Jango Song Of The Day-The Orioles

Artist:The Orioles
Song:Crying In The Chapel
Album:The Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll: 1946-1954





Any discussion of the history of Rock 'n' Roll or doo wop should start with The Orioles. They were one of the first R & B vocal groups and were very influential on the music of the 50s. The Orioles were from Baltimore and were led by lead singer Sonny Til (born Earlington Carl Tilghman aug. 18, 1928 in Baltimore). Other members were tenor Alexander Sharp, baritone George Nelson, bass Johnny Reed and guitarist Tommy Gaither. They started performing in 1947 in Baltimore amateur shows as The Vibra-Naires. They met 18 year old aspiring songwriter Deborah Chessler when she was working in a shoe store. She became their manager and she got them an spot on the Arthur Godfrey radio show in New York. This got the attention of Jubilee Records owner Jerry Blaine and they signed and changed their name to The Orioles. Their first single was the Chessler song It's Too Soon To Know and it topped the R & B charts in 1948. The Orioles were doing great until a Dec. 1950 auto accident killed Gaither and severely injured Nelson and Reed. Reed returned to The Orioles but Nelson left and was replaced by Gregory Carroll and Ralph Williams was the new guitarist. The Orioles had their biggest success with Crying In The Chapel. It was #1 on thr R & B charts for five weeks in 1953. The song was written by country music songwriter Artie Glenn and his son Darrell Glenn recorded it first but The Orioles version was a much bigger hit. Elvis Presley had a hit with Crying In The Chapel in 1965. The Orioles split up soon after Deborah Chessler quit being their manager in 1954. This various artists 3CD comp from Hip-O looks at The Orioles in the context of 1946-54 but you can also get Crying In The Chapel on the 4CD box set The Doo Wop Box. Sonny Til continued leading versions of The Orioles until his death in 1981 and Johnny Reed continued until his death in 2005. The Orioles were inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1995. Here are The Orioles performing Crying In The Chapel on the PBS special Doo Wop 51.