Biography
The Dozier Boys occupy a modest place within the broader chronicle of R&B vocal ensembles, yet they formed a vital strand in Chicago’s south-side harmony circuit and sustained a twenty-five-year run that moved from pure swing-era vocal blends into authentic rock-and-roll-era doo wop. Leonard and Phil Chess placed them under contract before the brothers scored their landmark blues successes, and the quartet subsequently cut sides for numerous other significant American imprints. Television appearances punctuated their schedule, and fresh recordings continued to surface between 1948 and 1964.
During that long tenure several sidemen who passed through the group later built major jazz reputations under new identities. While briefly aligned with Okeh, the Doziers collaborated with pianist Fritz Jones, soon to achieve fame as Ahmad Jamal. Another associate, Herman “Sonny” Blount, adopted the name Sun Ra after 1952 and maintained that moniker on disc for nearly four decades. Tenor saxophonist Bill Evans—distinct from the later pianist of the same name—emerged as the renowned Yusef Lateef, and Wes Montgomery also spent time performing alongside the vocalists.
The original lineup—Lucius Teague on lead, Eugene Teague handling baritone, guitar, and arrangements, Cornell Wiley covering first tenor, baritone, and string bass, plus Benny Cotton on bass vocals—began life as the Four Tones, delivering gospel material at neighborhood taverns and fronting a radio program in Hammond, Indiana. Instruction in pop repertoire arrived after the Four Tones encountered the Four Vagabonds and absorbed pointers from their lead singer, John Jordan. Lucius Teague departed to pursue dance and acting studies, ultimately serving thirty years in the army; lead tenor and drummer Bill Minor stepped in. Financial backing and moral support came from Wiley’s stepfather, druggist Cyrus Dozier, prompting the ensemble’s name change in his honor. Repeated victories on Chicago amateur showcases eventually barred them from further competition. From late 1947 through December 1948 the eleven-piece Dukes of Swing led by Eugene Wright employed the Dozier Boys as official vocalists, with Blount serving as music director, pianist, and arranger. Independent bookings at venues such as the Beige Room in the Pershing Hotel kept the group steadily employed from autumn 1948 into mid-1950.
Willie Dixon, acquainted with the Wiley family, introduced the singers to Leonard Chess, then managing partner at Aristocrat Records; Phil Chess still operated the Macomba Lounge and had not yet entered label affairs. By the early 1950s Chess had already added local talent such as Muddy Waters, who was establishing himself as Chicago’s premier blues attraction. The Dozier Boys’ initial Aristocrat 78s from 1948 featured the vocalists playing their own instruments, augmented by Blount on piano; many issues appeared under the billing “Andrew Tibbs and the Dozier Boys” with Sax Mallard’s Combo, Tibbs and Cotton alternating leads. Eugene Wright exited around Christmas 1948 to join Count Basie.
The remaining members stayed with Aristocrat while headlining the Beige Room for more than a year after the Dukes of Swing disbanded. On 25 June 1950 they took part in the “Session in Progress: Ragtime & Swing” concert, Wright returning from Basie’s ranks for the occasion. They also became weekly fixtures on the WBKB program “Spotlight Talent,” Chicago’s first all-Black television show, hosted by Al “Old Swingmaster” Benson; the series lasted only one season.
Mid-1950 brought the distinction of becoming the first vocal group issued on the newly launched Chess label. Minor and Cotton shared lead duties on those dates. Local engagements continued at Joe’s Rendezvous and the midnight “4 Star Frolics” at the 4 Star Theater. After Cotton’s draft notice, Mifflin “Pee Wee” Branford arrived on lead tenor and guitar; he had previously worked with the Cats and the Fiddle from 1942, replacing Tiny Grimes, until 1948.
Chess reissued the Doziers’ “All I Need Is You” in October 1950, hoping the surge of vocal-group hits sparked by the Orioles and the Clovers would revive interest, yet sales remained flat. With the Chess brothers occupied by their Checker subsidiary, the quartet moved in 1951 to Okeh, the Columbia subsidiary seeking to strengthen its R&B roster. A&R executive Ed Kissak deemed the sound excessively “white,” and no masters were released.
Determined to overhaul their approach, the Doziers signed with Chicago’s United Records in August 1952. No new sides appeared until 1953, by which time Cotton had returned from military service and the quartet had grown into a quintet billed as the Five Dozier Boys. They toured with the “Hollywood in Harlem Revue” featuring Pigmeat Markham and Timmie Rogers. Following a family bereavement, Branford temporarily withdrew; Wes Montgomery filled the chair for several weeks before Branford’s return.
