Jan. 13, 1991. Bob McGill of the Chicago Blackhawks goes toe to toe with Shane "Chainsaw" Churla from the Minnesota North Stars at old Chicago Stadium. Classic Slugfest! [ More Detail ]
What can you say about one of the greatest groups in history ?? The Dells have been singing and performing for over five decades, have sold millions of records, and are considered the most enduring vocal group in the history of Rhythm and Blues. Affectionately known as The Mighty Dells by fans and leaders in the music industry, its members including Marvin Junior (lead baritone), John Carter (lead tenor),Charles Barksdale (bass), Michael McGill (baritone) and Verne Allison(second tenor) have continued to set the standard for top-to-bottom male harmony.Initially known as the El-Rays, The Dells started in 1952 in Harvey, Illinois, as five friends from high school. Eventually, the El-Rays cut their very first single, Darling I Know, for Chess Records. It went nowhere. Two years later, with a new record contract with Vee Jay Records as The Dells, they released their 3rd recording Oh What A Night. It became an immediate R&B hit, finishing third behind Elvis' Don't Be Cruel at number two and Fats Domino's Blueberry Hill on top. The rest was musical history. The film, "The Five Heartbeats" was their basic life story, as a fiction, and I must say, being able to film them for our project was a pleasure and a privilege, especially as Charles Barksdale stayed on and introduced the whole premier of "Ther Strange World Of Northern Soul" in front of 2000 people in Blackburn in July 1999. And now, coming in October 2008, a tremendously exciting project for Northern Soul fans everywhere. We've done a deal with Wienerworld, a major music DVD company, and the same company who originally released our classic documentary "The Strange World Of Northern Soul", and we are now doing the definitive DVD box set. A five disc set of 200 performances called "Northern Soul's Greatest 200 Floorfillers". This uses some songs from "The Strange World Of Northern Soul" which are completely re-edited, so they look fresh and sparkling new. All the previous video effects done in the 1990s are gone forever, consigned to history. Plus loads and loads of never before seen videos, many of which have sat in the can untouched for many many years. Plus some newly recorded tributes to the classics. If you ever went to Blackpool Mecca or Wigan Casino, this is the must-have purchase of the year. In putting together this box set, we have nearly all the biggest all time blockbusters, "Out On The Floor", "Night Owl', "I'm On My Way", "Time Will Pass You By", "Blowing My Mind To Pieces", "Do I Love You", all sung by the original singers. We believe this will go down in history as the greatest Northern Soul DVD collection of all time. Here, the mighty mighty Dells sing their legendary biggest Northern Soul floorfiller, "Run For Cover", and this was yet another legendary Northern Soul smash that we filmed for "The Strange World Of Northern Soul". This was first recorded in 1967 and then we recut it in 1999 when we were filming our marathon six disc, twenty four hour massive documentary about the entire history of the Northern Soul scene, which contained 131 specially recorded performances of all the classics, and is still available on a six disc box set from Wienerworld. The Dells were happy to be a part of our ground breaking Encyclopedia Britannica of Northern Soul, and I am so glad that they agreed. [ More Detail ]
After shadow boxing for a bit, Al Secord lands his first punch, a great left to Bob McGill's face. Al lands another good left a few punches later. Excellent replay of the start. [ More Detail ]
The Dells are one of the finest and longest-lived R&B vocal groups in history. They were one of the very few doo wop outfits to successfully update their sound, finding their strongest commercial niche in the late '60s and '70s as a polished smooth soul harmony group. They remained a viable act right up into the '90s, by which time they had long since achieved legendary status in the R&B community.The Dells were formed in 1953 in southern suburbs of Chicago, where all the members attended high school together. The original lineup featured lead baritone Marvin Junior, lead tenor Johnny Funches, tenors Verne Allison and Lucius McGill, second baritone Mickey McGill, and bass Chuck Barksdale. Initially called the El-Rays, the group recorded their first single, "Darling I Know," for Chess Records subsidiary Checker that year; it flopped. Lucius McGill departed not long after, and wasn't replaced, cutting