Right after their Mercury contract expired (in October), Jimmy Ricks decided to return to the Ravens. He had been away for about six months, but since he was part owner, there was no stopping him. Thus, Tommy Evans found himself out of a job. Another casualty was Warren Suttles, who also left, this time for good. Louis Frazier was immediately re-hired to replace him.

When he left the Ravens for the final time, Warren did odd jobs, like parking cars and driving a taxi. He also put together the "Warren Suttles Trio", after borrowing a set of drums from a friend. They played in various spots, starting with the Travelers' Inn, on Boston Road in the Bronx. They were around for several years, managing to work, on weekends, 9 or 10 months out of the year. Beginning in 1961, Warren was the manager of Gene's Bar (145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem), a job he held until 1972.

In November, Joe Van Loan was also out of the group for a few weeks: his brother James, had walked out as baritone of the Dominoes. He claimed the death of his mother had made him despondent, but he was really sick of them. Joe (who could come down from top tenor to baritone) replaced James at a few performances. Also in November, Mercury purchased the rights to release some National masters. "White Christmas" and "Silent Night" were put out that very month.

January 1955, saw the release of the final Mercury record: "Old Man River" (not "Ol' Man River" this time) and "Write Me A Letter". These too were National masters. Note that there were plenty of unreleased Ravens sides on Mercury (see discography); it would be nice if some of them were to see the light of day. On January 7, the Ravens headlined the Post-Holiday Week show at the Apollo, with Eddie Bonnemere and his band (the "New King Of Mambo").

Then the Ravens found a new roost, the Jubilee label, where their first record was issued in February of 1955. One side was a reworking of one of their Hub sides from back in 1946: "Bye Bye Baby Blues" (Ricky); the song hadn't weathered too badly. The flip was the strange-sounding "Happy Go Lucky Baby" (Ricky), which has never been one of my favorites.

In 1954 and 1955, whenever Joe Van Loan was off appearing with the Du Droppers, Maithe Marshall would return to take his place in the Ravens. Maithe made no further recordings with them, however.

In April, on Easter Sunday, they appeared at the Cleveland Arena. It was a show, record hop, and mambo contest rolled into one. The Ravens shared the bill with the Drifters, the Metronomes, Madeline Greene, Willie Mabon's ork., Todd Rhodes' ork., Bullmoose Jackson's ork., Rudy Brown's ork., and Vito and His Mambo Band. If you liked to dance, this was the place to be!

Also in April, Jubilee released "Green Eyes" (Jimmy Ricks and Jimmie Steward), backed with "The Bells Of San Raquel" (Jimmie Steward). "Green Eyes" has a special meaning to me; it's not only a great song in its own right, but it's the only Ravens song I ever heard when it was released. It seems to have been a hit (certainly Alan Freed played it a lot), but isn't listed on either the R&B or Pop charts. (Well, if you really want to know, "Green Eyes" dates back to 1929, was written by Nilo Mendenez and Adolph Utrera, and in 1941 was a number one song for Jimmy Dorsey, with vocals by Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly.)

August 1 found the Ravens at the Uptown (in Cleveland), along with Les Brown, Jo Ann Greer, and Cleotha Bolton. It was a one-shot deal, three shows.

In September, two more Ricks-led songs: "On Chapel Hill" and "We'll Raise A Ruckus Tonight" (which goes back at least to the 1939 Bette Davis movie "Jezebel").

Around October, the end of an era: Ricky left the Ravens for good. There is probably no way to measure the effect Ricky had on R&B, other than to say that he was a yardstick; every R&B bass was held up to Jimmy Ricks to be measured. There were many other basses of note: Bill Brown (Dominoes), Harold Winley (Clovers), Herb Reed (Platters), however, none of them was Jimmy Ricks.

Ricks was replaced, once again, by Tommy Evans. The group was now: Joe Van Loan, Jimmie Steward, Louis Frazier, and Tommy Evans. Probably because Ricks was still under contract to them, Jubilee decided not to record the Evans-led Ravens, just releasing older sides with Ricky on them.

The final Jubilee record, "Boots And Saddles"/"I'll Always Be In Love With You", was issued in February 1956. ("Love" was another oldie, dating back to 1929, when it was written by Bud Green, Herman Ruby, and Sam Stept.) Both sides were led by Jimmy Ricks, in his last appearance on wax with the Ravens.

