The Ink Spots

Early background of founding members Daniels and Fuqua formed a vocal duo called "Jerry and Charlie" and performed in the Indianapolis area around 1931. About the same time, Jones and Watson were part of a quartet, "The Four Riff Brothers" with Mifflin James "Miff" Campbell and Elmer Oliver aka Slim Green, who appeared regularly on radio station WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1933, that group disbanded, and Watson, Daniels and Fuqua got together to form a new vocal, instrumental, and comedy group initially called "King, Jack, and Jester". They continued to appear regularly on radio in Ohio and became a quartet when Jones joined the following year. In July 1934, they accepted a booking at the Apollo Theater, New York, supporting jazz bandleader Tiny Bradshaw. At this point they had changed their name to "The 4 Ink Spots". Later that year, the Ink Spots achieved international success touring the UK with Jack Hylton's Orchestra, one review in the Melody Maker stating: They first recorded for Victor Records in 1935. Their early recordings included such songs as "Swingin' on the Strings", "Your Feet's Too Big", "Don't 'Low No Swingin' in Here" and "Swing, Gate, Swing". Despite their rising popularity as performers, their early records were not commercially successful. Bill Kenny joins In 1936, Daniels was replaced by a 21-year-old singer from Baltimore, Bill Kenny, who signed on with the Ink Spots after winning first place in an amateur contest at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom. Three years later, Kenny was credited for bringing the group to global success with his unusual high tenor ballad singing. In 1938, after being in the group for two years, Kenny started to introduce the group to a new format that he called "Top & Bottom". This format was used primarily for ballads rather than the uptempo "jive" songs the group was used to performing. This format called for the tenor (Kenny or Watson) to sing the lead for one chorus followed by a chorus performed by bass singer Jones reciting the lyrics rather than singing them. After a chorus of the "talking bass" the lead tenor sang the rest of the song until the end. The earliest example of their "Top & Bottom" format is from a radio broadcast from 1938. The song, titled "Tune In on My Heart", features Kenny taking the lead and Jones performing the talking bass. Also in 1938, Kenny took his first feature solo in Decca studios. His feature was on a song titled "I Wish You the Best of Everything". Although not in the "Top & Bottom" format, it was a ballad and used the signature Ink Spots guitar intro. Even though it got a good response, it was not very successful in terms of record sales and did not reach the pop chart. "If I Didn't Care" and the late 1930s On January 12, 1939, the Ink Spots entered Decca studios to record a ballad written by a young songwriter named Jack Lawrence. This ballad, "If I Didn't Care", was to be one of their biggest hits, selling more than 19 million copies and becoming the 8th-best-selling single of all time. This is the first studio recorded example of the Ink Spots "Top & Bottom" format with Kenny singing lead and Jones performing the "talking bass". For this recording, each member was paid $37.50; after the record sold 200,000 copies, however, Decca destroyed the original contract and the group was paid an additional $3,750. This was the recording that brought the group to global fame and established the "Top & Bottom" format as the Ink Spots "trademark". From 1939 until the group's disbanding in 1954, many of their songs employed this format. The year 1939 also saw the Ink Spots enjoy commercial success with five other recordings that featured Kenny in the "Top & Bottom" format. Their most successful hit of 1939 was the Lombardo, Marks & Hill ballad, "Address Unknown". Other successful hits from 1939 and early 1940 included "My Prayer", "Bless You", "Memories of You", and "I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You". ==1940s==

Recordings Between the years 1940 and 1949 the Ink Spots landed well over 30 hits on the US Pop Charts with 18 of them on the top 10. The group's first Billboard No. 1 hit came in 1944, when they teamed up with Ella Fitzgerald to record "I'm Making Believe". This recording featured Bill Kenny. In 1946, the Ink Spots earned another No. 1 spot on the US Pop Charts with "To Each His Own". The Billy Reid composition "The Gypsy" was the Ink Spots' biggest chart success, staying at the No. 1 position on the Billboard Best Sellers chart for 10 straight weeks in 1946. Other hits for the Ink Spots in the 1940s included "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano", "Maybe", "We Three", "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening", "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", and "I'm Beginning to See the Light". Films In 1941, the Ink Spots were featured in The Great American Broadcast starring John Payne and Alice Faye. In the film, the Ink Spots play Pullman porters who sing during their breaks and ultimately "make it big time" and sing live on the radio during a national broadcast. The group sings a short segment of "If I Didn't Care", "Alabamy Bound", and "I've Got a Bone to Pick with You". They also provide background vocals to Faye and Payne on a ballad entitled "Where You Are". The following year, the Ink Spots were featured in an Abbott and Costello film, Pardon My Sarong. In this film, the Ink Spots play singing waiters in a nightclub. They sing the ballad Do I Worry? and the swing song "Shout Brother Shout". Jones was temporarily replaced by Cliff Givens, who filled in from October 1944 to March 1945, before a permanent replacement was found in Bill Kenny's brother (and fraternal twin) Herb Kenny. Herb Kenny sang with the group from 1945 to 1951, when he began a career as a solo artist. The last bass singer in the Ink Spots was Adriel McDonald, who was with the group from 1951 to 1954. McDonald was previously the Ink Spots' personal valet, a job given to him by Herb Kenny, with whom he had sung in a group called "The Cabineers" in the early 1940s. Due to personality clashes between Bill Kenny and Watson after Jones' death, Kenny decided he would rather carry on as the leader of the group and bought Watson's share of the group for $10,000, which gave him the power to kick Watson out of the group. Watson went on to form a group similar in style to the Ink Spots called the Brown Dots (which later became the Four Tunes), and his place was filled by Billy "Butterball" Bowen, who sang with the Ink Spots from 1944 to 1952. ==1950s==

