The Four Clefs

Chicago served as home base for the vocal-instrumental quartet The Four Clefs, whose members comprised drummer-vibraphonist William Marshall, pianist James Marshall, guitarist Johnny "Happy" Green, and bassist Melvin "Chappie" Chapman. Every participant contributed vocals, with William Marshall handling lead duties and occasionally appearing unaccompanied on disc; several sides, by contrast, contain no singing at all. Green functioned as both leader and musical director, while singer-pianist Martha Artis appeared in certain late promotional materials without ever participating in any actual recordings. Between 1939 and 1945 the group cut sides exclusively for the Chicago branch of RCA Victor’s Bluebird subsidiary. Their strongest commercial release paired “Hiding All My Cares” with “Blue Lude in C Sharp Major,” yet the jive-styled instrumental “Dig These Blues,” issued a little later, has become their most widely remembered performance. Although the Four Clefs are classified as rhythm-and-blues artists, their repertoire blended assorted popular idioms: William Marshall’s solo work echoed Bing Crosby, the group’s close-harmony vocals recalled the Ink Spots, and the instrumental numbers remained lightly swinging and straightforward.