There were two sides in the can (which were finally released in 1995): "Ashamed" and "Rockin' At The Record Hop" (Ricky). (The last-named song is much better than you might guess from the title). Unfortunately, the CD they were issued on claimed that the "Ravens" and "Jimmy Ricks and the Rickateers" (see below) were the same group (which they aren't), but at least we got to hear them. The lead on "Ashamed" is a bit of a mystery. After it was suggested to me that the voice was Larry Harrison, former lead of the 4 Buddies' (and, more recently, of the Barons on Decca and the Buddies on Glory), I first had a couple of singers listen to it; both agreed that it was Harrison. I then tried to find out from Jimmie Steward, the only surviving member of the Jubilee group, but he basically (and suspiciously) refused to answer the question. It looks like, at least for a while, Larry Harrison replaced Jimmie Steward.

Jimmy Ricks did mostly solo work for the rest of his career; see the sidebar on Jimmy Ricks. Why did the founding father of R&B basses go on to relative obscurity, recording for a succession of labels, some quite small, with never another hit? Leonard blames it on Ricky's personality: "It may be because of his attitude; he was very egotistical. A lot of people didn't like him." Warren says that a bass soloist just wasn't a saleable commodity. When he sang with the Ravens, the harmony acted as a fill-in, so he wasn't seen as a soloist. Whatever the reason, the only Ricks tune I remember ever hearing on the radio was his 1961 duet with Lavern Baker, "You're The Boss". Its flip, "I'll Never Be Free", staggered up to #103 on the Pop charts.

In March 1956, the Ravens appeared at Chicago's Crown Propeller. In April, Leonard and Phil Chess announced that the Ravens (less Jimmy Ricks) had been signed to Chess' Argo subsidiary, to cut Pop material. In May, they were at the Ebony Lounge in Cleveland, with Jack Weigand and his Organ Trio (I'm not sure what kind of comment to make here).

Also in May, Jubilee released (on its Josie subsidiary), a record by Jimmy Ricks and the "Rickateers". Definitely not the Ravens, the Ricks-led sides were: "The Unbeliever" and "She's Fine, She's Mine" (Josie 796). ). Another, unreleased, cut from their March 1956 session was “Same Sweet Wonderful One.”

Around May 1956, the Ravens dissolved after an appearance at the Baby Grand in Brooklyn. By this time, there were a lot of problems within the group: Tommy Evans had a drinking problem that affected his performances; Louis Frazier didn't keep up his appearance; Joe Van Loan and Jimmie Steward didn't get along. However, Joe now needed a group of Ravens to record for Argo, and who better than the guys he'd been doing all that extra-curricular work with? So the Dixieaires/Du Droppers/Bells also became the Ravens: Joe Van Loan, Willie Ray, Willis Sanders, and Bob Kornegay. (Now didn't I tell you to remember all those names? Didn't I?)

In spite of the photo that accompanied the ad, it was this Ravens group that recorded "Kneel And Pray" (Joe) and "I Can't Believe" (Bob), released on Argo in July. Listen to "I Can't Believe"; while no Ricks, Bob Kornegay is no slouch as a bass. Also in July, the Ravens appeared at a benefit concert, put together by Ben Bart, for Arnett Cobb. After having spent two years in the hospital with back problems from 1948-1950, he had just been in an automobile accident and was expected to be flat on his back again for at least a year. The show, held at the Savoy Ballroom (NY), also featured Sammy Davis, Jr., the Cadillacs, Faye Adams, Illinois Jacquet, Lionel Hampton, Charlie & Ray, Cootie Williams, and Dinah Shore, among others.

After that single session, Bob Kornegay quit to pursue a solo career. He ended up recording a minor hit, "The Man In The Phone Booth", for Herald and Flair-X (in a tangled deal too complicated for even this article). Over time he was billed as "Big Bob Kornegay" (he was big!), "The Wanderer", "The Happy Wanderer", and "Big Daddy".

Once again, a bass was needed. Nat Margo put out the call for auditions. One of those who answered was David "Boots" (or "Bootsie") Bowers. Dave had started his career, in the 40s, as a high tenor with different gospel groups. When he was 17, his voice started dropping and the bass of the group he was with (the Skylight Singers) taught him how to sing bass. It worked out well, as Boots was subsequently hired as the bass of the King Odom Four in 1947. After they broke up, he joined with Gene Mumford, Orville Brooks, Isaiah Bing, and pianist Glen Burgess to create the Larks that recorded for the Lloyds label. This group lasted from mid-1953 to the fall of 1955.

After the Larks, Dave didn't really want to get involved with another group, but he went to the audition just to prove to himself that he was good enough to be the bass of the Ravens. (Even after he was gone, Jimmy Ricks still had a mystical influence on basses.) Bill Sanford (yes, he was still there) had Dave sing a few lines from several Ravens' tunes and then told Margo to send the rest of the hopefuls home.

