The Orioles were an American R&B and doo-wop group, one of the earliest such vocal bands. Sonny Til formed the band in Baltimore with Alexander Sharp, George Nelson, Johnny Reed and Tommy Gaither and called the group The Vibra-Naires. A local shopgirl and songwriter named Deborah Chessler became the manager for the Vibra-Naires. They soon signed to It's a Natural Records, a subsidiary of Jubilee Records, and released "It's Too Soon to Know" (1948), which became a huge R&B hit and was one of the first "race" songs to cross over into mainstream markets. They officially became the Orioles later that year. 1949 saw a series of singles by the Orioles, as they had become known, including "Tell Me So", "Forgive and Forget" and "(It's Gonna Be A) Lonely Christmas". Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music popular in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s in America. ... Sonny Til was the stage name of Earlington Carl Tilghman (1928–1981), lead singer of The Orioles, a doo wop group from Baltimore, Maryland. ... This article is about the city in the US state of Maryland. ... Jubilee Records was a record company specializing in rhythm and blues along with novelty records. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

Tragedy struck the group in 1950. The group was traveling in two cars near Baltimore. Gaither drove one, with Reed and Nelson as passengers. He took a corner too fast and lost control of the car. It rolled down an embankment and crashed into a drive-in restaurant. Gaither was killed and Nelson and Reed were severely injured. Til and Sharp, in the other car, were not near enough to witness the accident. They heard about it when they arrived home. For a short time, only Til and Sharp performed as the Orioles. 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the city in the US state of Maryland. ...

The two added two new members: guitarist Ralph Williams and pianist Charlie Harris. Nelson returned in a few days, and Reed a few weeks later. Just a year after their tragic accident, they were involved in another accident in Akron, Ohio, but there were no injuries. Akron is the name of several places in the United States of America and Canada: Akron, Alabama Akron, Colorado Akron, Indiana Akron, Iowa Akron, Michigan Akron, New York Akron, Ohio Akron, Ontario Akron, Pennsylvania Akron Township, Illinois Akron Township, Michigan Akron Township, Big Stone County, Minnesota Akron Township, Wilkin County... State nickname: The Buckeye State Other U.S. States Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Governor Bob Taft (R) Official languages None Area 116,096 km² (34th)  - Land 106,154 km²  - Water 10,044 km² (8. ...

George Nelson left in 1953, to be replaced by Gregory Carroll, formerly of the Four Buddies. This new line-up had several hits in the mid to late 1950s, including "Crying in the Chapel" and their final big hit, "In the Mission of St. Augustine". Williams left late in 1953, and was replaced by Chauncy Westbrook. In February of 1955, Reed left to join The Ink Spots, citing disagreement over the maintenence of the vehicles. He was replaced by Maurice Hicks. Williams and Harris left soon after. The group continued a short time and disbanded. // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning... February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ink Spots were an American Pop music vocal group that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm & blues, rock and roll, and even, eventually, to the subgenre called doo-wop. ... Maurice Hicks (born July 22, 1978 in Emporia, Virginia) is an NFL running back for the San Francisco 49ers. ...

Left without a group, Til picked up another group, The Regals, whose members were Tex Cornelius, Diz Russell, Jerry Holeman, Billy Adams, and pianist Paul Griffin. This group became the new Orioles. Til liked the Regals' style, and the existing tunes were rearranged to match the Regals (in many cases, soundind rather different than they formerly had). During this time, they were often billed as "Sonny Til and his New Orioles". Now without Chessler, they were self-managed. They left Jubilee and signed with Vee-Jay Records. Vee-Jay Records was a record label, specializing in blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. ...

They continued with this arrangement until 1957 when Cornelius left the group. He was replaced for a short time by Frank Todd, who was replaced by Jimmy Brown. This lineup went until the last day of 1959. Holeman left the group, and Russel the next day, after finding Sonny's car (their means of transportation) repossesed. The group split. 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jimmy Brown might refer to: James Brown, a musician who was a singer, dancer and bandleader, known as the Godfather of Soul Jim Brown, an American football player Jimmy Brown, an Irish nationalist, one-time leader of the Irish Peoples Liberation Organisation Jimmy Brown, Gambino crime family Capo and... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Til recorded briefly as a solo artist before putting together the third-ever Orioles group, with members Delton McCall, Billy Taylor, and bass Gerald Gregory, formerly of The Spaniels. They continued recording. Gregory left after a couple of years and was replaced by Lawrence Joyner. This group split in the mid 1960s. Billy Taylor was born in Greenville, North Carolina on July 24, 1921. ... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ...

In 1966, Til met Bobby Thomas, a long time Orioles fan. Bobby was singing in a group known as "The Vibrannaires"; coincidentally named the same as the Orioles' original name. This group was Thomas, Clarence Young, Harry Accoo, and Mike Robinson. Thomas, Young, and Robinson joined Til to become the fourth Orioles group. Gregory Carroll was occasionally a member of this group. They recorded until 1975. 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Howard R. Garis, (25 April 1873_6 November 1962), a native of Binghamton, New York, was an American author, most famous for his childrens book series Uncle Wiggily and the Bobbsey Twins. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Following the breakup of that Orioles group, Til joined George Holmes' Ink Spots, who were Til, Holmes, Ann Lawson, and Larry Reed. With the addition of Pepi Grant in 1977, the began touring as both The Ink Spots and The Orioles (as the Orioles, Lawson was billed as a special guest). Til and Grant alternated leads, and Holmes sang bass. They recorded briefly in 1977. George Holmes can refer to: George M. Holmes, a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly George Holmes, Professor of Medieval History Emeritus at the University of Oxford This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ...

In 1977, Til formed the sixth Orioles group with former members: Diz Russell and Jerry Holeman from the second group, and Billy Taylor from the third group. The group also sometimes featured Eddie Palmer. This group was together in 1981, when Til passed away from a heart attack. He was 56. 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The group continued, and now features Russell, Reese Palmer, Skip Mahoney, Larry Jordan, who also tours with The Flamingos, and musical director Eddie Jones, who also works with The Cadillacs. The group has also featured George Spann, subbing for Jones. Bobby Thomas started his own Orioles group following Til's death. Johnny Reed played with this group until his death in June of 2005. Larry Jordan is a music video director who is known for directing many music videos and television specials/DVDS of Mariah Carey. ... The Flamingos were a doo wop group, popular in the mid to late 1950s. ... There are several noteworthy people named Eddie Jones: Eddie Jones, a basketball player. ... The Cadillacs were an American rock-and-roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York; active from 1953 to 1962. ... June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Orioles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Both groups were featured in the PBS special Doo Wop 51 in 2000, with the groups alternating verses on "Crying in the Chapel" (with Bobby Thomas and Larry Jordan on lead). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, showing Lake Erie in the background The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and institution in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated, as the name suggests, to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

External links

• Biography of the Orioles