Johnny Carter, a member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame with both the Flamingos and the Dells, died of cancer Friday (August 21) at his home in suburban Chicago at the age of 75. Johnny met the other members of the Flamingos (most notably his cousins-by-marriage Jake and Zeke Carey) at Chicago's Jewish Church of God and Saints of Christ, where they were members of the choir. Black Jewish church music uses the minor keys that became prevalent in the Flamingos' music. The group recorded for Chance, Parrot and Checker Records in the Windy City before the Army called Johnny away in 1956. Their biggest hit during that time was "I'll Be Home"-- a #4 pop cover for Pat Boone but #5 on the R&B charts by the Chicago quartet. Upon his return from service, Johnny serendipitously hooked up with the Dells, who were looking for a replacement for Johnny Funches. The group sang backup for many R&B artists, including Dinah Washington (during one period of inactivity for the Dells, Johnny toured as one of Dinah's backup singers, D's Gentlemen). The Dells recorded for Vee-Jay and Chess' Argo and Cadet labels while backing up others like Etta James, Jerry Butler and Barbara Lewis (most notably on "Hello Stranger." Finally, in 1968, the group broke through on their own with "There Is" (#20), leading the way for other hits-- "Stay In My Corner" (#10 pop, #1 R&B-1968) "Oh, What A Night" (#10-1969, though the original version had charted top five R&B in 1956) and "Give Your Baby A Standing Ovation" (#34 pop, #3 R&B-1973). The Flamingos (with Johnny) were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Dells (with Johnny) followed in 2004.My thanks to Ron Smith at oldiesmusic.com for this news story.