Joe, Willie Ray, Willis Sanders, and Dave Bowers did a single session in December, which resulted in "A Simple Prayer" (Joe)/"Water Boy" (Dave). At this point, Willie, Willis, and Bill Sanford left. Joe brought in his two brothers, Paul (tenor) and James (former baritone/second tenor of the Dominoes for a couple of years). To round out the group, there was a new pianist/arranger: Bill Chambers. Joe Van Loan, Paul Van Loan, James Van Loan, Dave Bowers, and Bill Chambers did the rest of the Argo recordings.

However, before a single Argo release by the new group was issued, the Ravens were farmed out to another label. In June 1957, Lee Andrews and the Hearts had had an instant local Philadelphia hit, on Jocko Henderson's Mainline label: "Long Lonely Nights". In fact, it was doing so well that Jocko realized he couldn't handle national distribution. He therefore approached both Atlantic and Chess about taking over the masters. Atlantic was initially interested, but ended up simply releasing a version of "Long Lonely Nights" by hitmaker Clyde McPhatter. Chess was more amenable, and it was released on the Chess label everywhere but in Philadelphia (Jocko kept Philly sales for Mainline). Possibly to hedge their bet, Chess had the Ravens record it too. However, as soon as Chess acquired the rights to the Hearts, they pretty much lost interest in the Ravens' version. So as not to compete with itself, Chess leased the masters out to Baton, which released the Ravens' "Long Lonely Nights" and "Let Me Know" as by the "Kings". James Van Loan is doing lead on both sides. The Ravens' "Long Lonely Nights" doesn't hold up against the other two versions, but that's only because they were by Clyde McPhatter and Lee Andrews; the Ravens' version is really quite good. "Let Me Know" seems to me to be a song that would have been a big hit if Clyde McPhatter and the Dominoes had done it (don't forget that James had been with them during that era and possibly had a hand in the arranging). Note that Joe switched his mighty top tenor down to baritone whenever brother James took the lead.

A regulation Argo release was also forthcoming in July: "Dear One" (Joe and James)/"That'll Be The Day" (James) was released both on Argo and on Checker (another Chess subsidiary) in the same month. "Dear One" was the old Fred Parris and the Scarlets song. "That'll Be The Day", a cover of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, is, in my opinion, the worst record the Ravens ever made. Since James was always clowning around on stage, presumably he was clowning around on this tune too.

In September, National's catalog, which had been sitting dormant for a couple of years, was purchased by Herman Lubinsky of Savoy Records. This explains why the Ravens' "White Christmas"/"Silent Night" was released on Savoy in October (so what if the ad claimed "featuring Richie" [sic]?). At the same time, Savoy released the same tunes, back to back, by Big Maybelle.

November saw the release of the final Argo sides: "Here Is My Heart" (James)/"Lazy Mule" (Dave). The song about the mule wasn't a bad way to go out; it's quite reminiscent of the "country & western" songs led by Ricky. The flip wasn't particularly worthy of the Ravens at all. (I place it in the same category as "That'll Be The Day"; just my opinion, though.)

There were at least five unreleased Argo sides: "Jingle Jingle Joe", "Simon Says" (both led by Joe), "Surely Will", "Breaker Of Hearts", and "Write Me A Letter". Unfortunately, there's no way to know which combination did which songs or who's doing lead on any of them, other than the first two. "Jingle Jingle Joe" and "Simon Says" surfaced in late 1999, and, in my opinion are truly ghastly. There's no doubt in my mind why they were never released.

Most collectors seem to like Joe Van Loan's work on Argo (especially "Kneel And Pray" and "A Simple Prayer"), but I've always found them too overpowering for my taste. Possibly he needed Ricks as a counterpoint to his voice.

In December, the Ravens did the holiday show given by DJ Al Benson (WGES, Chicago) at the Regal Theater. Others on the bill were: the Hollywood Flames, Percy Mayfield, Ted Taylor (late of the Jacks/Cadets), Jackie Wilson, Valerie Carr, Vi Kemp, Joan Henderson, Billy "The Kid" Emerson, the 5 Satins, and the Red Saunders orchestra.

After the final Argo release, the Ravens stayed together for about a year. Their last appearance was at the Apollo Theater, during Christmas of 1958. Although Joe Van Loan said that they also appeared as "Three Brothers and a Cousin", that wasn't true. Dave Bowers said that the Van Loans made a joke about that to outsiders (Dave wasn't their cousin), but that was all.

Even at this late date, Joe was doing extra-curricular sessions. In the fall of 1958, there was a release on Philadelphia's V-Tone label, on which he's backed by the Parliaments (Arnold Bennett, Milton Harling, James Frazier, John Gore, Bobby Taylor). V-Tone 200 was: "Forever"/"Give Me Your Heart". Another Van Loan recording, from an uncertain date, was "You Must Believe"/"Brotherhood" on the Sudaja label (SR#2772).

