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Gregory
Carroll Tribute
Four Buddies, Orioles, Dappers, Ink Spots
1928 - 2013
John "Greg" Carroll, founding member of the Four Buddies and later
a member of the Orioles (he was on "Crying In The Chapel"),
Dappers and Ink Spots, died January 24, 2013, at the age of 84.
John Wayne "Gregory" Carroll was born
December 19, 1928 in Baltimore, MD. He grew up in northwest Baltimore,
MD, cradle of R&B vocal harmony and home of Sonny Til & the Orioles.
Gregory was cofounder of the Four Buddies, whose "I Will Wait" (Savoy
769) reached #3 on the R&B Charts in 1950. [First presses of the
record briefly listed the artists as "The Four Buds" but this was quickly
changed.] Other members of the group were Leon "Larry" Harrison, Vernon
Palmer and William Carter. Carroll and Harrison had previously sung
with the Metronomes, as group that backed Little Ester as the Beltones on
"Just Can't Get Free" (Savoy 750). Carroll sang second tenor
with the Four Buddies.
The Four Buddies, ca. 1950
Left to right: Larry Harrison, Gregory Carroll
Tommy Carter, Bert Palmer
(Photo courtesy of the Paul Ressler Archives)
Four Buddies' "I Will Wait"
(From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives)
The above 45 is likely a reproduction.
The Classic Urban Harmony Archives contain both 78 RPM copies
of this record listing "The Four Buds" and "The Four Buddies"
(To hear this record click the YouTube below)
"I Will Wait" by the 4 Buddies
The Four Buddies were masters of R&B harmony
vocals and over the next couple years released classics like "Sweet
Slumber," "Heart And Soul," "My Summer's Gone," "Why At A Time Like This,"
"Simply Say Goodbye," "You're Part Of Me," "What's the Matter With Me" and
""My Mother's Eyes". All were on the Savoy label.
The Four Buddies' "Heart And Soul," 1951
(From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives)
The Four Buddies' "What's The Matter With
Me," 1952
(From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives)
The Four Buddies' "My Mothers Eyes," 1953
(From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives)
The Four Buddies' last recording for Savoy
Records had them backing Dolly Cooper, a one time singer with trumpeter
Cootie Williams' band, on "I'd Climb The Highest Mountain".
Dolly Cooper
(Photo courtesy of the Paul Ressler Archives)
In May of 1953, Gregory Carroll left the Four
Buddies to sing with Sonny Til & The Orioles. He replaced George
Nelson, who had left the Orioles. Carroll joined the Orioles just in
time to record one of their biggest hits, "Crying In The Chapel". In
fact his voice is heard singing the bridge on the flip side, "Don't You
Think I Ought To Know". He also sang on the Orioles' recordings of
"Maybe You'll Be There," "Mission Of St. Augustine," "In The Chapel In The
Moonlight," and "Write And Tell Me Why" among others.
The Orioles, 1953
In this photo, Gregory Carroll's face (middle row, second
from left)
has been pasted over George Nelson's face. With the group on the
road so much, they may not have had time to get new photos!
(Photo courtesy of the Paul Ressler Archives)
Gregory Carroll's first record with the
Orioles.
On "Don't You Think I Ought To Know," the flip of
"Crying In The Chapel," Gregory does the bridge or
second lead. Click to listen.
When the original Orioles' group broke up in
1955 Greg Carroll stayed in the music business but didn't record again until
1956, when he formed the Dappers with former Four Buddies' Larry Harrison,
former Raven Leonard Puzey and Jerome Robinson. The Dappers would
record "Unwanted Love" and "That's All That's All That's All" for the
Groove label in 1956. That Dappers group lasted for only one
recording session.
The Dappers on Groove
(From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives)
Click on the YouTube below to hear both sides of the record back-to-back.
A second Dappers group was formed with
Gregory Carroll, Leonard Puzey, Al Showell, Pat Williams and Joy Wright.
The latter two members had previously been with an unrecorded female group
called the Sweethearts. This Dappers group recorded "Bop Bop Bu" for
the Rainbow label.
The Dappers on the Rainbow label
(From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives)
Greg Carroll also recorded a duet with Peggy
Jones (formerly with the Bop Chords) for the RoNan label (1957) and a
solo record ("Stand By Me") for the Epic label in 1960. He also
produced a recording session with Sonny Til.
In the early 1960's, Carroll formed a Gospel
group called the Halos, consisting of himself, Al Showell, Doc Wheller and a
young female lead named Doris Troy. Carroll and Troy wrote "Just One
Look" which Carroll produced for Troy. Picked up by the Atlantic
label in 1963, Doris Troy's "Just One Look" became a huge hit.
Click to hear "Just One Look" by Doris Troy
In subsequent years, Gregory Carroll toured
with later Sonny Til & the Orioles and Jim Nabbie's Ink Spots groups.
He retired to North Carolina where he died on January 24, 2013.
Gregory Carroll (second from left) with Jim
Nabbie's Ink Spots
(Photo courtesy of Greg Centamore)
For a detailed account of all the later Ink Spots groups, see
Greg Centamore's website,
Ink Spots' Family
Tree
If you haven't visited this incredible site yet, you should!
Copyright © Classic Urban Harmony LLC, 2013. All
Rights Reserved.