Final years In 1952, Fuqua left the group to form his own vocal group using the name "Ink Spots". At this time, Kenny and Fuqua each owned 50% of the Ink Spots, and it was decided by court ruling that Kenny's group was to continue on as the original "Ink Spots", while Fuqua's group was to use the name "Charlie Fuqua's New Ink Spots". Defying the court ruling, Fuqua instead called his group the "Original" Ink Spots. Fuqua was replaced in the Ink Spots by popular jazz and R&B guitarist Everett Barksdale, so the group now consisted of Bill Kenny (lead tenor), Teddy Williams (second tenor), who had replaced Bowen, Everett Barksdale (baritone and guitar), and McDonald (bass). After being with the group for only a few months, Williams was replaced by Ernie Brown. Barksdale stayed with the group for about a year before being replaced by baritone vocalist and guitar player Jimmy Cannady. This line-up of Kenny (lead tenor), Brown (second tenor), Cannady (baritone and guitar), and McDonald (bass) lasted until 1954, when the final change of lineup was made. In April 1954, Brown was replaced by Henry Braswell, who sang with the Ink Spots for their final three months. Kenny officially disbanded the Ink Spots in July 1954, after an appearance at the Bolero Bar in Wildwood, New Jersey. ==Members==

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame • Hoppy Jones (born as Orville Jones, February 17, 1905, Chicago, Illinois – d. October 18, 1944, New York City) sang bass and did spoken word. He played a small cello in the manner of a stand up bass. • Deek Watson (born as Ivory Jones, July 18, 1909 (some sources say 1913), Mounds, Illinois – d. November 4, 1969, Washington, D.C.) sang tenor and played tenor guitar. • Jerry Daniels (b. December 14, 1915 – d. November 7, 1995, Indianapolis, Indiana) sang tenor and played guitar and ukulele. • Charlie Fuqua (b. October 20, 1910 – d. c. 1970, New Haven, Connecticut) had a baritone voice and played guitar and tenor guitar. • Bill Kenny (b. June 12, 1914, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. – d. March 23, 1978, New Westminster, Canada) sang lead tenor. Timeline ImageSize = width:1000 height:400 PlotArea = left:95 bottom:80 top:20 right:5 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1931 till:07/01/1954 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = position:bottom ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1931 gridcolor:black Colors = id:JerryCharlie legend:As_Jerry_and_Charlie value:pink id:FourRiff legend:Part_of_The_Four_Riff_Brothers value:yellow id:KingJack legend:As_King,_Jack,_and_Jester value:skyblue id:The4InkSpots legend:As_The_4_Ink_Spots value:rgb(0.7,1,0.7) # light green id:Lead legend:Lead_tenor value:red id:Baritone legend:Baritone value:orange id:Bass legend:Bass value:blue id:Second legend:Second_tenor value:green PlotData = width:10 align:left bar:Jerry Daniels from:start till:01/01/1933 color:JerryCharlie width:4 bar:Jerry Daniels from:01/01/1933 till:07/01/1934 color:KingJack width:4 bar:Jerry Daniels from:07/01/1934 till:01/01/1935 color:The4InkSpots width:4 bar:Jerry Daniels from:start till:01/01/1936 color:Lead bar:Bill Kenny from:01/01/1936 till:07/01/1954 color:Lead bar:Charlie Fuqua from:start till:01/01/1933 color:JerryCharlie width:4 bar:Charlie Fuqua from:01/01/1933 till:07/01/1934 color:KingJack width:4 bar:Charlie Fuqua from:07/01/1934 till:01/01/1935 color:The4InkSpots width:4 bar:Charlie Fuqua from:start till:01/01/1943 color:Baritone bar:Charlie Fuqua from:10/01/1945 till:01/01/1952 color:Baritone bar:Bernie Mackey from:01/01/1943 till:03/01/1945 color:Baritone bar:Huey Long from:03/01/1945 till:10/01/1945 color:Baritone bar:Everett Barksdale from:01/01/1952 till:01/01/1953 color:Baritone bar:Jimmy Cannady from:01/01/1953 till:07/01/1954 color:Baritone bar:Hoppy Jones from:start till:01/01/1933 color:FourRiff width:4 bar:Hoppy Jones from:07/01/1934 till:01/01/1935 color:The4InkSpots width:4 bar:Hoppy Jones from:start till:01/01/1933 color:Bass bar:Hoppy Jones from:07/01/1934 till:10/01/1944 color:Bass bar:Cliff Givens from:10/01/1944 till:03/01/1945 color:Bass bar:Herb Kenny from:03/01/1945 till:01/01/1951 color:Bass bar:Adriel McDonald from:01/01/1951 till:07/01/1954 color:Bass bar:Deek Watson from:start till:01/01/1933 color:FourRiff width:4 bar:Deek Watson from:01/01/1933 till:07/01/1934 color:KingJack width:4 bar:Deek Watson from:07/01/1934 till:01/01/1935 color:The4InkSpots width:4 bar:Deek Watson from:start till:12/01/1944 color:Second bar:Billy Bowens from:12/01/1944 till:01/01/1952 color:Second bar:Teddy Williams from:01/01/1952 till:06/01/1952 color:Second bar:Ernie Brown from:06/01/1952 till:04/01/1954 color:Second bar:Henry Braswell from:04/01/1954 till:07/01/1954 color:Second ==Non-original Ink Spots groups==

Disputes over the rights to use the Ink Spots name began in the late 1940s, resulting in many court cases. Starting in 1954, groups calling themselves "The Ink Spots" sprang up all around the United States. Some groups contained original members Fuqua, McDonald, Bowen, or Watson, but most had no ties to the original group whatsoever. Many groups claimed to have the rights to the name, but no one did. Still, lawsuits were filed between various groups and there was great confusion as to who owned the naming rights. Some groups avoided lawsuits by naming themselves "The Fabulous Ink Spots", "The Famous Ink Spots", "The Amazing Ink Spots", "The Sensational Ink Spots", "The Dynamic Ink Spots", and more. According to writer Marv Goldberg: "The original group was a partnership, not a corporation, and that influenced judge Isidor Wasservogel to say, in 1955, that when Hoppy Jones died in 1944, it effectively served to terminate the partnership and that no one could truthfully use the name after that." From 1954 to the present, more than 100 groups have used the name "The Ink Spots". In 1967 US federal judge Emmet C. Choate ruled that since so many groups had been using the name "Ink Spots" it had become "public domain" and was free for anyone to use. Charlie Fuqua's Ink Spots In 1952, Fuqua left the original Ink Spots led by Kenny to form his own Ink Spots group. Fuqua recorded dozens of singles with his group for King Records as well as releasing two LP (long play) albums for Verve Records. In 1963 Fuqua's group also recorded one 45 RPM record for Ford Records. Fuqua led and was a member of various vocal groups calling themselves "The Ink Spots" until his death in 1971. Deek Watson's Ink Spots Watson, who had been forced out of the original Ink Spots in 1944 and briefly sang with Charlie Fuqua's Ink Spots in 1952–1953, started his own vocal group using the name "The Ink Spots" in 1954. Watson made numerous recordings with his "Ink Spots" groups in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the recordings Watson made with his groups were released and re-released on various low budget labels. Watson led various groups until his death in 1969. ==Legitimate members of the Ink Spots==

Legitimate members of the Ink Spots included Bill Kenny, Jerry Daniels, Deek Watson, Charlie Fuqua, Hoppy Jones, Bernie Mackey, Huey Long, Cliff Givens, Billy Bowen, Herb Kenny, Adriel McDonald, Jimmy Cannady, Ernie Brown, Henry Braswell, Teddy Williams and Everett Barksdale. Pianists and arrangers included Bob Benson, Asa "Ace" Harris, Ken Bryan, Mort Howard (arranger), Bill Doggett, Ray Tunia, Harold Francis and Fletcher Smith. Some singers have tenuous ties to Deek Watson's or Charlie Fuqua's offshoot groups; many, with no credentials whatsoever, claim to be original members. == Deaths ==

• Orville "Hoppy" Jones (born February 17, 1905, in Chicago, Illinois) (Ink Spots member from 1931 to 1944) died on October 18, 1944, after collapsing at the Cafe Zanzibar in New York City aged 39. • Bob Benson (born December 20, 1908, in Mercer County, West Virginia) (Ink Spots pianist for a time) died on September 7, 1945, in Detroit, Michigan aged 36. • Asa "Ace" Harris (born April 1, 1910, in New York) (Ink Spots pianist and arranger from 1940 to 1942) died June 11, 1964, in Chicago aged 54. He is not to be confused with a man named John Harris who toured with a fake Ink Spots group and used the "Ace" nickname and pretended to be Ace Harris before his death in 2000. • Deek Watson (born as Ivory Jones, July 18, 1909, in Mounds, Illinois) (Ink Spots member from 1931 to 1944) died from a stroke on November 4, 1969, in Washington, D.C.. • Harold Francis (born Harold L. Francis, July 26, 1918, in New York) (Ink Spots pianist for a time) died February 4, 1975, aged 56. • Bernie Mackey (born July 12, 1909, in The Bahamas) (Ink Spots member from 1943 to 1945) died in Miami, Florida from cancer on March 12, 1980, aged 70. • Billy Bowen (born January 3, 1909, in Birmingham, Alabama) (Ink Spots member from 1944 to 1951) died from a short illness on September 27, 1982, in New York City aged 73. • Ernie Brown (born September 28, 1925, in Lakeland, Minnesota) (Ink Spots member from 1952 to 1954) died on July 1, 1983, in Hyattsville, Maryland aged 57. • Adriel McDonald (born May 10, 1905, in Virgin Islands) (Ink Spots member from 1951 to 1954) died on September 1, 1987, in Manhattan aged 82. • Herb Kenny (born Herbert C. Kenny June 12, 1914, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) (Ink Spots member from 1945 to 1950) died from cancer on July 11, 1992, aged 78. • Fletcher Smith (born September 22, 1913, in Lincoln, Nebraska) (Ink Spots pianist for a time) died on August 15, 1993, in Los Angeles, California aged 79. • Bill Doggett (born February 16, 1916) (Ink Spots pianist and arranger from 1942 to 1944) died from cancer in New York on November 13, 1996, aged 80. • Huey Long (born April 25, 1904, in Sealy, Texas) (Ink Spots member in 1945) died on June 10, 2009, in Houston aged 105. • Henry Braswell (born September 15, 1929, in Halifax, North Carolina) (Ink Spots member in 1954) died on October 7, 2016, in Camden, New Jersey aged 87. Marv Goldberg, who wrote an article about Williams published in 2025, stated: "There was never another word about Teddy Williams, not even a record of his death. I don't know if he ever married or had any children. There's even a slim chance that he's still alive." ==Legacy and honors==

• 1946 - Cashbox award for "The Gypsy" being the biggest money-making song of the year. • 1948 - Negro Actors Guild of America awarded a plaque for their efforts in "breaking down the walls of racial prejudice". • 1989 - the Ink Spots were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "early influences" by Bobby McFerrin; the members were listed as Bill Kenny, Charlie Fuqua, Deek Watson, Jerry Daniels, and Orville Jones. • 1989 - the Ink Spots' 1939 recording of "If I Didn't Care" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. • 1999 - the Ink Spots were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. ==In popular culture==

Television appearances The Ink Spots were television pioneers when, on November 6, 1936, they were the first musical group to perform live on television, during an NBC test broadcast held at the NBC/RCA Building for the press. In 1948, they were the first black performers to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. In 2015 The Ink Spots version of "Address Unknown" plays in the opening scene of Better Call Saul episode one season one. In 2025, The Ink Spots' version of "We'll Meet Again" was featured on the fifth episode of the show Alien: Earth. That same year, the group's version of "If I Didn't Care" was used at the end of the South Park episode "The Woman in the Hat". Other homages and references In Glenn Miller's 1942 song "Jukebox Saturday Night", The Ink Spots are directly mentioned and an homage is done. In 1945, Spike Jones recorded a parody cover of "You Always Hurt the One You Love" in an Ink Spots impression. The original song was recorded by a group they were often compared to, The Mills Brothers, just a year prior to Jones' cover. The Beatles, at the time known as The Quarrymen, attempted to imitate The Ink Spots in the song "You'll Be Mine". It was only ever recorded as a demo. Paul McCartney sang in a deep baritone and John Lennon sang backing vocals in falsetto. The Ink Spots' music features prominently in the work of Dennis Potter, most notably in his 1986 series The Singing Detective. The group's music is heavily featured throughout the Fallout franchise. Songs have appeared in all pieces of mainline Fallout media, with the exception of Fallout 2. "Maybe" is played in promotional material of the 1997 video game Fallout. "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" is played during the opening sequences of the 2008 video game Fallout 3. "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" is featured in the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas. "It's All Over But the Crying" is played in the 2015 video game Fallout 4. Six of the group's songs feature in the Fallout TV series, although all six of the songs have featured in previous Fallout media. "If I Didn't Care" is played during the opening of the film The Shawshank Redemption. On the sitcom Sanford and Son, the character Fred Sanford would often perform an impression of The Ink Spots, singing "If I Didn't Care". ==Selected discography==

Compilation albums • Ink Spots (1946) • ''If I Didn't Care'' (1979) Select Singles Notes ==See also==