Formed in Los Angeles during 1945 by guitarist Ormand Wilson, this quartet drew its name from Steve Gibson’s Basin Street Boys as a gesture of respect, since Gibson had once instructed Wilson on the instrument. Joining Wilson were Gene Price, Reuben Saunders and Arthur Rainwater, who also performed as Artie Waters; together they adopted a vocal approach aligned with the rising wave of rhythm-and-blues. After signing with the Los Angeles-based Exclusive Records, the group first appeared on disc behind Judy Carroll on “I Want To Love And Be Loved.” Their own initial single, “Jumpin’ At The Jubilee,” generated regional interest, yet it was the ballad “I Sold My Heart To The Junkman”—later carried into the charts by Patti LaBelle And The Blue Belles—that secured their reputation. Bolstered by extensive airplay, the Basin Street Boys embarked on a national tour in 1947 that included an engagement at New York’s Apollo Theatre. Subsequent releases such as “This Is The End Of A Dream,” “I’m Gonna Write A Letter To My Baby,” “I’ll Get Along Somehow” and “Summertime Gal” failed to register nationally, although the act retained a loyal local audience. In 1948 the ensemble became Ormand Wilson And The Basin Street Boys and switched to Mercury Records, but continued commercial disappointment prompted the group’s dissolution three years later.
