The Flamingos on Chance and Parrot Records 1953-1954


[Marv Goldberg]

This is a song-by-song guide to the Flamingos' 1953-1954 recordings for their first two labels, Chance and Parrot Records. Click on any title to read the post.   

Links are provided at the end to couple of other posts which help fill out the background. One of these is about engineer Bill Putnam, whose work with reverb and echo helped define the Flamingos' sound. The other contains two accounts of the recording process, from a backing musician who worked with the Flamingos and from a singer in another fledgling group.

I've stopped with the Flamingos' departure from Parrot. The group joined Chess Records early in 1955.
  

Flamingos # 1: Cross Over the Bridge

Flamingos # 2: That's My Desire 

Flamingos # 3: Golden Teardrops & Carried Away

Flamingos # 4: If I Can't Have You

Flamingos # 5: Someday, Someway

Flamingos # 6: Plan for Love

Flamingos # 7: You Ain't Ready

Flamingos # 8: Hurry Home Baby

Flamingos # 9: Blues in a Letter & Jump Children

Flamingos # 10: September Song

Flamingos # 11: Listen to My Plea 

Flamingos # 12: Dream of a Lifetime


Flamingos # 13: On My Merry Way

Flamingos # 14: If I Could Love You


Flamingos # 15: I Really Don't Want to Know


Flamingos # 16: I'm Yours & Ko Ko Mo


Flamingos # 17: Get With It & I Found a New Baby


Two other posts help to fill out the picture:

"Virtually mistake-free": a doo wop group in the studio

Bill Putnam and Universal Recording

"Virtually mistake-free" ... includes accounts by singer Johnny Keyes of the Magnificents and saxophonist/bandleader Red Holloway of the tensions of vocal group recording sessions at the studio where the Flamingos cut their sides.

When I first began writing about the Flamingos' Chance and Parrot sides I didn't have a clear idea of the role played by Bill Putnam and his experimentation with echo and reverb effects. The second post attempts to rectify this. 


Main Sources:

Doowop: the Chicago Scene by Robert Pruter

Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks page on the Flamingos

The Chance Label (website) - Robert Pruter, Armin Buttner and Robert L Campbell

The Parrot and Blue Lake Labels (website) - Robert Pruter, Armin Buttner and Robert L Campbell



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