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 |  Sujet: THE END OF THE STORY: CARDINALS' LEAD WARREN DIES AT 78 Jeu 02 Aoû 2007, 17:54 | |
|  Biographyby Andrew HamiltonThe Cardinals, early balladeers that few remember, recorded 12 singles for Atlantic Records (their only label) between 1951 and 1957. They debuted with "Shouldn't I Know," a willowy ballad featuring a prominent lead guitar, tight harmonies, and a deep bass; lead Ernie Warren impressed listeners at the fade by holding a long note in breathtaking fashion. One of the bird groups, the Cardinals formed in their hometown, Baltimore, MD, in 1946, a year before a more famous bird group from Baltimore, the Orioles. Originally they were the Mellotones. The lineup was Warren, Donald Johnson, Meredith Brothers, Leon Hardy, and guitarist ... Read More...sourcehttp://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wnfyxqegldte Ernest WarrenR.I.P.: Ernest Warren, lead singer of the great 1950s R&B group the Cardinals, died Monday in Baltimore. On songs like "Off Shore," "The Door Is Still Open" and "Shouldn't I Know," many consider him one of the all-time great lead voices.Junius "Ernest" Warren, whose clear and powerful tenor led the
1950s R&B vocal group, the Cardinals, to three Top 10 R&B chart
hits, died in Baltimore, Maryland on Monday, July 30, 2007. He
was 78. Warren, who was featured on the group's national best
sellers including "Shouldn't I Know", "Wheel of Fortune", "Come
Back My Love", and "The Door Is Still Open", suffered a major
stroke in the fall of 2005 and had been living at the home of his
son, Darryl, since then. The singer never regained the power of
speech after the stroke, and had been hospitalized in recent
weeks, according to family members.
Born in Norfolk, Virginia on March 16, 1929, Warren and his
family moved to Baltimore in 1940. Growing up in the Somerset
Housing Projects, he began singing with tenor Meredith "Prince"
Brothers, baritone Donald "Jack" Johnson, and bass Leon "Treetop"
Hardy in 1947. "We were doing things like 'Without A Song' and
'September Song', 'Bewildered', and, 'It's Too Soon To Know' by
the Orioles," Warren recalled. "We had a hundred songs in our
repertiore."
Originally known as the Mellotones, the quartet added second
tenor-guitarist James "Sam" Aydelotte in 1950 after meeting him
at a local amateur show. The group came to the attention of
local music store owner Sam Azrael, who referred them to Atlantic
Records founders Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. "We were doing
songs by Ruth Brown," Warren recalled of their audition for
Atlantic. "They wanted to know if we had anything original.
That's when we did 'Shouldn't I Know', and they loved that."
Signed to Atlantic that night, the Cardinals were teamed with
prolific arranger, composer, and musician Jesse Stone
(1901-1999), who produced the majority of the group's dozen
releases for the firm between 1951 and 1957. "Shouldn't I Know"
hit #7 on Billboard's R&B chart in the fall of 1951, and was
followed into the top 10 by "Wheel of Fortune" in the spring of
1952. In March of 1952, Warren was drafted, and eventually
served in the U. S. Army in Korea through February of 1954 before
being discharged and subsequently rejoining the Cardinals. Their
biggest success, "The Door Is Still Open", written by Chuck
Willis, spent 13 weeks on the chart in the spring and summer of
1955, peaking at #4.
The group toured constantly during their heyday. "Groups,
musicians- we never had a cross word or bad word with them,"
Warren recounted. "We've never been anyplace that we can't go
back."
A cover of the Wrens' "Come Back My Love", the stellar ballad
"Here Goes My Heart To You", and Warren's own personal favorite,
"The End of the Story", 16 year-old Neil Sedaka's fine lost love
composition, broadened the group's fan base and earned them the
respect of their peers, but didn't command the sales figures the
label had enjoyed with the Drifters, Coasters, and Clovers.
The Cardinals simply never heard from Atlantic again after a
December, 1956 session. "We were just plain ignorant and stupid
about business," Warren admitted. "Contracts, money, and things
of that nature never crossed our minds. When we were getting
that $600 or $700 for the gig, we were satisfied at that
particular time. We did O.K. (but) at our own expense. Down
South, we ate a lot of bologna and cheese. At that particular
time, (the people at Atlantic) were like daddies to us, we
thought. But they were making a buck off us."
The group continued to work periodically into 1960 before
splitting up. "During that time, there were almost 30 babies
between us," Warren explained. "The girls got tired of us going
away and coming back. It's funny now. It wasn't then. I had
responsibilities, too." Warren found employment driving a cab,
apprenticing as a ship's oiler, and working as a longshoreman
before retiring.
The group's members, menawhile, remained lifelong friends.
Brothers died in 1968. Hardy, Aydelotte died in 1985. Sam's
replacement, Johnny Douglas, died in1991.
In 1986, Warren organized a new Cardinals group that included
former Swallows' tenor and second lead, Herman "Junior" Denby for
a handful of performances. With original member Johnson
returning, the group made their final appearances in March of
1993, in conjunction with their induction into the United in
Group Harmony Association Hall of Fame. In later years, Warren
turned down several opportunties to perform and record again.
"I'm happily retired," he stated at the time. In 2001, Warren
and Johnson told their story in a 40-page chapter in the book,
Group Harmony: Echoes of the Rhythm and Blues Era. "Our songs
were for everybody," Warren summed. "Mostly, we were an
experimental group. You never heard the same kind of style.
That's why you don't hear anybody doing our stuff. We could do
anything that they asked us to do, and we delivered the songs the
way they were supposed to be delivered."
Warren's wife, Polly, died in 2003. Funeral services for Junius
"Ernest" Warren will take place on Thursday, August 2, at
Phillips Funeral Home, 1727 North Monroe Street in Baltimore. Baltimore's Cardinals recorded 36 sides for Atlantic Records between 1951 and 1957, 24 of which were released as 12 singles with B-sides, and although the Cardinals were a solidly professional vocal group, Atlantic never issued a long-player of any of the group's material. This woeful situation has continued into the CD era, and Collectables' The Door Is Still Open, which contains ten of the A-sides, is the only compilation currently out there, and at just under 30 minutes in length, it is simply too short to really give this fine vocal group its due. Brief as it is, this set does manage to hit most of the highest points, though, including the wonderful and majestic title ballad, "The Door Is Still Open," from 1955, the spunky "Lovie Darling" (with a marvelous middle-eight sax break complete with handclapping) from 1953, and the upbeat and bouncing "Come Back My Love" from 1955. That the regal and professional Cardinals never recorded again after their stay with Atlantic is both a mystery and a musical tragedy, and that the group's entire 36-track legacy is still not completely available a half century later is unforgivable. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
sourcehttp://www.answers.com/topic/the-door-is-still-open?cat=entertainment |
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