The Mariners

Formed in 1942 at the Coast Guard facility in Manhattan Beach, New York, this gospel quartet featured two white and two black vocalists. Its lineup consisted of Thomas Lockard, James O. Lewis, Nathaniel Dickerson, and Martin Karl, the last of whom had previously sung with the Chicago Opera. During 1945 the group performed across New York State and at various Pacific military bases. Their radio airings caught the ear of Arthur Godfrey, who kept them as regular performers on his program for several postwar years. In 1949 they cut “On The Island Of Oahu” for Columbia Records; their first chart success arrived the following year with “Sometime.” Further hits followed, among them “They Call The Wind Maria” and their biggest seller, “I See The Moon,” which reached number 14 in 1952. Still recognized chiefly from Godfrey’s broadcasts, the quartet switched to Cadence in the late 1950s, though with steadily reduced impact. By the early 1950s newer, more contemporary ensembles had taken their place, and the group faded from both the charts and the New York radio outlets that had once served as their chief platform.