The Striders were one of the transitional groups from the sound of the 1940s to that of the 1950s. Their records were released over a twenty-year period, and about half find them as backup to a female singer (most often Savannah Churchill).
The Strider brothers (tenor Eugene, baritone Charles, and bass James) began singing together, before World War 2, in Columbus, Ohio. “We loved music,” says Charles. “We would sit around in the evening singing on our mother's porch or walk the streets.” James was the oldest, having been born in 1920. Charles was next (1925) and Eugene was the youngest (1927).
Calling themselves the 4 Striders, they rounded out their sound by adding tenor Ernest Griffin who was “just like a brother.”
They sang and sang, practicing and appearing in small nightclubs in Columbus. “We played a lot of dives and dumps,” says Charles. Serious about their music, they rehearsed in a hotel room at the Daescheler-Wallach Hotel. At an appearance at the Palm Gardens Niteclub, they were heard by Bob Rock, who seems to have been a promoter. Rock “loved the sound we made with our voices,” remembers Charles. (Their arrangements in those days included a lot of imitations of musical instruments.) Seeing potential in the 4 Striders, he became their manager and got them appearances all over Ohio. He also bought them their first uniforms. “His mother footed the bills,” says Charles.
When World War 2 broke out, the 4 Striders broke up. Eugene joined the Wings Over Jordan choir, which appeared all over the world. After a while, Charles also became a member. This choir was so well-known, that their Sunday morning radio show (originating from Cleveland) went on regardless of what city they were appearing in. We take things like this for granted nowadays, but it must have been extremely difficult arranging for remote hookups back then.
After the war, the guys (and Bob Rock) reunited and moved to New York. There, they worked out of the Gale Agency booking offices (the same outfit that handled the Ink Spots). So who were the big influences on the Striders? Actually, according to Charles, no one was. “We did our own arrangements. We loved to experiment. We were our own inspiration.”
In the summer of 1948, the Striders (who by now had dropped the “4”) hooked up with Capitol Records. A marathon session was held on July 17, resulting in ten masters: "Jumpin' Puddles (On A Rainy Day)," "Likin' Isn't Lovin'," "Unlucky At Gamblin' (Lucky At Love)," "September In The Rain," "Ain'tcha Glad I Love You," "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen," "Hard Trials," "There's No One But You," "Met My Mother One Morning," and "She Left Me For A Richer Man." After all that work, none of them was ever released.
Their second Capitol session was held on October 1, 1948, at which time another three tracks were recorded: “Pleasin' You (As Long As I Live),” “Somebody Stole My Rose Colored Glasses,” and “Feather Your Nest.” Capitol released the first two of these in November, to little success.
September 1949 saw the Striders on two records released on the mysterious Mystery label. The first of these, under their own name, was “So Long”/“Dream Of You.” “So Long” had been a 1940 Charioteers release; the flip, as “Just Dream Of You,” was a 1937 Norfolk Jazz Quartet tune. On the second Mystery record, they backed up Dolores Martin on “I'm The Lonsomest Gal In Town” and “It Will Never Be The Same.” Master numbers indicate that they were probably done at the same session.
Soon after that, the Striders found themselves at Bess and Ike Berman's Apollo Records. On November 14, 1949 they recorded “If I Only Knew,” “Hesitating Fool,” “I Wonder” (a remake of Cecil Gant's 1944 smash hit), and “Baby Don't You Cry.” None of these was immediately released.
On March 20, 1950, they recorded four more tunes for Apollo: “5 O'Clock Blues,” a second try at “If I Only Knew,” “Vamoose,” and, saving the best for last, “Cool Saturday Night.”
Apollo released “Cool Saturday Night”/“5 O'Clock Blues” in May 1950 to coincide with the Striders' appearance at the Apollo Theater. Beginning the week of May 12, they shared the stage with Ivory Joe Hunter and Georgie Auld. The record was reviewed on May 15, along with Hadda Brooks' “I Hadn't Anyone Till You,” Annie Laurie's “I'll Never Be Free,” Ruth Brown's “Where Can I Go,” the 4 Tunes' “Don't Blame My Dreams,” and the Cap-Tans' “Never Be Lonely.”
On June 2, the Striders began a week's engagement at Teddy Powell's Holiday Inn in Newark, along with Al Hibbler and Hot Lips Page. From there, it was into the Club Bali (Washington, D.C.) for two weeks.
Around this time, the Striders added baritone Al Martin as a substitute singer. He would travel around with them and take the place of anyone whose voice wasn't up to par because of singing night after night. While he was part of the group for several years (even replacing Ernest Griffin for periods of time), he was never on any of their recordings.
