The quartet with pianist Rene DeKnight. Top left to right: Lee Gaines, DeKnight. Center: Carl Jones. Bottom left to right: Traverse Crawford, Kelsey Pharr.
Background information
Genres
R&B, jazz, gospel
Years active
1934–1987
Musical artist
The Delta Rhythm Boys were an American vocal group active from 1934 to 1987.[1]
The group was formed at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, in 1934 by Carl Jones, Traverse Crawford, Otha Lee Gaines, and Kelsey Pharr.[1] They moved to Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1936 and worked there under Frederick Hall as the Frederick Hall Quintet and the New Orleans Quintet.[1]
They performed on radio programs such as Amos and Andy and The Joan Davis Show, and performed on Broadway in the shows Sing Out the News and Hot Mikado.[1] The group appeared extensively in 15 films.[2] They resettled permanently in Europe in 1956.[1]
Lee Gaines died of cancer in Helsinki, Finland on July 15, 1987.[3][4] At Gaines's funeral (on July 22, 1987), Hugh Bryant collapsed while performing, and died, apparently from a heart attack.[5]
^ abcdeHarris, Craig. "The Delta Rhythm Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
^Warner, Jay (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 24. ISBN 9780634099786. Retrieved July 24, 2016. Delta Rhythm Boys.
^Obituaries: Lee Gaines, 73, a Jazz Singer The New York Times, July 21, 1987.
^"The Dead Rock Stars Club - The 1980s". thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
^Obituaries: Hugh Bryant Dies as He Sings Tribute at Lee Gaines Funeral The New York Times, July 24, 1987.
and 20 Related for: The Delta Rhythm Boys information
TheDeltaRhythmBoys were an American vocal group active from 1934 to 1987. The group was formed at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, in 1934...
The first known recording is from the 1950s by an American harmony group called theDeltaRhythmBoys. Cornish miners working in America brought the song...
released it on the 78 rpm record Decca 23948. TheDeltaRhythmBoys recorded it in 1950 under the name "Dry Bones". A recording of the song by the Canadian...
Delta RhythmBoysThe Dramatics The Dream Weavers The Drifters The Eagles The Eagles (rhythm and blues group) The Emotions The Fifth Dimension The Five...
1933, and returned to the United States in 1937 having toured South America. Gaines was a founding member of theDeltaRhythmBoys who achieved their peak...
1961) was a Rhythm and Blues singer, known as a member of theDeltaRhythmBoys. Kelsey L. Pharr Jr. was born in Miami on January 10, 1917, the son of Kelsey...
Freddie Slack, Les Brown, Charlie Barnet, Ike Carpenter, TheDeltaRhythmBoys, Stan Kenton, and the Metronome All-Stars. He is credited as having performed...
(West Side Story song), from the musical West Side Story Sondheim, Bernstein, 1956 covered by Gene Pitney, TheDeltaRhythmBoys, P. J. Proby and others "Maria"...
performing at the Boulevard Club in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, sharing the bill with others such as The Ink Spots, theDeltaRhythmBoys, and Billy Eckstine...
1947. His maternal uncle Samuel Travis Crawford was a member of theDeltaRhythmBoys. "Music is all around me and in me, as I am in it," Brooks has said...
(dancing) - "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise" The Larks - "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise" Nat King Cole - "Calypso Blues" DeltaRhythmBoys - "Dry...
Crows, the Larks, the Robins and the Penguins. Although the group were strongly influenced by the Ink Spots, theDeltaRhythmBoys and the Mills Brothers...
Delta RhythmBoysThe Donnas The Drifters The Family Stand The Firm The Fixx The Format The Funky Worm The Honeydrippers (Es Paranza/Atlantic) The Hutchens...
hits with Bill Kenny & the Ink Spots, Louis Jordan, and theDeltaRhythmBoys. Producer Norman Granz became her manager in the mid-1940s after she began...
Purtill (dm). The song was also recorded by theDeltaRhythmBoys, Erskine Butterfield and His Blue Boys on Decca Records with vocals in the U.S. and on...
sponsor. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (by vocalists such as Connie Haines, Ashley Eustis, theDeltaRhythmBoys, Skinnay...
Global Information