Description: Otis Williams and the Charms were an American doo-wop vocal group in the 1950s, who were originally billed as The Charms.[1] Williams is not related to Otis Williams of The Temptations. Career Otis Williams (born June 2, 1936, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States) attended Withrow High School in Cincinnati, and in 1952 joined an existing singing group in the school when one of its members was sick. The other original members were Bob Smith (tenor) (later replaced by Donald Peak), Rolland Bradley (tenor), Joe Penn (baritone/tenor), and Richard Parker (bass; December 31, 1936 – September 24, 2018).[2] The group, which Williams named The Charms, performed "Rags to Riches" in the Withrow Minstrels in May 1954,[3] where they were seen in the opening show by Syd Nathan of King Records. Nathan only wanted to sign Williams, but Williams insisted on taking the rest of the group along. They signed immediately to a subsidiary label, Rockin' Records, based in Florida and owned by Henry Stone (later of TK Records), with Williams giving up a sports career to pursue singing instead. As a condition of their signing, Nathan required that The Charms pull out of The Minstrels, and so they did not appear in the subsequent five performances of the 1954 production.[4] The Charms' first record in June 1953, "Heaven Only Knows", was not a hit, and after a couple more releases they moved to another King subsidiary label, De Luxe Records, also run by Stone.[1] They recorded several more times before, in 1954, "Hearts of Stone" gave them their first and biggest hit, reaching No. 1 on the R&B charts for nine weeks at the end of the year.[1] It sold over one million copies, their first recording to do so, and was awarded a gold disc.[5] It also reached No. 15 on the pop chart, with a cover version by the Fontane Sisters reaching No. 1. The group had further R&B chart success with "Ling, Ting, Tong" and "Two Hearts", and they toured with The Clovers, Big Joe Turner and others.[1] Another song recorded in 1955, written by Rudy Toombs, was "Gum Drop," a single issued on DeLuxe 6090 and labeled by Otis William and the Charms. It was very popular and covered by the Crew Cuts. Later pressings of this song, probably late 1955 listed the performance by Otis Williams and his "New Group." This change happened when, in late 1955, Stone persuaded the other members of the group that they could succeed without Williams, and they left to join Stone's new Chart label. After a court battle, Williams continued recording for DeLuxe, credited as Otis Williams and His Charms, and had another big hit in 1956 with "Ivory Tower" (No. 5 R&B, No. 11 Pop).[1] Williams continued to record for DeLuxe in the late 1950s, but with less success.[1] He also co-produced and arranged Hank Ballard's original version of "The Twist", and helped arrange Little Willie John's "Fever". Peak, Bradley, Penn, and Parker, the Chart Records Charms, had their last recordings released in 1956. These recordings were, however, re-releases of older recordings that featured Otis Williams. The group made no other recordings.[1] Williams was drafted in 1960, and recorded sporadically as his army leave permitted. This also marked the breakup of his Charms.[1] He was discharged in 1962 and recorded solo for another year, before retiring in 1963. He returned in 1965, recording soul music for the Okeh label.[1] He took a further break, becoming a barber, and later relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where he met Stop Records producer Pete Drake, who produced some records with his old backing group The Endeavors, then bet him that he could not make a country music album that sells, causing him to record Otis Williams and the Midnight Cowboys in 1971, claiming a fictitious all-black country band that was really some Nashville musicians including Elvis Presley's guitarist Scotty Moore.[6] In the 1990s, Williams returned to group harmony singing, touring internationally with a new Charms group, and, in 2001, being inducted to the United in Group Harmony Association Hall of Fame. Williams performed in Cincinnati with The Coda Band on November 24, 2007.[2] Otis Williams And The Midnight Cowboys – Otis Williams And The Midnight Cowboys Otis Williams And The Midnight Cowboys - Otis Williams And The Midnight Cowboys album cover More images Label:Stop (3) – STLP 1022, Scepter Records – STLP 1022 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo Country:US Released:1971 Genre:Folk, World, & Country Style:Country A1I Wanna Go Country Written-By – Charlie Monk, Jim Owen 2:10 A2Rocky Top Written-By – Felice And Boudeloux Bryant* 2:54 A3For The Good Times Written-By – Kris Kristofferson 3:30 A4Do It To Someone You Love Written-By – Tom T. Hall 2:32 A5Hello Darlin' Written-By – Conway Twitty 2:24 A6The Easy Part's Over Written-By – Rice*, Foster* 2:34 B1Mule Skinner Blues Written-By – George Vaughn, Jimmy Rogers* 2:42 B2Shutters And Boards Written-By – Aubrey Murphy*, Scott Turner 2:24 B3I Knew One Written-By – Jack Clements* 2:16 B4How I Got To Memphis Written-By – Tom T. Hall 2:34 B5Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone Written-By – Dave Kirby*, Glenn Martin 2:06 B6Wonder Could I Live There Anymore Written-By – Bill Rice 2:54 Recorded At – Music City Recorders, Nashville Lacquer Cut At – Monument Recording Studio Distributed By – Scepter Records, Inc. Record Company – Stop Records Inc. Backing Band [Uncredited, Overdubs] – The Endeavors Engineer [Audio], Performer [Uncredited] – Scotty Moore Lacquer Cut By – PR* Performer [Uncredited] – D.J. Fontana Photography By – Dan Quest Studios* Producer, Liner Notes – Pete Drake GOLDMINE GRADING MINT ---- It should appear to be perfect. No scuffs or scratches, blotches or stains, labels or writing, tears or splits. Mint means perfect. NEAR MINT ---- Otherwise mint but has one or two tiny inconsequential flaws that do not affect play. Covers should be close to perfect with minor signs of wear or age just becoming evident: slight ring-wear, minor denting to a corner, or writing on the cover should all be noted properly. VERY GOOD PLUS ---- The record has been handled and played infrequently or very carefully. Not too far from perfect. On a disc, there may be light paper scuffs from sliding in and out of a sleeve or the vinyl or some of the original luster may be lost. A slight scratch that did not affect play would be acceptably VG+ for most collectors. VERY GOOD ---- Record displays visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, light surface scratches, groove wear and spindle trails. Some audible surface noise, but should not overwhelm the musical experience. Usually a cover is VG when one or two of these problems are evident: ring wear, seam splits, bent corners, loss of gloss, stains, etc. GOOD ---- Well played with little luster and significant surface noise. Despite defects, record should still play all the way through without skipping. Several cover flaws will be apparent, but should not obliterate the artwork. POOR ---- Any record or cover that does not qualify for the above "Good" grading should be seen as Poor. Several cover flaws.
Price: 13 USD
Location: Saginaw, Michigan
End Time: 2024-10-02T21:42:11.000Z
Shipping Cost: 7 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Artist: Otis Williams And The Midnight Cowboys
Speed: 33RPM
Record Label: Scepter Records – STLP 1022
Release Title: Otis Williams And The Midnight Cowboys
Color: Black
Material: Vinyl
Catalog Number: Scepter Records – STLP 1022
Type: LP
Format: Record
Record Grading: Near Mint (NM or M-)
Sleeve Grading: Very Good (VG)
Release Year: 1971
Record Size: 12"
Style: Cowboy Country, Rockabilly
Genre: Rock 'n' Roll
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Number of Audio Channels: Stereo