Once again through Bob Rock (who got them all of their recording contracts), they switched over to Irving Berman's Manor Records in Newark, New Jersey. Here, it was decided that they'd back up Manor mainstay Savannah Churchill (who'd already been backed by the 4 Tunes and the 5 Kings). There was a single record released on Manor's Arco subsidiary in September 1950: “Changeable You”/“Ain'tcha Glad I Love You.”
Then they followed Savannah down to the Braun Brothers' Regal Records (in Linden, New Jersey). On December 24, 1950, they recorded four masters together: “And So I Cry,” “Once There Lived A Fool,” “When You Come Back To Me,” and “Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine.”
In January 1951, “Once There Lived A Fool” and “When You Come Back To Me” were released on Regal. The record was reviewed on February 10 (with “Fool” receiving an “excellent” rating). Other reviews that week were for Louis Jordan's “Teardrops From My Eyes,” the Griffin Brothers' “Blues With A Beat,” and the King Odom Four's “My Heart Cries For You.”
February saw the release of “And So I Cry”/“Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine.” They were reviewed on March 24, along with Roy Brown's “Sweet Peach,” Charles Brown's “Sunny Road,” and Julia Lee's “Ugly Papa.”
I received a letter from Morton M. "Pat" Pasco, who said:
Gene enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1951. I met him in 1954 at Sampson Air Force Base [in Geneva, New York], where we were room mates and good friends. We were both Basic Training instructors in the 1369th Basic Training Squadron. Gene was working part-time singing at a local club, the 5-20 Club.
Gene Strider was a very kind, generous and gentle individual. He made friends easily and although very aware of his talent, was never pretentious.
In December 1951 (with Gene presumably home on leave), in a few sessions for RCA Victor, Savannah Churchill and the Striders recorded six songs: “In Spite Of Everything You Do,” “Don't Grieve, Don't Sorrow, Don't Cry,” “My Affair,” “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Waiting For A Guy Named Joe,” and “Don't Worry 'Bout Me.” RCA would not credit the Striders on any of them.
RCA started releasing these songs immediately, beginning with December's “In Spite Of Everything You Do”/“Don't Grieve, Don't Sorrow, Don't Cry.” The disc doesn't seem to have been reviewed.
“My Affair”/“I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry” was issued in February 1952. It was reviewed on April 26, along with Charles Brown's “My Last Affair,” Billy Bunn & the Buddies' “Until The Real Thing Comes Along,” Lloyd Price's “Lawdy, Miss Clawdy,” Fats Domino's “Goin' Home,” the Blenders' “I'd Be A Fool Again,” and the Enchanters' “Housewife Blues.” For some reason, this record is occasionally credited to Savannah Churchill and the King Odom Four.
The final two RCA sides, “Waiting For A Guy Named Joe” and “Don't Worry 'Bout Me,” were released in May 1952; once again they don't seem to have been reviewed. The Striders and Savannah Churchill not only did a lot of recording together, they also appeared on the same bill in many nightclubs and theaters.
In the meantime, the Striders had switched over to Larry Newton's Derby label. They began by backing up Bette McLaurin on “I Won't Tell A Soul I Love You” and “My Heart Belongs To Only You.” It was released in July 1952, and, while not reviewed, the record was a Tip in St. Louis on October 4.
In September, Derby released a couple of tunes featuring Maureen Cannon and the Striders: “Did I Speak Out Of Turn”/“Yes Lord.” These were not reviewed either.
Their final RCA Victor release with Savannah Churchill was issued in November 1952. Once again, RCA declined to identify the Striders on the label (possibly because they were under contract to Derby; master numbers indicate that they weren't old recordings). The sides were “If I Didn't Love You So” and “Walking By The River.” The record was reviewed on November 8, along with the Red Caps' “Truthfully,” the Heartbreakers' “There Is Time,” and Browley Guy's “Blues Train.”
The final Striders record on Derby (“Rollin'”/“Come Back To Me Tomorrow”) was released in July 1954, but it might have been recorded years earlier. It too wasn't sent out for review.
Here's what Pat Pasco had to say about Gene Strider during this period:
In 1954, he was selected to travel with the 1954-55 Tops In Blue show, which also included a new comedian named Jerry Van Dyke. I next saw him in 1955 at Amarillo Air Force Base, where I had been transferred and where the Tops in Blue show performed.
Remember when they'd recorded “I Wonder” and “Hesitating Fool” for Apollo back in November 1949? Well, all of a sudden, in September 1955, Bess Berman decided it would be a good time to release them. Her reasoning? “I Wonder” was so ahead of its time that she'd held it back until now. Since that's such a ridiculous argument, we can only speculate about the real reason.
However, here's a interesting guess: Gene Strider was discharged from the Air Force in 1955. Possibly Bess Berman learned of the Striders being back together on a full-time basis and decided to see if she could make some bucks off their name. Could be.