First prize on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts after performing “I Ain’t Got Nobody” came in 1955. An ABC-Paramount session followed, though nothing was issued. Branford exited in 1956 to join 3 Sharps and a Flat; non-singing pianist Truxton Kingslow replaced him, only to depart months later after marrying and settling in Minnesota. Nineteen-year-old vibes player Joe Boyce succeeded him. Around the same period Minor married and left; seventeen-year-old high tenor and tenor saxophonist Frank “Red” Bell took his place. Cotton thereafter assumed drumming duties.
For roughly six months the group performed as the Bel-Aires, a name that never appeared on record. A 1957 session for Fraternity yielded masters that remained unissued. Boyce returned to college in 1958; Pete Hatch and later pianist Bobby Blevins rotated through the chair. Arrangements, frequently revised amid personnel shifts, were shared between Eugene Teague and the Four Freshmen’s Dave Barber.
A subsequent date for Apt, an ABC-Paramount subsidiary, was overshadowed when Eugene Teague suffered fatal kidney failure onstage. The ensemble lay dormant for six months while Wiley assumed leadership, rehearsed replacements, and managed bookings. Blevins came and went; on his absences the Doziers sometimes performed as a trio or substituted guitarist Ben White. By 1960 they had moved to Janie Records, remaining until 1964 and adopting alternate monikers such as the Moving Times. Branford later fell two stories, suffered paralysis, and took his own life.
In 1967 the U.S. Army recruited the group for USO work in Vietnam. Bell and Blevins declined, so Clifford Scott (tenor sax, trumpet, piano) and Jerry Hubbard (guitar, tenor vocals) joined. The Vietnamese government later hired the Moving Times to train local entertainers; the members resided for a time in Da Nang.
Returning stateside in 1970, they briefly resumed the Dozier Boys identity before disbanding after twenty-four years. Lucius Teague, Wes Montgomery (1925–1968), Pete Hatch, and Truxton Kingslow have since passed away. Cornell Wiley has performed with the Bob Allen Trio since 1973 and teaches string bass at Dennison University. Benny Cotton has worked with the polka ensemble the Impromptus. As of 2001 the surviving members included Bobby Blevins, Bill Minor, Jerry Hubbard, and Joe Boyce, senior editor at the Wall Street Journal.
During that long tenure several sidemen who passed through the group later built major jazz reputations under new identities. While briefly aligned with Okeh, the Doziers collaborated with pianist Fritz Jones, soon to achieve fame as Ahmad Jamal. Another associate, Herman “Sonny” Blount, adopted the name Sun Ra after 1952 and maintained that moniker on disc for nearly four decades. Tenor saxophonist Bill Evans—distinct from the later pianist of the same name—emerged as the renowned Yusef Lateef, and Wes Montgomery also spent time performing alongside the vocalists.
The original lineup—Lucius Teague on lead, Eugene Teague handling baritone, guitar, and arrangements, Cornell Wiley covering first tenor, baritone, and string bass, plus Benny Cotton on bass vocals—began life as the Four Tones, delivering gospel material at neighborhood taverns and fronting a radio program in Hammond, Indiana. Instruction in pop repertoire arrived after the Four Tones encountered the Four Vagabonds and absorbed pointers from their lead singer, John Jordan. Lucius Teague departed to pursue dance and acting studies, ultimately serving thirty years in the army; lead tenor and drummer Bill Minor stepped in. Financial backing and moral support came from Wiley’s stepfather, druggist Cyrus Dozier, prompting the ensemble’s name change in his honor. Repeated victories on Chicago amateur showcases eventually barred them from further competition. From late 1947 through December 1948 the eleven-piece Dukes of Swing led by Eugene Wright employed the Dozier Boys as official vocalists, with Blount serving as music director, pianist, and arranger. Independent bookings at venues such as the Beige Room in the Pershing Hotel kept the group steadily employed from autumn 1948 into mid-1950.
