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One of the leading R&B vocal groups on Vee Jay, the El Dorados had a
relatively short career with their first lineup, during which they scored a
massive crossover hit, 1955's "At My Front Door" (number 17 on
the pop charts and number one R&B, where it remained for 18 weeks).
They managed only one other charting record — 1956's "I'll Be Forever
Loving You" — before their initial breakup in 1959. Subsequent lineups
and name changes (and alterations) brought no further success, but they
continued performing well into the '80s.
The original group featured five members — Pirkle Lee Moses Jr. (lead), Louis Bradley (tenor), Jewel Jones (second tenor and baritone), James Maddox (baritone and bass), and Robert Glasper
(bass) — when they formed in the Englewood section of Chicago's south side
in 1952 while still attending Englewood High School (the same school that
the Moroccos
attended). They were calling themselves the Five Stars. Johnny Moore, their high
school custodian, liked the group so much and thought they showed so much
promise, that he became their manager.
In 1954, just after graduation, Moses and Glasper took advantage of the Air Force's 90-day active
duty program, but while Moses returned, Glasper
remained with the Air Force. By then, Arthur Bassett (tenor) had temporarily
replaced Moses, and Richard Nickens
came in for Glasper. The Five Stars were now six, and a name
change was inevitable. They were about to become the Cardinals (apparently, they had no
knowledge of Atlantic's New York-based group) when the craze for naming
your group after a popular car model hit, and since they couldn't call
themselves the Cadillacs,
the settled for Cadillacs' luxurious two-door
model, the El Dorado, for inspiration. The El Dorados
came to the attention of local Chicago WWCA
disc jockey Al Benson, who witnessed first-hand how their gorgeous blend of
harmonies and talent made for an exciting new group that he could support.
They had already won first prize at a local talent show at the Club De
Lisa. Benson arranged for the group to audition at a contest hosted by Vee Jay Records at the Park City Skating
Rink. Amateur groups were challenged to compete against Vee
Jay's Spaniels. The El Dorados
rose to the challenge, winning the contest and a recording contract with
the label.
The El Dorados' first
single, a bluesy ballad called "My Loving Baby," was issued in
September 1954, and was a popular regional seller. Their next effort had
the group backing up Hazel McCollum on "Annie's
Answer," which was Vee Jay's contribution to
the ongoing "Annie" saga begun by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters.
Perhaps tiring of all the Annie nonsense, Arthur Bassett ankled
the El Dorados (he also joined the Air Force),
and the sextet slimmed down to a quintet. During the third week of
September 1955, Vee Jay released the group's
"At My Front Door," which stormed the Billboard R&B charts on
September 24th and the Top 100 on October 15th. The song featured Al Duricati's pounding drum rhythm and a rousing sax solo. The
so-called "baby talk" pre-finale by Moses Jr. made the record
soar even further, and the lyrics about that "crazy little mama"
became as legendary as the Annie saga. By the end of the year it had
climbed to number 17 on the pop charts and number one R&B, where it
remained for 18 weeks. (Pat Boone later did a cover version that
charted at number seven pop).
Their follow-up, "I'll Be Forever Lovin' You" (originally recorded by the Rip Chords but never released), was
issued during the second week of December. It was a rocker that exuded
jazz, pop, and R&B overtones, but although it made it to number eight
R&B in February 1956, it never charted on the pop lists. Soon after the
release of the follow-up, Nickens left and the El
Dorados soldiered on as a quartet. A few
additional singles performed well in certain U.S. cities,
but didn't measure up to their prior hit status. Their next single,
"Tears on My Pillow" (a different song from Little Anthony and the Imperials' hit
record), was the last by all of the original El Dorados;
soon after its release, the group and Pirkle
Moses Jr. separated over a disagreement on new management.
Moses Jr. soon joined another Vee
Jay act, the Kool Gents,
who had been left without a singer when their frontman,
Dee Clark, departed for a solo career. John McCall (tenor), Douglas Brown (second tenor), Teddy Long (second tenor and baritone),
and Johnny Carter (bass) of the Kool Gents
joined with Moses Jr., to become the New El Dorados.
They released two singles in 1958 for Vee Jay,
but when neither sold, they eventually left Vee
Jay in a money dispute and subsequently disbanded altogether.
During this same time, the remaining El Dorados — Jones, Bradley, and Maddox — joined up with
new lead singer Marvin Smith. Smith had moved with his
family to the west side of Chicago in the late '40s, where he attended
Crane High and sang on street corners and in church choirs, before joining
the group as their new lead vocalist. To avoid legal problems with Vee Jay, the group's name was changed to Those Four El Dorados
for 1958's "A Lonely Boy," Academy Records of Chicago. Jewel
Jones' name on the label was spelled J-u-e-l-l (each member's name was
listed). Those Four El Dorados' later traveled to
the West Coast, and connected with a former NBA basketball star Don
Barksdale, who had formed his Rhythm Record Company in Oakland, CA. The group
changed monikers again, this time calling themselves the Tempos, but the group faltered again,
and returned to Chicago,
splitting up in 1961.
Marvin Smith went on to join the Artistics on
Okeh and Brunswick Records as the lead for such
R&B charters as "I'm Gonna Miss
You" (number 55 Top 100, number nine R&B, 1966) and "Girl I
Need You" (number 69 Top 100, number 26 R&B, 1967). Johnny Carter, meanwhile, tried to keep
the name alive by forming yet another new New El Dorados in
late 1959, with John McCall, Danny Edwards, and Eugene Huff (formerly of the Valquins).
This group lasted until 1965. Carter tried again in 1971, hooking up with
Huff, Spence Goulsby, Jr.,
and Lee Toussaint on lead for two sides on
Paula, but that group was gone by the early '80s. Moses Jr. recorded with
an unknown group as the Squires in 1963 on Boss ("It's
Time") and then did a solo effort titled The Docks. In 1965, Moses Jr., Melvin Morrow, and George Prager
(the latter two late of the Moroccos) came
together as the Major Minors. In 1969, this group once
again became the El Dorados, doing a single for
Torrid Records. Pirkle Moses Jr. then quit for
almost a decade but returned with yet another El Dorados-lineup
with tenor Norman Palm (from the Pastels on United), second tenor Billy Henderson, George Prayer (baritone), and Anthony Charles (bass). Around 1985 Henderson left
and Anthony Charles passed away. Eugene Huff (of Carter's El Dorados) and Larry Johnson (Moroccos) took
their places and the group recorded a ballad for Delano Records
in 1987. In effect, that last El Dorados
recording group contained members formerly in four Chicago-area groups: the Palms, the Moroccos, the Kool Gents,
and the El Dorados. On December 26, 2000, the
original El Dorados lead vocalist Pirkle Lee Moses, Jr. passed away.
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