In late December 1958, Bobby Shad (who had long ago been a&r man at Mercury), was appointed head of "Rank Record Company of America." Owned by British movie mogul, J. Arthur Rank, they set up an American subsidiary, called "Top Rank." This label issued the last known sides by the Ravens.

In May 1959 Top Rank issued "Into The Shadows"/"The Rising Sun." These might actually have been by the Argo group (or by some of them, with other singers thrown in). "Into The Shadows" features a duet lead and "The Rising Sun" is another Ravens' "Western."

Then, in October, Top Rank released "Solitude"/"Hole In The Middle Of The Moon." These songs were actually by Willis Sanders and the Embers. [The following is from Embers' member Ray Richardson.] The group consisted of Willis Sanders (baritone lead), Billy Adams (second tenor), Ray Richardson (baritone), Al Williams (bass), and Dave Braithwaite (piano). The group had already recorded "I Want To Dance" for Juno (all other Juno recordings, as well as "Paradise Hill" on Ember, were done by Sanders with a different cast) and "Honey Bun"/"Lovable You" for Millionaire. According to Ray Richardson, only Sanders and Braithwaite knew about the "Ravens" session; the rest of the guys were given the tunes the day before they were recorded. After this, the same group went on to record for Coral and Dot).

I’m happy to report that they went out with an oldie: "Solitude" (led by Willis Sanders) was written in 1934 by Eddie De Lange, Irving Mills, and Duke Ellington. "Hole In The Middle Of The Moon" (fronted by Al Williams), was a salute to the fledgling space program ("There’s a hole in the middle of the moon/ Since they shot that rocket right on through"). It isn’t the Ravens, but it isn’t bad! Roy Richardson still keeps an Ink Spots group going in Canada.

In 1959, Joe Van Loan, Willie Ray, Orville Brooks, and Dave Bowers formed the Buccaneers, who toured extensively, but made no recordings. When Dave left, he was replaced by Bob Kornegay (I told you these guys were friends!). They changed their name to the Valiants and recorded "Let Me Go Lover"/"Let Me Ride", released in September 1959, on the Joy label. Orville Brooks went back a long way, having been with the Jubalaires in the early 1940s. Then it was on to the Golden Gate Quartet and the re-formed Larks (on Lloyds).

While Jimmy Ricks would appear at shows with various members of the Ravens over the years, the only "Ravens" performance I ever got to see was on February 2, 1974, when Maithe, Leonard, and Warren reunited at NY's Academy Of Music; although Ricks was still alive, bass chores that night were done by Tommy Evans. They sang "Without A Song", "Write Me A Letter", and "Careless Love", all led by Tommy, plus Maithe's "Would You Believe Me". This performance was captured on a hideously-recorded record (Songmaster 800), which makes it hard to appreciate the singers (however, I was there, and they were a lot better than what comes through). In the late 80s, Maithe, Leonard, Ollie, and Warren appeared at a UGHA show.

On July 19, 2006, 81-year old Warren Suttles accepted the Harlem Jazz & Music Festival 2006 Rhythm & Blues award for the Ravens. The ceremony was held at Gracie Mansion (official residence of the mayor of New York). See the sidebar on Warren receives an award.

In 2009, nearly all the Ravens are gone: Jimmy Ricks, Maithe Marshall, Joe Van Loan, Ollie Jones, Louis Frazier, Louis Heyward, Tommy Evans, David Bowers, James Van Loan, Paul Van Loan, Bob Kornegay, and Willis Sanders. Leonard Puzey, original second tenor passed away, at age 81, on October 2, 2007. Most recently, Warren Suttles died on July 24, 2009; he was the last of the originals. As far as I know, that only leaves Jimmie Steward.

And that's the story of the Ravens. It's long and it's complicated, but it boils down to one important fact: the Ravens loosed Jimmy Ricks on the world of R&B, and he influenced an entire generation of bass singers. No one ever sounded quite like him (although Tommy Evans came close). The Ravens, singly and as a group, were extraordinary talents, and provided us with some of the finest music to come out of the 40s and 50s, whether R&B or Pop.



Thanks to Ferdie Gonzalez (for his discographical diggings), George Moonoogian and Victor Pearlin (for their archival record collections), and Jack Sbarbori (for everything he ever wrote on the Ravens). Most of the ads appeared in various editions of First Pressings (Courtesy of Galen Gart). Special thanks to Tina McCarthy, Manager of the Sony Music Archives, for help with some Columbia research. Thanks also to Joe Grimaldi, for information about their appearances on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and It's Dream Time. Thanks to Dave Cummings for the recent photo of Leonard Puzey. Let's not forget Mark DeFrancisco, who brought Joe Van Loan's Sudaja recording to my attention and Pete Grendysa who helped me unravel Ricks's Festival recordings.