The Delta Rythm Boys
With their exciting Jubilee-style harmonizing, the Delta Rhythm Boys helped to bridge the R&B vocal groups of the 1930s and '40s and the doo wop groups of the 1950s. While they capped their early success with sophisticated renditions of traditional tunes, "Dry Bones" and Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train," in 1941, they were still singing as the rock era became dominant in the mid-'50s. They appeared on radio shows, including Amos and Andy and the Joan Davis Show, Broadway, in such shows as Sing Out the News and Hot Mikado, and numerous films, including Bing Crosby and Rita Hayworth's first movie, You'll Never Get Rich, in 1941, and Rock and Roll Revue and Rhythm and Blues Revue in 1955. The lengthy list of film shorts in which they appeared include Big Band Parade, Banquet of Melody, Choo Choo Swing, Crazy House, Easy to Look At, Follow the Boys, and Harlem Rock and Roll
The Delta Rhythm Boys were extremely flexible. In addition to recording on their own, with piano accompaniment, the quintet provided background vocals for Charlie Barnet, Mildred Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ruth Brown.
The origins of the Delta Rhythm Boys trace back to 1934 when vocalists Carl Jones, Traverse Crawford, Kelsey Pharr, and Otha Lee Gaines and pianist/arranger Rene DeKnight were students at Langston University in Langston, OK. Transferring to Dillard University, in New Orleans, in 1936, they worked with Dr. Frederick Hall as the New Orleans Quintet and the Frederick Hall Quintet.
Attracting a large following in Europe and Scandinavia in the early '50s, the Delta Rhythm Boys moved to Europe permanently in 1956. They continued to perform together until the death of Gaines on July 15, 1987.
© Craig Harris /TiVo
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Dry Bones (Mono Version)
Pop - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of 1940-50
Vocal Jazz - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Flickorna I Smaland
R&B - Released by Vintage Music on 5 Apr 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jump & Jive 'Til One O'Clock - Anthology, Vol. 2
Blues - Released by AMB on 1 Aug 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ella Fitzgerald 1936-1950 - CD A
Ella Fitzgerald, The Delta Rythm Boys
Vocal Jazz - Released by JSP Records on 4 Jul 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Come Softly to Me (Mono Version)
Pop - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Just A-Rockin' & A-Jivin' - Anthology, Vol. 1
Blues - Released by AMB on 1 Jun 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tout doucement (Mono Version)
French Music - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dry Bones / St James Infirmary (Remastered)
R&B - Released by CHILLS ´N FEVER on 12 Jan 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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J'aime Paris au mois de mai (feat. Christian Bellest et son orchestre) (Mono Version)
French Music - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Negro spirituals à danser (Mono Version)
Pop - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of The Delta Rhythm Boys
Gospel - Released by Vintage Jukebox on 6 Mar 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swingin' Spirituals (Mono Version)
Jazz - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -