Dozier Boys

The Dozier Boys may be a minor footnote in the musical history of the R&B vocal groups, but they were an important part of the local south side of Chicago vocal group scene and are to be given credit for a career that spanned a quarter century of popular music history while performing everything from strict swing-era vocal harmony to true doo wop of the rock & roll vintage. They were also one of the first acts signed by Leonard Chess and Phil Chess prior to their success with blues artists, and they recorded for a number of other important U.S. labels. They made a number of appearances on television, and also recorded for several labels between 1948 and 1964. The Dozier Boys also recorded with many musicians during their lengthy career that would go on to have substantial jazz careers under different names: during their brief association with Okeh, the Doziers worked with Fritz Jones, later to become famous as Ahmad Jamal. Another Dozier Boys musician, Herman "Sonny" Blount, became known as Sun Ra after 1952 and continued to record under that name for nearly 40 more years. Tenor saxophonist Bill Evans would later become a famous jazz artist -- no, not that one -- under the name Yusef Lateef. Wes Montgomery was also playing with the group for a while. The Dozier Boys -- original vocal members were Lucius Teague (lead vocals), Eugene Teague (baritone, guitar, arranger); Cornell Wiley (first tenor, baritone, string bass), and Benny Cotton (bass vocals) -- began as the Four Tones, singing gospel, performing at neighborhood nightclubs and bars, and hosting a radio show in Hammond, IN. Later, the Four Tones met the Four Vagabonds, whose lead singer John Jordan gave them training in singing pop tunes. Lucius Teague left to study dancing and acting (he ended up joining the...