Pookie Hudson, lead singer of The Spaniels has passed away. My thanks to listener Rick Canode in Madison, Wisconsin for this item.The last couple of years have not been good ones for fans of Doo Wop music. We've lost some of its founding fathers in recent years. On January 16, we lost another with the passing of Thornton James "Pookie" Hudson of the Spaniels. Pookie and the group were the first artist to be recorded and released on the then new Vee-Jay label back in 1953 with "Baby It's You". Their classic "Goodnite Sweetheart, Goodnite" followed a few months later. The group formed in Gary, Indiana in 1952. Other Spaniels classics include, "You Gave Me Peace Of Mind", "People Will Say We're In Love", "You Painted Pictures", "Everybody's Laughing" and their up-tempo rendition of "Stormy Weather".
Pookie lived just north of Washington DC. He was a tall man and had an incredible presence. He had been sick with cancer for a long time, but , he had beaten the horrible disease. A few months ago, the cancer came back and attacked his liver.
Pookie was born June 11, 1934, and passed away on January 16, 2007. May his music, memory and legend live on.
