The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots played a large role in pioneering the Black vocal group-harmony genre, helping to pave the way for the doo wop explosion of the '50s. The quavering high tenor of Bill Kenny presaged hundreds of street-corner leads to come, and the sweet harmonies of Charlie Fuqua, Deek Watson, and bass Hoppy Jones (who died in 1944) backed him flawlessly.
Kenny's impeccable diction and Jones's deep drawl were both prominent on the Ink Spots' first smash on Decca in 1939, the sentimental "If I Didn't Care." From then through 1951, the group was seldom absent from the pop charts, topping the lists with "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me)" (1940), "I'm Making Believe" and "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" (both in 1944), and "The Gypsy" and "To Each His Own" (both in 1946).
Watson eventually split to form his own group, the Brown Dots, and appeared in numerous low-budget film musicals, while Kenny attempted a solo career, notching a solo hit in 1951 with the uplifting "It Is No Secret." Countless groups masquerading as the Ink Spots have thrived across the nation since the '50s.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
Similar artists
-
The Best of the Ink Spots
Vocal Jazz - Released by Fly Me to the Moon on 23 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classic!! - [The Dave Cash Collection]
Vocal Jazz - Released by The Dave Cash Collection - OMP on 9 May 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Life Is Just A Gamble
Vocal Jazz - Released by Vanilla OMP on 28 Feb 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Slap That Bass
Blues - Released by Firefly Entertainment on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elvis & Friends Christmas Special
Elvis Presley, The Ink Spots, Smokie, Wildlife, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra
Rock - Released by Vantage Music on 19 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Address Unknown (From "Better Call Saul")
The Ink Spots, L'Orchestra Cinematique
Film Soundtracks - Released by MD Chapel Music on 16 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire (24 Greatest Hits)
Blues - Released by Bamboodi on 28 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sincerely Yours
Vocal Jazz - Released by Vintage Music on 28 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hits From The War Years - The Ink Spots
Alternative & Indie - Released by GR8 Media (Hong Kong) Ltd on 1 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dancelife presents: The Ultimate Slow Fox Album, Vol. 4
Pop - Released by Dancelife on 1 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Your Feet's Too Big
R&B - Released by Greatest Recognition on 10 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Whispering Grass (Billboard Hot 100 - No. 10)
Vocal Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 19 Dec 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Ink Spots Sing "The Java Jive"
Jazz - Released by Wnts on 3 Jun 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pure Gold - The Ink Spots, Vol. 1
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Putlabel on 10 Jun 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The American Songbook
Pop - Released by Funky Best on 10 Aug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
I'm Making Believe
R&B - Released by Ros Music Box on 18 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-