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
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Discography
5 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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The Way It Used to Be
Pop - Released by Orange Leisure on Jun 21, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Songs of Our Times
Dixieland - Released by Ink Spots on Jun 6, 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stardust
R&B - Released by Jukebox Entertainment on Jun 30, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cuddle Up A Little Closer
Vocal Jazz - Released by Tinsel Town Records on Jan 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Souvenir Album
Jazz - Released by Shellac Revival on Sep 30, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo