The Dells - Oh What A Night

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The Dells are one of the finest and longest-lived R&B vocal groups in history, and what's most amazing is that they've done it with nearly all the same members -- they haven't changed personnel since 1960. They were one of the very few doo wop outfits to successfully update their sound, finding their strongest commercial niche in the late '60s and '70s as a polished smooth soul harmony group. While their chart fortunes have certainly fluctuated over the years, they remained a viable act right up into the '90s, by which time they had long since achieved legendary status in the R&B community.

The Dells were formed in 1953 in southern suburbs of Chicago, specifically the town of Harvey, IL, where all the members attended high school together. The original lineup featured lead baritone Marvin Junior, lead tenor Johnny Funches, tenors Verne Allison and Lucius McGill, second baritone Mickey McGill, and bass Chuck Barksdale. Initially called the El-Rays, the group recorded their first single, "Darling I Know," for Chess Records subsidiary Checker that year; it flopped. Lucius McGill departed not long after, and wasn't replaced, cutting the group down to a quintet. Newly christened the Dells, they got another shot in 1955 when they signed to Vee Jay. They had a minor R&B hit with the ballad "Dreams of Contentment" that year, but really scored big in 1956 with the doo wop classic "Oh What a Nite," which featured Funches singing lead and went Top Five on the R&B charts. Thus established, the Dells hit the road, although they found it difficult to duplicate their chart success. Tragedy nearly struck in 1958; on their way to a gig in Philadelphia, the body of the group's station wagon failed, resulting in a serious accident which lacerated Junior's larynx (slightly altering his voice thereafter) and nearly cost McGill the use of his leg. The Dells went on hiatus to recover; in the meantime, Barksdale became a temporary member of the Moonglows, where he sang alongside Marvin Gaye.

The Dells reconvened in 1960 and successfully auditioned to tour with Dinah Washington, as both her opening act and backup group. Funches, however, was tired of touring and decided to stay home with his family, which would be the last time any member left the group. He was replaced by lead/falsetto tenor Johnny Carter, a former member of the Flamingoes. Working with vocal coach Kirk Stewart, the Dells perfected the more challenging art of jazz harmony singing. They toured with Washington for two years, subsequently signing with the Chess subsidiary Argo and releasing four jazz-flavored singles, all of which tanked. They returned to Vee Jay in 1964 and began recording R&B again, though their local nightclub act centered more around jazz; 1965 brought them a Top 30 R&B hit with "Stay in My Corner," their biggest success since "Oh What a Nite." However, Vee Jay went bankrupt in 1966, and the Dells returned to Chess for a third time, this time the Cadet subsidiary; their first two singles, "Thinking About You" and "Run for Cover," became local hits. Also in 1966, the Dells became Ray Charles' touring vocal backup, giving them an opportunity to sing in some of their biggest concert venues yet.

Cadet was where the Dells' career really started to take off. In 1967, the label assigned producer Bobby Miller and arranger Charles Stepney to handle the group, and they began to exploit the striking contrast between Junior's earthy baritone and Carter's luminous falsetto, adding lush orchestrations and plenty of horn charts. The Dells' first album under the Miller-Stepney aegis, There Is, was a smashing success, spawning no less than four hit singles including an expanded remake of "Stay in My Corner" that topped the R&B charts and went Top Ten pop. Suddenly the group was bigger than they'd ever been; their follow-up album, 1968's Always Together, spun off another four singles. 1969's Love Is Blue gave them another R&B number one and pop Top Ten with a remake of their '50s classic "Oh What a Nite." Miller moved on to other projects in early 1970, and Stepney became the Dells' producer on the following year's Freedom Means, which featured the hit ballad "The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind)." After a Dionne Warwick repertory album in 1972, Cadet hired Don Davis as the group's new producer, which paid immediate dividends in the form of the Dells' first certified million-selling single, 1973's "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation." After a few more hits with Davis, the Dells left Cadet in favor of Mercury in 1975.

~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Category:

Education

Tags:

• doo-wop
• vocal
• r&b
• pop
• rock

[brucew44guns]

At the high school dance, you could hold a girl real close and dance slow to this one, feel her heart beat a little! Back in the day---

[John1948ThreeC]

@brucew44guns Yeah, this one and Blue Velvet were big favorites at dances.

[bro1945]

BIG tune in Pittsbsburgh back in it's day....and still is. Great to dance to.

[John1948ThreeC]

@bro1945 I remember thinking "Oh What A Night" when I got home after learning about French kissing from Diane S. OH WHAT A NIGHT!!!

[cynthia6637]

BACK IN THE DAY,

I LIKE THAT STATEMENT, LOL!!

LOVE, THIS SONG, WAS ALWAYS MY FAVORITE SLOW DANCE SONG!!

[cynthia6637]

OH WHAT A YEAR WHEN THIS SONG JUST CAME OUT~

THE PEOPE THAT CLICK DISLIKE FOR THIS SONG,

MUST NOT KNOW HOW TO DANCE

[cynthia6637]

DID SOME DANCING TO THIS SONG!!

1963-

OH WHAT A NIGHT

[rubyroxitout]

Now this is where the back beat took off and became Rock n Roll

[classiccarguy93]

@traintogirlstown actually, it started in 1946. But The 1950s-early 1960s had the best music period.

[sheddski]

they started it all berry gordy said in a book he knew him and smokey could show philly that detroit had talented groups too and then the temps my girl hit and you all know the rest

[kenhamlett1]

Listening to this song is thrilling. Comparing it to the quality of the "music" being released today is considerably less so. People today settle for such imitative crap. This song is just magic!!

[2n918]

Wow, these guys could SING! Talk about bringing back the memories, just wonderful! Thanks for posting.