Both sides were rated “good” on September 24 (not the “excellent” you would expect; maybe its time still hadn't come). Other reviews that week went to Lavern Baker's “Lucky Old Sun,” the Dreamers' “Tears In My Eyes,” the Penguins' “Devil That I See,” the Counts' “I Need You Tonight,” the Sparks Of Rhythm's “Don't Love You Anymore,” the Keynotes' “Suddenly,” the Carnations' “The Angels Sent You To Me,” and the Calvanes' “Don't Take Your Love From Me.”
Over the years, the Striders played the Apollo, Howard, Royal, Uptown, and Regal theaters, as well as the New York Paramount. There were also at least two appearances at the London Palladium (one with Judy Garland and the other with Pearl Bailey). “Mostly where the big bands played,” says Charles. The big bands have names you might recognize: Bullmoose Jackson, Cootie Williams, Buddy Johnson, Count Basie. Charles also remembers being on the bill with Donald O'Connor at the Thunderbird in Las Vegas.
In 1962, Eugene released a solo record (“Let Her Go”) on Verve under the name “Gene Stridel.” In 1964, he followed up with an album and a pair of singles for Columbia. The LP “This Is Gene Stridel” was issued in January 1964, followed by the singles “One More Mountain” in March and “Where Does That Leave Me” in August.
I had originally written:
The Striders did their last recordings, for Columbia, in 1966. They were still Eugene, Charles, James, and Ernest. There were three singles issued between July of that year and May of 1967. And then it all fell apart.
However, thanks to David Gordon, I found out that the Striders on Columbia were actually a white group from New Mexico. Their first Columbia record had originally been released on Albuquerque's Lavette label in 1966, prior to being sold to Columbia. In truth (and sadly), Charles Strider remembered very little about their recordings at all. It really makes much more sense that the group broke up in late 1961 or early 1962, before Gene Strider began his solo career.
The Striders had endured the musical changes of the 1950s and were still playing niteclubs and theaters, but “nothing you could brag about.” Then “disagreements” among the members finally led to their breakup. Says Charles, “I became a very heavy drinker for a number of years and dropped out.” He wasn't replaced, and the 20-year career of the Striders finally came to an end.
Eugene Strider was the only one who continued on in show business. Aside from the Verve and Columbia tunes, he had one further release as “Gene Stridel”: “The Zebra,” on Atlantic, in 1968. I also found a listing for him playing the Persian Room of the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas.
Here's one more quote from Pat Pasco:
I lost track of Gene after he was discharged in 1955 and again met him in Baltimore in 1968 where he was on the Playboy Club circuit. I was Chief Recording Engineer with the Air Force's Serenade in Blue radio show and tried to recruit Gene to perform on one of our shows, hoping it would give him wide recognition. We spent the afternoon together reminiscing and he gave me a copy of his newly released Atlantic 45, “Introducing Gene Stridel.” This was the 45rpm release that included “Zebra” and “Tomorrow Is Another Day.” I still have that record. It has seen a needle only two times. The first time to transfer it to tape, and just recently to digitize it and put it on a CD.
Gene told me that day that he had been signed to play Nat “King” Cole in a still to be filmed biography. I guess the
film was never made.
Sadly, I never heard from him again. I learned shortly before I retired from the Air Force in 1974, that Gene had died the previous year.
Charles, who entered the ministry, is the only one of the Striders left now; Eugene Strider died in 1973, James Strider in 1993, and Ernest Griffin around 1982. Al Martin is also deceased. Charles sums it all up this way: “It was a long hard road.”
Thanks to Todd Baptista, Victor Pearlin, Tony Fournier, Neil Hirsch, David Gordon, and Lou Rallo. Discographical information from Ferdie Gonzalez.
In the summer of 1948, the Striders (who by now had dropped the “4”) hooked up with Capitol Records. A marathon session was held on July 17, resulting in ten masters: "Jumpin' Puddles (On A Rainy Day)," "Likin' Isn't Lovin'," "Unlucky At Gamblin' (Lucky At Love)," "September In The Rain," "Ain'tcha Glad I Love You," "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen," "Hard Trials," "There's No One But You," "Met My Mother One Morning," and "She Left Me For A Richer Man." After all that work, none of them was ever released.
Once again through Bob Rock (who got them all of their recording contracts), they switched over to Irving Berman's Manor Records in Newark, New Jersey. Here, it was decided that they'd back up Manor mainstay Savannah Churchill (who'd already been backed by the 4 Tunes and the 5 Kings). There was a single record released on Manor's Arco subsidiary in September 1950: “Changeable You”/“Ain'tcha Glad I Love You.”
Then they followed Savannah down to the Braun Brothers' Regal Records (in Linden, New Jersey). On December 24, 1950, they recorded four masters together: “And So I Cry,” “Once There Lived A Fool,” “When You Come Back To Me,” and “Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine.”