Although the name David "Boots" Bowers isn't a household word, he was certainly one of the finest bass voices around in the late 1940s and 1950s. While you may never have heard of him, he sang with three groups you probably have heard of: the King Odom Four, the Lloyds Larks and the Argo Ravens. [In the late 1940s, he had a girlfriend who called him "Bootsie" and that nickname (or its later derivative, "Boots") stayed with him for most of his singing career.]
Originally from South Carolina, Boots came to New York in 1944 (when he was around 15) and joined a gospel group called the Southern Trumpeters as lead tenor. The Trumpeters' second tenor was Isaiah Bing, who was one of Boots' boyhood friends. Isaiah had sung with the "Bing Brothers" gospel group and was biding his time with the Trumpeters until the others (his three brothers and an "outsider") got out of the service. When they were discharged in late 1945, Isaiah left the Trumpeters to rejoin them. Boots quit the Trumpeters too, switching over to the Skylight Singers.
[Considering that Isaiah was one of 17 children in the Bing family, it would be strange if they hadn't had enough singers for a group. The Bing Brothers consisted of brothers Cleveland, Columbus, Randolph, and Isaiah, along with childhood friend Henry McCastle. While they never recorded, they did a lot of radio work in Augusta, Georgia.]
In the Skylights, Boots replaced a lead tenor named Sonny. The other members of the group at the time were: Bill Barren (tenor), Larry Harper (baritone), Jimmy Brown (bass) and Clem Ross (guitar). The group had a contract with Regis/Manor/Arco and Boots did tenor lead on several of their recordings.
In January 1946, the Skylight Singers went on a tour that took them through the South. It was then that Boots first met Gene Mumford, who was singing with the Four Interns in Durham, North Carolina. They'd end up singing together many years later.
Because spiritual singing didn't pay much (they got small flat fees for recording and there were no royalty contracts), the group took their voices, their songs, and their arrangements to another company (Boots didn't remember which) and recorded as the Bible Tone Gospel Quartet. It was hoped no one would notice.
When Boots was around 17, his voice started dropping. At this point, Jimmy Brown trained him to be a bass singer. On one of their recordings ("Tell Me What More Can Jesus Do"), Boots is singing bass and Jimmy is singing tenor!
Finally, with families to feed, second tenor Isaiah Bing and his brother Cleveland "Bill" Bing (a baritone) decided to form a pop group in order to make some decent money. They recruited Boots Bowers for the bass, and, as lead singer, David "King David" Odom. When Bill had gotten out of the service, he attended music school in New York (the Anthony Scott Studio) on the G.I. Bill; King Odom, whom the Bings knew from South Carolina, was another student there. As a promotional effort, the new group did a radio show every Saturday morning from the school's studio.
The group called themselves the King Odom Quartet, regardless of what record companies would call them. In addition to the four voices, Boots Bowers played the bass and Bill Bing played guitar. In time, they added pianist Clarence Johnson, who was quickly replaced by Glenn Burgess (who had relocated to the U.S. from Barbados in 1927).
In late 1947, the new group secured a recording contract with Paul Puner's Musicraft label (located at 245 East 23 Street in New York City). They were recruited by Dick Stutz, an aspiring songwriter, who somehow set up the Musicraft deal, probably to promote his songs. He co-wrote (with someone named Rick French) three of the four songs done at their first session: "Who Struck John," "I Found A Twinkle," and "Moonlight Frost." The fourth song done that day was "Pickin' A Chicken." All were led by King Odom, but none was immediately released.
Their second session, held in January 1948, resulted in another four songs: "They Put John On The Island" and "I'm Livin' Humble" (two gospel tunes, led by Bill Bing), "I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover" and "Mary Lou" (both fronted by King Odom). However, on January 1 of that year, the American Federation Of Musicians went on strike. Both Boots (who played bass) and Bill (a guitarist) were members of Local 802, and therefore couldn't play on the recordings. No problem. Musicraft got the Harmonicats, an all-harmonica band, none of whom belonged to the union. Just to be on the safe side, the Harmonicats recorded as the "Polka Dots".
This time, however, there were some releases: "I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover"/"Mary Lou" were released in February. "Clover" was one of at least 15 covers of the tremendous Art Mooney hit. Also, on February 7, the King Odom Quartet appeared on WOR's Harlem Hospitality Show emceed by Willie Bryant. They sang "Pickin' A Chicken" and also "I'll Dance At Your Wedding," to which Bill "Bojangles" Robinson tap danced (not bad for radio).
In March, Musicraft released "They Put John On The Island"/"I'm Livin' Humble".