the group down to a quintet. Newly christened the Dells, they got another shot in 1955 when they signed to Vee Jay. They had a minor R&B hit with the ballad "Dreams of Contentment" that year, but really scored big in 1956 with the doo wop classic "Oh What a Nite," which went Top Five on the R&B charts. Thus established, the Dells hit the road, although they found it difficult to duplicate their chart success. Iin 1960 they successfully auditioned to tour with Dinah Washington, as both her opening act and backup group. Funches, however, was tired of touring and decided to stay home with his family, which would be the last time any member left the group. He was replaced by lead/falsetto tenor Johnny Carter, a former member of the Flamingoes. They toured with Washington for two years. They returned to Vee Jay in 1964 and began recording R&B again. 1965 brought them a Top 30 R&B hit with "Stay in My Corner," their biggest success since "Oh What a Nite." However, Vee Jay went bankrupt in 1966, and the Dells returned to Chess for a third time, this time the Cadet subsidiary; their first two singles, "Thinking About You" and "Run for Cover," became local hits. Cadet was where the Dells' career really started to take off. Their first album, There Is, was a smashing success, spawning no less than four hit singles including an expanded remake of "Stay in My Corner" that topped the R&B charts and went Top Ten pop. Their follow-up album, 1968's Always Together, spun off another four singles. 1969's Love Is Blue gave them another R&B number one and pop Top Ten with a remake of their '50s classic "Oh What a Nite." After a Dionne Warwick repertory album in 1972, Cadet hired Don Davis as the group's new producer, which paid immediate dividends in the form of the Dells' first certified million-selling single, 1973's "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation." After a few more hits with Davis, the Dells left Cadet in favor of Mercury in 1975.Although the group's production kept pace with the times, incorporating nods to disco, their Mercury stint wasn't as successful, and they switched labels again in 1978, jumping to ABC for a couple of albums. It seemed their career momentum had stalled, at least until 1980's I Touched a Dream LP, recorded for 20th Century. Produced by the Chi-Lites' Eugene Record, I Touched a Dream recaptured the Dells' old magic, and was greeted with enthusiastic reviews. The follow-up, Whatever Turns You On, wasn't quite as successful, though, and the Dells wound up spending a number of years off record, returning with a little-noticed old-style soul album in 1988's The Second Time. It looked as though they might be consigned to the oldies circuit until filmmaker Robert Townsend approached them to serve as consultants on his movie about a fictional vocal group, The Five Heartbeats. The Dells recorded a song called "The Heart Is a House for Love" for the soundtrack, which became a left-field R&B chart hit when it was released as a single in 1991. That led to a new album for Zoo in 1992, I Salute You, which attempted to mate the Dells' sound with urban contemporary and new jack swing production; however, it wasn't a hit, and the group returned to touring. Former lead singer Johnny Funches passed away in 1998, and Verne Allison underwent a successful triple bypass in 2000, the same year the Dells released Reminiscing on the revived Volt label; it was their first album of new material in eight years. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [ More Detail ]
Special thanks to MARV GOLDBERG andMARV GOLDBERG'S R&B NOTEBOOKS a great place to learn about The history of Soul &R&B groups thanks Marv :-)The Dells started singing in 1953 in Harvey, Ill. They soon got a contract with Checker. Originally called the El Rays, they released "Darling I Know" soon afterwards. Later, they moved to VJ records of Chicago, and their fantastic career really took off. In a matter of years, they were the top group. Their smash hit, "Oh What A Nite" is now one of the all-time hits of R&B history. The group is composed of Jerry Funches, Michael McGIll, Verne Allison, Chas. Barksdale, and Marvin Junior. [ More Detail ]
One of the longest running acts in popular music..... The Mighty, Mighty Dells! Formed in 1952, these gentlemen brought "Chicago Soul" to the World! Marvin Junior, Johnny Carter, Chuck Barksdale, Michael McGill, Verne Allison are still going strong to this very day.Here in this rare clip from the late 80's they perform their hits "The Love We Had Stays on My Mind" and the classic "Oh What A Night". Adjust your volume UP and Enjoy! [ More Detail ]
