The Flamingos

The sweet science of doo-wop group harmony numbers in its pantheon few greater practitioners than the Chicago-based Flamingos, who formed in 1952 and had a viable career (at least as performers) into the early '70s. Formed by two sets of cousins -- Zeke and Jake Carey (born in Bluefield and Pulaski, VA, respectively) and Paul Wilson and Johnny Carter (both Chicago natives) -- who considered themselves black Jews, the group changed lineups and labels a few times during the '50s. The Flamingos' most notable work was with the formidable lead singer Sollie McElroy for the Chance label: The wondrous "Golden Teardrops" never charted, but it has since been kept alive on oldies stations as an early, great example of doo-wop. A sampling of their work from this period, as well as their work for Chess/Checker, can be heard on Rhino's Doo Wop Box.

In 1959, now fronted by lead singer Nate Nelson, the group signed with End Records. This was to be the Flamingos' most productive and most successful period. A sumptuous version of the ultraromantic ballad "I Only Have Eyes for You" rose to #11 on the pop chart in 1959, and was followed in mid-1960 by the Sam Cooke-penned "Nobody Loves Me Like You," which peaked at #30. That would be the group's last charting single, even though it recorded voluminously at End before returning briefly to Checker in 1964, releasing four albums between 1960 and 1962, all of which have been reissued by Collectables. The albums document the group's broadening musical palette, which changed along with the times. Minimalist arrangements give way to lush orchestrations with strings, woodwinds, and horns; the love ballads are balanced by exotic fare on the order of "Besame Mucho" and "Mio Amore," Broadway show tunes, and golden-age pop.

Although the group continued to record into the late '60s, the End years were in fact the end of the Flamingos as a productive, creative entity. As an alternative to the individual albums on Collectables, the double-CD For Collectors Only is a 42-track summation of this period, featuring "I Only Have Eyes for You" and a stunning, unspeakably beautiful reading of "I'll Be Home" previously unissued on any other album. There's a lot of buried treasure on the End albums, though, and to ignore them is to underestimate a great group that always kept the faith vocally, whether singing alone, with only a few instruments playing discreetly in the background, or with a full orchestra in unrestrained flight. The group's impeccable harmonies and haunting falsetto flourishes, along with Nate Nelson's genius for lyric interpretation, created doo-wop that had the ability to move the human heart in profound ways.(DAVID MCGEE)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide