From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sun Aug 3, 2003  1:42 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Gordon Stoker
 
GORDON STOKER

Born Hugh Gordon Stoker, 3 August 1924, Gleason, Tennessee

Gordon Stoker has been a member of the Jordanaires since 1950.
This renowned harmony-vocal quartet, formed in 1948, is best known
for a lengthy working relationship with Elvis Presley. The group first
accompanied the young Elvis in 1955 during a performance on the
pivotal Louisiana Hayride. Lead vocalist Stoker was subsequently 
featured on Presley's first recordings for RCA Victor, notably "Heart-
break Hotel", while the remaining trio - Neal Matthews (tenor), Hoyt
Hawkins (baritone) and Hugh Jarrett (bass) - joined him on the session
that produced "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel". (Stoker claims that
he plays piano on "Hound Dog".) The Jordanaires also supported 
Presley on the Steve Allen and Milton Berle television shows, where 
their clean-cut, conservative appearance contrasted the impact of the
singer's explosive personae. The quartet continued to accompany
him throughout the 50s and 60s, although they were spectacularly 
absent from the comeback NBC-TV spectacular, "Elvis" (1968), where
their role was taken by girl-group, the Blossoms. The Jordanaires did not
feature on the fruitful sessions spawning "Suspicious Minds" and "In The
Ghetto", nor the subsequent live appearances, but returned to the fold for
recordings undertaken in Nashville during June and September 1970.
These marked the end of the Jordanaires' relationship with Presley, but
the group remained an integral part of Nashville's music industry. They
also released several albums in their own right, many of which featured
gospel material or songs that have been recorded by Elvis.

For 47 years, 1953 through 2000, the group's membership was almost
constant. Their joint tenures were interrupted in 1982, when Hoyt Hawkins
passed away, with the baritone position then filled by Duane West, who
died in 2002. In the bass position, Ray Walker filled Hugh Jarrett's place
in 1958 and continues to this present day. The current line-up is: Gordon
Stoker (first tenor), Ray Walker (bass), Louis Nunley (baritone), Curtis
Young (second tenor).

Website: http://www.jordanaires.net
CD recommendations: Simply the Best (Disky, 1995), Sing the King
(Music Club, 1998).