Biography
Remembered with affection for their number one hit “Easier Said Than Done” from 1963, the R&B vocal quintet the Essex came together two years earlier when U.S. Marines Walter Vickers and Rodney Taylor, then stationed in Japan, decided to form a group. After the pair returned to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, they added fellow service members Anita Humes, Billie Hill, and Rudolph Johnson; the new lineup cut a demo that secured a deal with Roulette Records. Anchored by Humes’s characteristically bold lead voice, “Easier Said Than Done” topped the U.S. pop charts in June 1963, yet the Essex struggled to promote the single because military obligations dictated when and where they could perform. Johnson’s later transfer to a base in Okinawa, Japan, created additional scheduling problems, but the follow-up “A Walkin’ Miracle” still climbed to number 12. Once their third release, “She’s Got Everything,” failed to chart, the group’s momentum vanished; after issuing several overlooked singles such as “Curfew Lover,” the Essex disbanded. Humes subsequently launched a solo career.