The El Dorados
Encyclopedia
The El Dorados were an American doo-wop
group, who achieved their greatest success with the song "At My Front Door", a no. 1 hit on the R&B chart in 1955.
in 1952, originally as "Pirkle Lee and the Five Stars". It comprised Pirkle Lee Moses Jr. (lead vocals), Louis Bradley and Arthur Basset (tenors), Jewel Jones (second tenor/baritone), James Maddox and Richard Nickens (both baritone/bass). When Moses Jr. got out of the United States Air Force
in 1954, they changed their name to The El Dorados.
Vivian Carter
heard them and signed them to her Vee-Jay Records
label, making their first recordings
in mid 1954. After a string of unsuccessful singles
, they recorded "At My Front Door" (also known as "Crazy Little Mama") in 1955, and it rose to # 1 on the US
Billboard
R&B
chart
, and # 17 on the US pop chart
. Their follow-up, "I’ll Be Forever Loving You", also made the R&B top ten in early 1956.
After Basset and Nickens left the group, they continued to record as a quartet. The original group split up in 1957. Moses stayed in Chicago and formed a new version of The El Dorados with members of another group, The Kool Gents. Meanwhile, Bradley, Jones and Maddox moved to California, and renamed themselves The Tempos.
The label dropped The El Dorados in 1958, and Moses Jr. subsequently toured with a succession of backing vocalist
s. In 1969, he resuscitated the group name with new members, at the same time as a former member of The Tempos, Johnny Carter, also toured with another set of El Dorados. The two competing groups merged in the late 1970s, and subsequently continued to tour and record as The El Dorados until Moses' death in 2000.
After Moses's death, long time member since the late 1970s, Norman Palm took over and renamed the group Pirkle Lee Moses Jr's El Dorados, in tribute to his long time colleague and friend. As of 2008, Pirkle Lee Moses Jr's El Dorados actively tours the Midwest, and the East Coast from time to time.
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group, who achieved their greatest success with the song "At My Front Door", a no. 1 hit on the R&B chart in 1955.
Career
The group formed in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1952, originally as "Pirkle Lee and the Five Stars". It comprised Pirkle Lee Moses Jr. (lead vocals), Louis Bradley and Arthur Basset (tenors), Jewel Jones (second tenor/baritone), James Maddox and Richard Nickens (both baritone/bass). When Moses Jr. got out of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
in 1954, they changed their name to The El Dorados.
Vivian Carter
Vivian Carter
Vivian Carter was an African American record company executive and radio disc jockey, and one of the co-founders of Vee-Jay Records.-Life:She was born in Tunica, Mississippi and moved to Gary, Indiana as a child...
heard them and signed them to her Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
label, making their first recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
in mid 1954. After a string of unsuccessful singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, they recorded "At My Front Door" (also known as "Crazy Little Mama") in 1955, and it rose to # 1 on the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, and # 17 on the US pop chart
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Their follow-up, "I’ll Be Forever Loving You", also made the R&B top ten in early 1956.
After Basset and Nickens left the group, they continued to record as a quartet. The original group split up in 1957. Moses stayed in Chicago and formed a new version of The El Dorados with members of another group, The Kool Gents. Meanwhile, Bradley, Jones and Maddox moved to California, and renamed themselves The Tempos.
The label dropped The El Dorados in 1958, and Moses Jr. subsequently toured with a succession of backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
s. In 1969, he resuscitated the group name with new members, at the same time as a former member of The Tempos, Johnny Carter, also toured with another set of El Dorados. The two competing groups merged in the late 1970s, and subsequently continued to tour and record as The El Dorados until Moses' death in 2000.
After Moses's death, long time member since the late 1970s, Norman Palm took over and renamed the group Pirkle Lee Moses Jr's El Dorados, in tribute to his long time colleague and friend. As of 2008, Pirkle Lee Moses Jr's El Dorados actively tours the Midwest, and the East Coast from time to time.
Singles
- Vee-Jay 115: "Baby I Need You" / "My Lovin' Baby"
- Vee-Jay 118: "Annie's Answer" / "Living with Vivian" (A-sideA-side and B-sideA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
with Hazel McCollum / B-side instrumentalInstrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
) - Vee-Jay 127: "One More Chance" / "Little Miss Love"
- Vee-Jay 147: "At My Front Door" / "What's Buggin' You, Baby?"
- Vee-Jay 165: "I'll Be Forever Loving You" / "I Began to Realize"
- Vee-Jay 180: "Now That You've Gone" / "Rock 'n' Roll's for Me"
- Vee-Jay 197: "A Fallen Tear" / "Chop Ling Soon"
- Vee-Jay 211: "Bim Bam Boom" / "There in the Night"
- Vee-Jay 250: "Tears on My Pillow" / "A Rose for My Darling"
- Vee-Jay 263: "Three Reasons Why" / "Boom Diddle Boom"
- Vee-Jay 302: "Lights Are Low" / "Oh, What a Girl"