Willie Dixon, acquainted with the Wiley family, introduced the singers to Leonard Chess, then managing partner at Aristocrat Records; Phil Chess still operated the Macomba Lounge and had not yet entered label affairs. By the early 1950s Chess had already added local talent such as Muddy Waters, who was establishing himself as Chicago’s premier blues attraction. The Dozier Boys’ initial Aristocrat 78s from 1948 featured the vocalists playing their own instruments, augmented by Blount on piano; many issues appeared under the billing “Andrew Tibbs and the Dozier Boys” with Sax Mallard’s Combo, Tibbs and Cotton alternating leads. Eugene Wright exited around Christmas 1948 to join Count Basie.
The remaining members stayed with Aristocrat while headlining the Beige Room for more than a year after the Dukes of Swing disbanded. On 25 June 1950 they took part in the “Session in Progress: Ragtime & Swing” concert, Wright returning from Basie’s ranks for the occasion. They also became weekly fixtures on the WBKB program “Spotlight Talent,” Chicago’s first all-Black television show, hosted by Al “Old Swingmaster” Benson; the series lasted only one season.
Mid-1950 brought the distinction of becoming the first vocal group issued on the newly launched Chess label. Minor and Cotton shared lead duties on those dates. Local engagements continued at Joe’s Rendezvous and the midnight “4 Star Frolics” at the 4 Star Theater. After Cotton’s draft notice, Mifflin “Pee Wee” Branford arrived on lead tenor and guitar; he had previously worked with the Cats and the Fiddle from 1942, replacing Tiny Grimes, until 1948.
Chess reissued the Doziers’ “All I Need Is You” in October 1950, hoping the surge of vocal-group hits sparked by the Orioles and the Clovers would revive interest, yet sales remained flat. With the Chess brothers occupied by their Checker subsidiary, the quartet moved in 1951 to Okeh, the Columbia subsidiary seeking to strengthen its R&B roster. A&R executive Ed Kissak deemed the sound excessively “white,” and no masters were released.
Determined to overhaul their approach, the Doziers signed with Chicago’s United Records in August 1952. No new sides appeared until 1953, by which time Cotton had returned from military service and the quartet had grown into a quintet billed as the Five Dozier Boys. They toured with the “Hollywood in Harlem Revue” featuring Pigmeat Markham and Timmie Rogers. Following a family bereavement, Branford temporarily withdrew; Wes Montgomery filled the chair for several weeks before Branford’s return.
First prize on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts after performing “I Ain’t Got Nobody” came in 1955. An ABC-Paramount session followed, though nothing was issued. Branford exited in 1956 to join 3 Sharps and a Flat; non-singing pianist Truxton Kingslow replaced him, only to depart months later after marrying and settling in Minnesota. Nineteen-year-old vibes player Joe Boyce succeeded him. Around the same period Minor married and left; seventeen-year-old high tenor and tenor saxophonist Frank “Red” Bell took his place. Cotton thereafter assumed drumming duties.
For roughly six months the group performed as the Bel-Aires, a name that never appeared on record. A 1957 session for Fraternity yielded masters that remained unissued. Boyce returned to college in 1958; Pete Hatch and later pianist Bobby Blevins rotated through the chair. Arrangements, frequently revised amid personnel shifts, were shared between Eugene Teague and the Four Freshmen’s Dave Barber.
A subsequent date for Apt, an ABC-Paramount subsidiary, was overshadowed when Eugene Teague suffered fatal kidney failure onstage. The ensemble lay dormant for six months while Wiley assumed leadership, rehearsed replacements, and managed bookings. Blevins came and went; on his absences the Doziers sometimes performed as a trio or substituted guitarist Ben White. By 1960 they had moved to Janie Records, remaining until 1964 and adopting alternate monikers such as the Moving Times. Branford later fell two stories, suffered paralysis, and took his own life.
In 1967 the U.S. Army recruited the group for USO work in Vietnam. Bell and Blevins declined, so Clifford Scott (tenor sax, trumpet, piano) and Jerry Hubbard (guitar, tenor vocals) joined. The Vietnamese government later hired the Moving Times to train local entertainers; the members resided for a time in Da Nang.
Returning stateside in 1970, they briefly resumed the Dozier Boys identity before disbanding after twenty-four years. Lucius Teague, Wes Montgomery (1925–1968), Pete Hatch, and Truxton Kingslow have since passed away. Cornell Wiley has performed with the Bob Allen Trio since 1973 and teaches string bass at Dennison University. Benny Cotton has worked with the polka ensemble the Impromptus. As of 2001 the surviving members included Bobby Blevins, Bill Minor, Jerry Hubbard, and Joe Boyce, senior editor at the Wall Street Journal.