From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Sun Aug 18, 2002 2:00 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Sonny Til SONNY TIL Born Earlington Carl Tilghman, 18 August 1925, Baltimore, Maryland Died 9 December 1981, Baltimore, Maryland Sonny Til was the lead singer of the Orioles, a group that, along with the Ravens, is considered as the pioneers of rhythm and blues vocal harmony. Upon his return from the military in 1946, Til formed a group in his home town of Baltimore. Sonny sang lead and was joined by Alexander Sharp (first tenor), George Nelson (baritone), Johnny Reed (bass) and guitarist Tommy Gaither. The name of the group at this time was the Vibranaires. The group performed locally and came to the attention of another Baltimore native, Deborah Chessler, who was a songwriter. Deborah had written a song entitled "Tell Me So" that had been recorded by Savannah Churchill but the record failed to catch on with the public. Deborah became the manager of the Vibranaires and brought them to New York to appear on the Arthur Godfrey talent show. Although they did not win first place, the New York appearance enabled Deborah to make contacts with people in the recording industry. They signed a recording contract with Jerry Blaine's "It's A Natural" label and changed their name to the Orioles. Their first release in 1948 was a Deborah Chessler penned tune, "It's Too Soon Too Know". The song reached # 1 on the R&B charts and # 13 on the pop charts, a feat never accomplished by a black group. Blaine's label became Jubilee in 1948 and sales of "It's Too Soon To Know" would be credited to Jubilee Records. The Orioles followed up their first record with many more great ballads, "Forgive and Forget", "A Kiss and A Rose", "What Are You Doing New Years Eve", "I Cover The Waterfront" and "I Miss You So". Most Orioles hits followed the same formula of Til's impassioned tenor lead with sleepy vocal support and almost invisible instrumental accompaniment in which the music was felt rather than heard. George Nelson left in 1953, replaced by Gregory Carroll (Four Buddies) and Charlie Harris making the group a quintet. Their next release became their signature song, "Crying In The Chapel" (# 1 R&B, # 11 pop). However, by the end of the year, the group disbanded due to stiff competition, ironically spawned by their success. Sonny Til was attending a show at the Apollo Theatre in 1954 and was so impressed with a group named the Regals that he persuaded them to become his new Orioles group. They continued to record for Jubilee until 1956 and then moved to Vee-Jay for three singles, but could not revive the success of the Orioles. Sonny Til's last recording was in 1981 on an album, "Sonny Til and Orioles Visit Manhattan Circa 1950's". He died in 1981 of heart failure, complicated by diabetes. "The Orioles : The Jubilee Recordings" (Bear Family BCD 15682) is a 6-CD boxed set.