First 3 PlaysDeath Valley Vipers Vs. Whitehall War Eagles1. Shane Falco pitch to Steriod Monster to the left (37 yard gain) TD2. Shane Falco pass to Weee Man up the left side (63 yard gain) TD3. Shane ( foot steps ) Falco pass to Johnny Knoxville, hurried by Keith Russ, up the left side intercepted by Dakotah Ellis (2 yd return)Play # 4Gudalaraja Gladiators Vs. The Samurai Warriors1. Buck Randall pass to alex jeppson up the right side [missed tackle: Champ Maxwell] [TD] (20.5 yd gain)Play # 5Iowa Hogeyes Vs. Pittsburgh Steel Riders1. Champ Brockerman pitch to RJ Hammer to the left[missed tackle: Gimme Datbaul] [TD] (28 yd gain)Play # 6 and 7Enghrave Evolution Vs. Detroit Cheetahs1. carson Brady pitch to Elliot Lankford to the left[missed tackle: Ahmed Beard] [missed tackle: Whiteshoes Johnson] (20 yd gain)[TD]2.carson Brady pitch to Elliot Lankford to the left[missed tackle: Manuel Vargas] [TD] (58.5 yd gain)Play # 8Miami Hurricanes Vs. Midgets on Roids1. Peter Fernanny pass to Choco Chew up the right side [TD] (73.5 yd gain)Play # 9 and 10Sactown Bulldogs Vs. Bakersfield Nannanas1. Punt by Coby Horton, 29 yd, fielded by Tyler Burden [missed tackle: Dawson Olson] [missed tackle: Harrison Woodward][TD] (65.5 yd return)2. Nick Nuisance rush[forced fumble: Jon Flood], fumbled , recovered by Bobby Flood (1.5 yd return)[TD]Play # 11Chiago Storm Vs. Myrtle Beach Carnage1. Khizwan Blue rush [missed tackle: Elliot Waterman] [missed tackle: Perry McGill](94.5 yd gain) [TD]2. Al Verris pitch to Khizwan Blue [missed tackle: Antony Cheng] (46.5 yd gain)3. Al Verris pitch to Jarvis Blackwell [missed tackle: Elliot Waterman] [missed tackle: Antony Cheng][TD] to the left (44.5 yd gain)~Chicagopax~Week 3 Edition [ More Detail ]
The Dells have been around as long as Rock ' n Roll. They were there in the 50's, 60's, 70's 80's, 90's and are still out there giving their fans great music and performances. Well here the guys are in 1975 singing their smash hit "Stay In My Corner" from 1968. The magic of the Dells music is that it still sounds good today. Johnny Carter and Marvin Junior are duo leads on this one backed up superbly by Michael McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale. [ More Detail ]
KEXP Equalizer is a monthly showcase of local, regional and national independent music held the first Thursday of each month at darkroom in Chicago, Illinois. April's event featured Brighton, MA, Cameron McGill &What Army, Needers &Givers, and The Shackeltons. [ More Detail ]
For hours police were taped using a tape recorder. People who have run Old Dominion University and Old Dominion University police have done thousands of crimes - they tried to kill me - blackmail - bribes - pay backs - threats that they would kill me - fake police reports - fake crimes - fake 911 calls. There is a lot more. When the tape was made Cliff Rice was Chief of Police. tag stoney brook university of washington university of utah ucsf sfu sfsu san franciso nsu richmond university uva university of florida ucsc uci ucdavis university of texas dallas utd university of chicago university of michigan university of alaska uaf university of hawaii uhh uhm uhwo university of south dakota university of north dakota unc university of south carolina virginia tech university of montana university of minnesota university of nebraska university of missouri university of illinois university of alabama uah university of indiana university ofiowa iastate university of nevada university of new mexico university of arizona asu ccny georgetown saint john cw post adelphi bpi hofstra stanford su university of maryland ucsd sdsu ucsb ucdavis jhu sjsu university of miami psu umass harvard duke university of mississippi university of arkansas university of tennessee rochester syracuse university oxford wm carleton university mcgill university notre dame university of melbourne university of victoria sydney queensland cape town national ireland africa saint andrews newcastle alelaide new wales stirling ottawa manitoba alberta saskatchewan edinburgh rhodes carnegie mellon yale reno las vegas southern northern northwestern university pretoria toronto rutgers university newark new brunswick british columba university of colorado denver csu bolder springs naussau community city keele leeds sheffield cortland johannesburg liverpool manchester monash oswego jmu gmu su upenn uia uwash scu msu uchicago umiss usd und uutah university of utah berkeley san franciso los angeles new york long island queens bronx brooklyn san jose virginia beach catholic [ More Detail ]