The Cues : By Any Other Name...©JCMarion
This group was begun in 1954 at Atlantic Records with
the purpose of being an in-house vocal group to do backup work for the roster
of Rhythm & Blues performers already on the label such as Ray Charles, LaVern
Baker, Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Ivory Joe Hunter, and Carmen Taylor. The acknowledged
mastermind behind this plan was Atlantic's arranger and session man Jessie Stone.
Two members of the recently disbanded group The Blenders, Abel DeCosta and Ollie
Jones, were joined by Eddie Barnes and Robie Kirk (also known under the name
Winfield Scott on writer's credits). This idea was unique in the independent
label dominated world of early fifties R & B music. It was another example
of how Atlantic Records was so far ahead in technical and professional priorities
over most of their competition. The Cues may have been the identifiable name
by which they would later try and make their mark as a recording group, but
in those days at Atlantic Records in the formidable fifties they went by many
different identities.
This great blend of voices were known by many aliases. With Ruth Brown they
were The Rhythmakers. Behind Ivory Joe Hunter they became The IvoryTones. On
recordings by Joe Turner, The Boss Of The Blues, they were known as The Blues
Kings. When Carmen Taylor vocalized her backing group was The Boleros. And -
LaVern Baker was accompanied by The Gliders. I remember wondering back in 1954
who were those great voices behind LaVern in the great R & B ballad "Tomorrow
Night" and did they record on their own ? Many years later I had the answer
that they were this great vocal group known as The Cues.
In late 1954 they followed Jessie Stone for a quick stop at the Messner Brothers
R & B complex - Aladdin Records and their subsidiaries. The Cues recorded
on their own for the Lamp label on #8007 - "Scoochie Schoochie" and
"Forty 'Leven Dozen Ways" which sunk without a trace. The Cues however
continued to prosper behind the scenes. Interestingly enough, The Cues were
reportedly the backup group on Georgia Gibbs note by note cover of LaVern baker's
version of "Tweedle Dee" which should be some sort of record in American
musical history, being participants to two different versions of the same song
at the same time ! The group continued to be in demand as a backup group for
solo performers looking for the group sound. Some examples are the Cues doing
the background for Roy Hamilton's "Don't Let Go" (the first rock hit
recorded in stereo), and of Nat "King" Coles's many recordings for
Capitol in the fifties, The Cues along (with the Four Knights), were an important
ingredient. There is also news that The Cues recorded for RCA as The Four Students
releasing one record on the Groove label (#0110) with a song called "So
Near And Yet So Far". In mid 1955 The Cues turned up on Jubilee Records
with a cover of The Platters "Only You" and "I Fell For Your
Loving" on #5201.
By this time in late 1955 the group had acquired a competent lead singer in
Jimmy Breedlove, and could hold their own in song presentation and were given
the chance to record for a major label under their own name. The first Capitol
release by The Cues was #3245 "Burn That Candle" (the flip "Oh
My Darlin'") and it immediately took off. Unfortunately for The Cues, Bill
Haley & His Comets heard their version and Decca soon had them record a
cover on it and became a national hit for Haley freezing out The Cues from national
recognition. The group becomes part of Buck Ram's traveling "Happy Music"
tour beginning in Canada. Other members of the tour include Shirley Gunter,
The Flairs, Dolly Cooper, and Joe Houston and his band.The next four releases
for Capitol all went nowhere as they couldn't seem to break out of the bind
that prevented the group from national exposure. The tunes were "You're
On My Mind" on #3310, "Destination 2100 and 65" on #3400, "Girl
I Love" on #3483, and "Prince Or Pauper" on #3582.
By mid 1957, Breedlove had departed and The Cues released
a record on the Capitol subsidiary label Prep #104 called "Crazy Crazy
Party". This record got considerable airplay helped along by Alan Freed
in New York and had some success on the sales charts. One last record appeared
by the group on a dimly remembered label called Festival, in early 1960 of a
version of the tune "Old man River". Subsequent discographers have
claimed that the record was actually a reworking of the song by a reconstituted
version of The Ravens featuring Jimmy Ricks, while others claim that it is just
The Cues doing a takeoff on The Ravens treatment of the tune.
Even though The Cues met very limited success under their own name, they continued
to play a big part in the sound of R & B music as a result of work with
some of the top names on Atlantic Records. Further work with LaVern Baker, Joe
Turner, Ivory Joe Hunter, and Chuck Willis, were some of the artists who benefited
from the background vocalizing of The Cues.Because of this history, this most
unique vocal group played a big part in the spread of the popularity of the
music they helped create, even though they went by other identities. So it is
left to the remaining fans of the music to remember The Cues - by any other
name.