The Flamingos

Recognized across the board among history’s premier and most impactful pop vocal ensembles, the Flamingos established doo wop at its peak of refinement and polish, their peerless vocal blends leaving a deep imprint on the Motown aesthetic of the 1960s and on Philly soul during the decade that followed. The group’s origins trace to Baltimore, where cousins Jake and Zeke Carey shared the same neighborhood as the Orioles’ Sonny Til. In 1950 the pair moved to Chicago and joined the choir of the Jewish Church of God and Saints of Christ Congregation on the south side. Through choir activities they encountered Paul Wilson and Johnny Carter, and the four began performing together in the same local areas that would later host another rising soul figure, Sam Cooke. Once lead singer Earl Lewis joined, the quartet’s roster was set, with Carter and Zeke Carey handling tenor parts, Wilson taking baritone, and Jake Carey anchoring the bass. Initially billed as the Swallows, the singers soon learned of another group using that name in Baltimore and adopted Carter’s suggestion of el Flamingos, which quickly evolved into the Five Flamingos before settling on simply the Flamingos.

During a picnic performance in autumn 1952 the Flamingos struck up a friendship with Fletcher Witherspoon, Jr., who secured them a steady engagement at his friend’s club, Martin’s Corner. There they caught the attention of Ralph Leon, head of the King Booking Agency, who became their manager. At Leon’s recommendation the group replaced the increasingly unreliable Lewis with lead singer Sollie McElroy. While Lewis later joined the Five Echoes, the revised Flamingos cut their first demo session for Chicago’s United Records late in 1952. The label declined the material, judging the group’s immaculate harmonies too pristine and exact. Early in 1953 the Flamingos instead joined the Chance roster and issued their debut single, “Someday, Someway,” in March. The record earned strong regional airplay across much of the Midwest, prompting Chance to release the quintet’s second effort that summer—a ballad-styled revival of Sammy Kaye’s 1947 hit “That’s My Desire.” The Carter original “Golden Teardrops” became the third single and the group’s first undisputed classic. A radiantly beautiful ballad that showcased silken harmonies behind McElroy’s moving lead, the track failed commercially yet turned into a cult favorite, viewed by many admirers as the Flamingos’ artistic summit.

As touring schedules grew to include opening slots for jazz icons such as Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton plus appearances at storied rooms like Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, the Flamingos not only perfected a series of meticulously choreographed dance routines later copied by the Temptations and similar acts, but over time they also sharpened their instrumental abilities, emerging as one of the earliest self-contained R&B units. Chance, however, repeatedly failed to market the quintet’s releases effectively, and after their sixth single, “Blues in a Letter,” the Flamingos left the label late in 1954, moving to Chicago DJ Al Benson’s Parrot imprint to issue the ballad “Dream of a Lifetime” early the next year. McElroy departed soon afterward, resurfacing with the Moroccos. The remaining foursome recruited former Velvetones lead Nate Nelson as his replacement, and Nelson and Carter shared lead duties on the Flamingos’ final Parrot release, “Ko Ko Mo.” Following Ralph Leon’s death the group secured a deal with the Chess subsidiary Checker, releasing “When” in spring 1955. The ethereal ballad “Please Come Back Home” closed the year but did not deliver the crossover breakthrough they sought.

The Flamingos’ prospects shifted sharply with the January 1956 release of the ballad “I’ll Be Home.” Penned by radio personality Fats Washington and spotlighting a tender Nelson vocal, the single climbed to number five on the Billboard R&B chart, though crooner Pat Boone’s bland cover version largely blocked its pop-radio chances. That spring the group returned with the outstanding “A Kiss from Your Lips,” which rose to number 12 R&B. They also made their film debut in Alan Freed’s Rock, Rock, Rock and joined the first racially integrated rock & roll package tour alongside Bill Haley & the Comets and the Platters. After issuing “Would I Be Crying” late in 1956, Zeke Carey and Johnny Carter were called into military service, prompting the remaining trio of Jake Carey, Paul Wilson, and Nate Nelson to add former Five Echoes member Tommy Hunt and former Whispers lead Terry Johnson, who had grown up with the Careys in Baltimore. This lineup recorded 1957’s “The Ladder of Love” for Decca, but existing Checker obligations kept the record from charting, leaving the Flamingos inactive until Carey completed his service in late summer 1958. Carter elected not to rejoin, instead linking with the Dells and remaining with them for nearly fifty years.

After extricating themselves from Checker, the Flamingos moved to New York City and signed with George Goldner’s End label late in 1958; the doo-wop classic “Lovers Never Say Goodbye” reached number 25 R&B and number 52 pop the following spring. Despite that success, Goldner steered the group away from original material toward standards. While follow-ups such as “But Not for Me” drew scant notice, the Flamingos’ interpretation of the 1934 Eddy Duchin favorite “I Only Have Eyes for You” became their biggest hit and a doo-wop landmark, its heavenly harmonies and Nelson’s velvet-smooth lead sending the song to number three R&B and number 11 pop. The group soon appeared in another Freed film, Go Johnny Go!, then launched a highly productive recording stretch with “Love Walked In,” which peaked at number 88 pop in summer 1959. “I Was Such a Fool” reached number 71 pop, and the year closed with Flamingo Serenade, a refined set of pop standards by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and others.

In 1960 the Flamingos issued six singles on End, among them the R&B Top 40 hit “Mio Amore” and “Your Other Love,” which climbed the middle rungs of the pop Hot 100. At the start of 1961 Hunt exited to pursue a solo career; after signing with Scepter he scored several modest chart entries, most notably “Human.” The remaining quintet returned to the charts mid-year with “Time Was,” yet Hunt’s departure sparked internal friction. The Carey cousins began accusing Terry Johnson—who had long served as the group’s chief producer and arranger—of nursing solo ambitions, and amid waning commercial results from singles such as 1962’s “For All We Know” and “Flame of Love,” Johnson indeed left at year’s end, soon followed by Nate Nelson. The pair formed a new act to tour as the Modern Flamingos, while the remaining trio continued with a rotating cast of supporting members, departing End and appearing briefly on Roulette with the one-off “Ol’ Man River.” When the Modern Flamingos signed to Atco, the label required a name change to the Starglows, but Johnson and Nelson’s shared leads made their 1964 single “Let’s Be Lovers” sound indistinguishable from the Flamingos. George Goldner protested, prompting Atco to halt promotion and end the Starglows’ contract.

In 1964 Paul Wilson departed the original Flamingos, leaving only Jake and Zeke Carey from the founding roster. Meanwhile Johnson and Nelson kept touring as the Modern Flamingos, even after Johnson accepted a writing and producing role at Motown. Nelson later joined the Platters—he died in 1984—while the surviving Flamingos signed with Phillips in 1965 and scored an unexpected hit with “The Boogaloo Party” in 1966. Later releases such as “Itty Bitty Baby” and “Koo Koo” found little traction in a market dominated by psychedelia and deep soul, yet in 1970 the group charted for the last time with the up-tempo “Buffalo Soldier.” The Flamingos nonetheless kept recording for their own Ronze label, ending studio work with the 1976 single “Love Keeps the Doctor Away.” They remained active on the casino circuit, and for nearly twenty-five years both Carey cousins and Terry Johnson fronted rival Flamingos lineups that enjoyed strong box-office returns. Wilson died in 1998. After Jake Carey’s death in 1996, his son J.C. assumed his place; when Zeke Carey passed five years later, Tommy Hunt rejoined. At the Flamingos’ 2001 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Hunt, Terry Johnson, and Johnny Carter all performed.