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”—still a holiday staple.
We flocked to see these fine performers when they came to town heralded on colorful posters plastered on telephone poles, light poles and in windows of black barbershops, beauty shops, restaurants and taverns on North Ave., Center St. and Walnut St.
R&B shows were held at movie houses such as the Colonial at N. 16th and Vliet, the Garfield on N. Third between Locust and Chambers and, on occasion, downtown at the Riverside and Wisconsin theaters. From time-to-time, young local groups—such as one headed by the phenomenal John Taylor—would open for the headliners.
In these venues, I also recall stunning solo performances by James Brown and his Famous Flames, Little Richard Penniman, Etta James, Johnny Ace, B.B. King, Andre (Bacon Fat) Williams, Bo Diddley, Lloyd Price, Little Esther, Ivory Joe Hunter, Big Maybelle, Roy Hamilton and Willie Mabon.
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But renowned male vocal groups ruled the roost. They sang hits such as “Baby, It’s You” and “Goodnight Sweetheart” (The Spaniels); “Good Lovin’” and “Blue Velvet” (Clovers); “Most of All” and “Sincerely” (Moonglows); “Darling Dear” and “Hot Tamales” (Counts) and “I’ll Be Forever Loving You” and “At My Front Door” (El Dorados).
On summer nights, R&B sounds boomed on car radios from clear-channel WLAC radio in Nashville via Randy’s Record Shop. Randy Wood, a record retailer, was white, as was his main host—black-sounding disc jockey Hoss Allen.
Great black vocal groups on stage warbled into only two microphones—one for the lead and one shared by three or four background singers. Still, they created a sound second to none without electronic tricks, vocal enhancements or lip-syncing.
One of my fondest memories of R&B shows in Milwaukee was a 1955 performance at the three-level Garfield (later the Opportunities Industrial Center training site) by the Diablos and their dynamic lead singer, Nolan Strong. At that time, they were on Fortune Records and riding high with a phenomenal, ghost-like hit called “The Wind.”
Along with the Flamingos’ still popular “I Only Have Eyes for You,” the Diablos’ version of “The Wind” is one of the smoothest R&B sounds in history. And Strong’s lilting voice, in tribute to his idol, Clyde McPhatter, is among the mellowest.
Listening amidst an all-black capacity crowd on a summer Sunday afternoon proved to me that the our “Big Beat” could be appreciated any time of day or night, in any venue.
Beautiful, bountiful, soaring, soulful black R&B, a.k.a. doo-wop, of my salad days, here, in the 1950s-’60, evolved into rock ’n’ roll and changed America and the world. This original sound made a lasting impression on Milwaukee’s vibrant black community and lives on in many of our hearts.
Richard G. Carter was a Milwaukee Sentinel reporter, Milwaukee Journal columnist and local radio commentator and appeared on Larry King Live and Donahue.
