The Dells singer
Marvin Junior died on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 from kidney and heart problems at his home in Harvey, Illinois,
the New York Times
reports. He was 77. Junior, who was once called "Iron Throat" by the
Temptations'
David Ruffin, helped form the doo-wop and R&B group as a
high-schooler in Harvey in the early Fifties. His voice was massive and
versatile, and held up strongly over his 57 years of performing.
Junior co-wrote the Dells' first hit, "
Oh, What a Nite," with
then-bandmate
Johnny Funches. The 1956 track was reworked and released
in 1969 as "
Oh, What a Night," landing the Number One spot on the
Billboard
R&B chart and in the Top Ten on the pop chart. The group scored
plenty of hits after that, including "
Stay in My Corner," "
I Touched a
Dream," "Give
Your Baby a Standing Ovation” and "
The Love We Had (Stays
on My Mind)."
Junior was born on January 31st, 1936, in Harold, Arkansas, though
his family moved to Illinois when he was young. He is survived by his
wife, Ruby; sons Marvin Jr., Shawn and Todd; daughters Faye Jones,
Latanya and Toya Junior; brother Jack Dabon and 10 grandchildren.
The Dells reached a new generation in 1991 when they served as consultants and an inspiration behind
Robert Townsend's film The Five Heartbeats,
which followed a fictitious singing group. The group was elected to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, but haven't performed since the
2009 death of bandmate
Johnny Carter.
