The Chips

The Chips had one record released from August 1956 to April 1980, "Rubber Biscuit," an outrageous novelty song that failed to crack the pop Top 40 but did well along the East Coast. Raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, the Chips formed in 1956; the members were Charles Johnson (lead), Sammy Strain (first tenor), Shedwick Lincoln (second tenor), Nathaniel Epps (baritone), and Paul Fulton (bass). They created the novelty and its flip "Oh My Darling" while attending a school for delinquent teens. Josie Records thought it had something and released the nutty ditty. After a few appearances at some major R&B venues, the group disbanded; Josie never released another recording by them, though some members enjoyed more success with other groups: Fulton sung with the Velours and the Poets, Lincoln with the Invitations, and Johnson with the Platters. And Sammy Strain had enjoyed an illustrious career with the Fantastics, Little Anthony & the Imperials, and the O'Jays. In 1979, "Rubber Biscuit" enjoyed another stint of success when the Blues Brothers remade it for a Top 40 hit. The Chips promptly regrouped in 1980 -- minus Sammy Strain, who had connected with the O'Jays -- and recorded "Everyone's Laughing," their first single in 24 years. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide