France's Famous Groove label released this CD in 1997. We note that the liner notes are lifted verbatim from Jay Warner's Book Of American Singing Groups.
This package tracks the complete career of the Blenders, a group formed in 1949, in part, by "castoffs" from other groups. Ollie Jones had been singing tenor with the Ravens, but was replaced by Maithe Marshall. Jones joined the Four Notes for a time, and then struck out with the Notes' baritone Tommy Adams to form a new group. They recruited bass James DeLoach, and brought him to Ravens bass lead singer Jimmy Ricks to get Ricks' opinion of his ability. Ricks was well-impressed with DeLoach, so they then went in search of a tenor to round out the group and found Abel DeCosta. Since the group specialized in smooth harmony, they named themselves the Blenders.
Through Ricks' efforts, the Blenders were introduced to Lee Magid of National Records. Magid had the group cut one record on National in 1949, and then he and they moved on to the Decca label. Their 1950 ballad version of Fats Waller's Honeysuckle Rose is perhaps one of the most under-rated tunes of the era. In 1951 Dick Palmer replaced Tommy Adams and Ray Johnson replaced James DeLoach. By mid-1951, DeLoach had returned and Johnson sang baritone. Then Johnson and Palmer left and Napoleon "Snaggs" Allen took up duty as baritone. The group remained with Decca through 1952.
1953 found the Blenders signing with a new manager, Rita Don, and a new label, MGM. When MGM executive Joe Davis left to from his own Jay-Dee label in the fall of 1953, he took the group with him. When Davis had the group record Don't Play Around With Love, he also had them record an off-color version (Don't F**k Around With Love), which he distributed on tape to selected disc jockeys. This version surfaced on a "bootleg" 45 in 1971. The group disbanded in 1954, but Davis released one record from his 1953 sessions in 1956 under the name "the Millionaires."
A good article about the Blenders can be found on John Charles Marion's Website.
Track listing:
1. Come Back Baby Blues - (National #9092) Nov 1949
2. I Can Dream, Can't I - (National #9092) Nov 1949
3. Gone - (Decca #48156) May 1950
4. Honeysuckle Rose - (Decca #48156) May 1950
5. Count Every Star - (Decca #48158) Jun 1950
6. Would I Still Be The One In Your Heart - (Decca #48158) Jun 1950
7. I'm So Crazy For Love - (Decca #48183) Oct 1950
8. What About Tonight - (Decca #48183) Oct 1950
9. I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over - (Decca #27403) Jan 1951
10. Little Small Town Girl - (Decca #27403) Jan 1951
11. All I Gotta Do Is Think Of You - (Decca #27587) 1951
12. The Busiest Corner In My Hometown - (Decca #27587) 1951
13. I'd Be A Fool Again - (Decca #28092) Apr 1952
14. Just A Little Walk With Me - (Decca #28092) Apr 1952
15. My Heart Will Never Forget - (Decca #48244) Oct 1951
16. You Do The Dreaming - (Decca #48244) Oct 1951
17. Never In A Million Years - (Decca #28241) Jun 1952
18. Memories Of You - (Decca #28241) Jun 1952
19. If That's the Way You Want It Baby - (MGM #11488) May 1953
20. I Don't Miss You Anymore - (MGM #11488) May 1953
21. Isn't It A Shame - (MGM #11531) Jul 1953
22. Please Take Me Back - (MGM #11531) Jul 1953
23. You'll Never Be Mine Again - (Jay-Dee #780) - Sep 1953
24. Don't Play Around With Love - (Jay-Dee #780) - Sep 1953
25. Don't F**k Around With Love - (Jay-Dee unrel.) - Sep 1953
26. Somebody's Lying - Millionaires - (Davis #441) Jan 1956
27. Kansas Kapers - Millionaires - (Davis #441) Jan 1956
