Speedo
& The Cadillacs
The
Cadillacs were initially called the Carnations and were formed
in 1953 in New York, U.S.A. The group consisted of: Earl Carroll
(b. 2nd November 1937, New York, U.S.A.) LaVerne Drake, Bobby
Phillips, Johnny Willingham and James Clark.
James Clark
originally sang with the Five Crowns. The Cadillacs' debut single,
'Gloria', was released by Josie Records in July 1954, and although
it did not chart at the time, it was later considered a Doo-Wop
classic.
Clark and
Willingham were then replaced by Earl Wade (ex-Crystals) and Charles
Brooks. Their next two singles, 'No Chance' / 'Sympathy' and 'Down
The Road', failed to chart, but 'Speedoo', released in October
1955, did reach number 17 in the Billboard R & B charts. Meanwhile,
the group's dance steps were being choreographed by Charles Atkinson
(aka Cholly Atkins), who later worked with a number of Motown
Records' acts. Following lucrative tours with Ray Charles, Fats
Domino and others, in May 1956 Drake was replaced by James Bailey
(b. 1932, d.1980, ex Crickets), and after two more unsuccessful
singles the Cadillacs returned to the charts (number 11) with
'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer'.
They returned
to their roots with the wonderful 'Sugar Sugar' (not the song
later made famous by the Archies) but by this time their original
audience was confused about their direction.The group split in
two early in 1957, with both parties continuing to use the name
Cadillacs and remaining on Josie Records.
Caroll, Phillips,
Wade and Brooks became known as the Original Cadillacs, while
Bailey hired Bobby Spencer (Harptones), Bill Lindsey (Starlings)
and Champ Rollow to join his version of the group.
After Bailey's
group flopped with 'My Girlfriend' and the Original Cadillacs
flopped with 'Lucy', Bailey rejoined Caroll, Phillips Wade and
new member Caddy Spencer, and together they recorded 'Speedo Is
Back'.
Their next
single, 'Peek-A-Boo', reached number 28 in the Billboard R &
B chart in October 1958, but the next year Caroll left the group
(later recording as Speedo And The Pearls) and was replaced by
a string of ex-members of the Solitaires.
The Cadillacs
then signed to Mercury Records, and in the next decade Curtis
Williams, Ray Brewster and Irving Lee Gails all sang with the
group, as did Earl Caroll and Roland Martinez. They could not,
however, match their former achievements. Reunions of the various
formations of the Cadillacs have occurred from time to time.
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