By May of 1948, the group was featured at Le Ruban Bleu, a New York club that was famous enough to be mentioned by Phil Silvers' character in the movie Top Banana. Owner Julius Monk sometimes billed them as the King Odom Quartet, other times as the King Odom Four, and even King Odom And His Men. On July 7 of that year, they became part of a weekly NBC radio broadcast (with Lucky Millinder's Orchestra). Called Swingtime At The Savoy, it was heard on Wednesday evenings as a 13-week summer replacement show for Dennis Day. Here's the Billboard review of their performance at Le Ruban Bleu:
The King Odom Quartet, four-part harmony, sound a little like most of the other Negro quartets around. When they do Shadrack, they resemble the Golden Gate Boys; other times they remind of the Ink Spots (particularly when the tenor lets go). The four lads blend their voices competently, look nice and sell fairly well, tho they need better numbers. Their They Put John On The Island and I'm Living Humble, both of which they've done for Musicraft, are ok but aren't projected with enough bounce for a visual audience. However, the lads sing well enough at present and with more experience will probably acquire a selling style to make them distinctive.
On July 7, they became part of a weekly NBC radio broadcast (with Lucky Millinder's Orchestra, Jackie "Moms" Mabley, Paul Breckenridge, and emsee Noble Sissle). Called Swingtime At The Savoy, it was heard on NBC on Wednesday evenings between 8-8:30, as a 13-week summer replacement show for Dennis Day. It was a sustaining program, which meant it had no sponsor.
In June, Musicraft released the lovely "Moonlight Frost," backed with "Who Struck John." In July, the last Musicraft record was issued: "Pickin' A Chicken"/"I Found A Twinkle."
However, there was supposed to be one more. Billboard listed advanced record releases (I'm not sure if record companies sent records that just hadn't been generally released yet or if it was just a notice to Billboard that these records were coming) and in the August 7, 1948 issue there was a mention of Musicraft 585: "Down By The Old Mill Stream"/"I Like My Chickens Frying Size." It even gave the Polka Dots as the back-up band. Presumably this record was never actually released.
From the very start, they showed evidence of an identity crisis. Although Musicraft labels consistently misspelled their name as the "King Odum Quartet," the Cash Box review of "I Found A Twinkle" has them as the "King Odom Quartet" and Musicraft's ad for "Moonlight Frost" calls them the "King Odom Four."
A Billboard blurb from December 1948 mentioned that Joe Thomas (the Ravens' vocal coach and someone who seemed to be all over the music industry) had some King Odom Quartet masters that hadn't appeared on any label. No titles were given.
In 1949, they got the opportunity to do a country-wide tour with Savannah Churchill,, which included the Thunderbird in Las Vegas and Ciro's in Hollywood.
In May, the tour finished at a club called Chubby's in West Collingswood, New Jersey (owned by a former boxer named Chubby Stafford). After talking about Savannah, this is what the reviewer said about the group:
Moreover, the gal has the decided advantage of an excellent vocal bank provided by the King Odum [sic] Quartet, four lads with their own bass and guitar accomps.
The King Odum [sic] Quartet, with smartly tailored harmonies developed around a male soprano voice and deep bass, also make a marked impression on both the torch ballads and the rhythm spirituals.
In September, they were back at Le Ruban Bleu, along with Bibi Osterwald, Paula Drake, Michael Brown, and the Norman Paris Trio. This time the reviewer said that "… they have fine voices, good arrangements and seem to enjoy their work."
In early 1950, they signed with Larry Newton's Derby label. The signing was announced in February, by which time they'd already cut "I'm Glad I Made You Cry" (led by King Odom), "Lover Come Back To Me" (Boots Bowers), "If You Didn't Love Me" (King), and "Walkin' With My Shadow" (King). At this time, the group also did extensive touring in Canada and Iceland.
Derby issued "I'm Glad I Made You Cry"/"Lover Come Back To Me" in March 1950. However, gone was the "King Odom Quartet"; all of the Derby sides were by the "King Odom Four." The trades rated both sides of this disc as "good." The other two sides ("If You Didn't Love Me" and "Walkin' With My Shadow") were released in July.
Their second Derby session was held around November 1950. The four tracks recorded were: "What A Wonderful Feeling," "My Heart Cries For You" (both led by King), "Rain Is The Teardrops Of Angels" (King and Boots), and "All Of Me" (Boots).
"What A Wonderful Feeling" and "My Heart Cries For You" were released in January 1951 (with both rated "good"). As a throwback to Musicraft, the label on this one misspelled King's name as "Odum." The final two masters, "Rain Is The Teardrops Of Angels" and "All Of Me," were issued in March.
While the King Odom Four are usually credited with backing up Savannah Churchill on a couple of songs recorded for RCA Victor: "My Affair" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (released March 1952), the group behind her is actually the Striders. More interesting was that, in the early 50s, Boots and Isaiah became brothers-in-law when they married two sisters.
