Earl Gaines

Earl Gaines is a kind of hard-luck case as a recording artist. His biggest hit, far and away, was "It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)." But that record wasn't credited to him, as it was the work of Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers, the group with which he was singing lead, and he was never able to duplicate its impact. Gaines was born August 19, 1935, in Decatur, AL, and early in life was singing in church. He left home at age 16 and headed for Nashville, hoping for a career as a blues singer. In order to survive, he also cultivated further musical skills as a drummer. His first professional work was cutting demos for songwriter and impresario Ted Jarrett, who got him work in the city's clubs. With Jarrett's help, he met Louis Brooks, who was then leading the group the Hi-Toppers as an instrumental outfit, recording for the Excello label. Gaines joined them as a singer and sometimes a percussionist, and their first recording was the Jarrett-authored "It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)," which rose to number two on the R&B charts nationally in 1955. It not only became the group's claim to fame, but was the record that gave Excello a national profile for the first time. Both Gaines and the label were tempted to try and spin him off into a career of his own, and he was more than willing. The Hi-Toppers were content to remain a local act rather than concertize nationally and build on what that record had done. Gaines became part of the package tour called the 1955 R&B Caravan of Stars after its Nashville engagements, a gig that eventually took him to New York's Carnegie Hall for their final show. Gaines and Excello tried without avail three times over the next two years to repeat the success of "It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)" without reaching the charts. In 1957, he rejoined...