In early 1952 they cut some sides for Peter Doraine's Abbey label (released as the "King Odom Four"). "Lucky" and "Don't Trade Your Love For Gold" (both led by King) are the known titles. However, since the master numbers aren't quite consecutive, there must have been a couple of others too. These were issued in March 1952, and were, once again, rated "good."
After this, the group began to crumble. As usual, money (or more accurately, the lack of it) was the cause. Says Isaiah: "We didn't make it. We didn't sell records or get the big dollars. Just kind of fizzled out. We had financial responsibilities."
By 1953, pianist Glenn Burgess had joined the Golden Gate Quartet (which then consisted of Clyde Riddick, Orlandus “Dad” Wilson, Eugene Mumford (former lead singer of the Larks), and Orville Brooks (formerly of the Jubalaires). Later that year, Gene Mumford decided to return to secular music. He recruited fellow Gates Orville Brooks and Glenn Burgess and set about looking for some other singers. By then, the King Odom Quartet had reached the end of its days, and Burgess persuaded Boots Bowers and Isaiah Bing to join with Mumford and Brooks. These five took the name of Mumford's old unit, the "Larks." An April 1954 blurb in the trades had the "newly-formed" Larks appearing at Le Ruban Bleu in New York. This is the group that would go on to record for Apollo's Lloyds subsidiary.
In a way, there was a trade-off. Bill Bing was immediately grabbed up by the Golden Gate Quartet as a replacement for Orville Brooks.
King Odom wasted no time in forming a new group (whose members remain unknown; when Boots listened to the songs, he said that he couldn't recognize any voices and that neither side was led by Odom). After a few months of practice, the "King Odom Quartette" recorded "Amazin' Willie Mays" and "Basin Street Blues" for Perspective. This label was owned by two unlikely people: Sam Florman (an engineer) and Henry Engel (a furrier). Florman and Engel were ready to release "Amazin' Willie Mays" (which they had written) in June or July 1954, when the New York Giants stepped in to squash it, claiming it would invade Mays' privacy. This didn't seem to bother the Treniers, who released "Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)" for Epic in July. (We know it didn't bother them because they even had Mays himself on the record.) While the Treniers song was rated "good," when "Amazin' Willie Mays" was finally issued in August, it was rated "poor." The Billboard reviewer said "But this is no homer; on this one Willie didn't get to first base."
After the Perspective record went nowhere, King gave up the music business, becoming a machinery repairman. David "King" Odom passed away in November 1988.
The Lloyds Larks group lasted less than two years. Afterwards, Glen Burgess went back to the Golden Gate Quartet, Gene Mumford joined the Dominoes, and Boots Bowers became a member of the Ravens. (After the Larks broke up, Boots didn't really want to get involved with another group, but he went to the mid-1956 audition just to prove to himself that he was good enough to be the bass of the Ravens. After Dave had sung a few lines from several Ravens' tunes, rest of the hopefuls were sent home.)
The Ravens (with Joe Van Loan in the lead) remained together until the end of 1958. (During this time Boots did lead on "Water Boy" and "Lazy Mule.") In 1959, Joe Van Loan, Willie Ray (a pal of Van Loan's, formerly of the Du Droppers), Orville Brooks, and Boots Bowers formed the Buccaneers, who toured extensively (including Argentina!), but made no recordings. After that, Boots, tired of being on the road, opted to stay home. Except for some minor work with a combo (for weddings and other functions), he pretty much gave up singing. David "Boots" Bowers died in October 1995. Glenn Burgess passed away in May 2006. Orville Brooks is also gone. In 2008, Bill Bing is looking forward to his 86th birthday. Little brother Isaiah passed away on September 1, 2008.
Trying to classify the sound of the King Odom Four could drive you to drink. On "Mary Lou" and "I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover" they're backed by the Harmonicats (a harmonica trio recording as the "Polka Dots"); "I'm Living Humble" and its flip are gospel tunes; "Moonlight Frost" is a beautiful R&B ballad; "My Heart Cries For You" is Pop (but, in my opinion, much better than the Larks' version); "What A Wonderful Feeing" is part waltz, part jump; "Lucky" has violins, as does "Don't Trade Your Love For Gold," which is uptempo besides. Boots said they were "fishing for a sound to get a hit." It's a shame they never got it.
Special thanks to Ferdie Gonzalez, George Moonoogian, and Tony Fournier.
In June, Musicraft released the lovely "Moonlight Frost," backed with "Who Struck John." In July, the last Musicraft record was issued: "Pickin' A Chicken"/"I Found A Twinkle."
In 1949, they got the opportunity to do a country-wide tour with Savannah Churchill,, which included the Thunderbird in Las Vegas and Ciro's in Hollywood.