The Dells grew up in Harvey, Illinois and began singing together while attending Thornton Township High School. Forming in 1952 under the name the El-Rays, the group initially consisted of Marvin Junior, Mickey McGill, Lucius McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, and Johnny Funches. Lucius soon left the group and the remaining quintet signed with Checker Records, releasing their first single, "Darling I Know," which flopped.
In 1955, the group renamed themselves the Dells and signed with Vee-Jay Records. In 1956, they recorded their first hit, "Oh, What a Nite" (a song co-written by Johnny Funches, who also sang lead on the recording alongside Marvin Junior), which hit the Top 5 of the R&B singles chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The song is ranked #260 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In November 1958, the Dells suffered a car accident that left McGill in a hospital in Ohio for six months. The group temporarily disbanded and Barksdale sang as a member of Harvey Fuqua's spinoff Moonglows act, Harvey and the Moonglows, which included a young Marvin Gaye. In 1961, the Dells reunited and auditioned for Dinah Washington. After Washington agreed to hire them, Johnny Funches left the group to take care of his family. Funches was replaced by Flamingos founding member Johnny Carter and sang background for Washington for two years. In 1966, they were hired to open for Ray Charles, only to be fired after a performance resulted in several standing ovations. The group would also sing background for Barbara Lewis, mainly on Lewis' 1963 hit, "Hello Stranger", while also working with Quincy Jones, who helped to fine-tune their vocals for standards and jazz material.
In 1966, the Dells returned to Chess under the label's Cadet subsidiary working with Bobby Miller and future Earth, Wind & Fire arranger Charles Stepney. In 1967, the Dells issued the album There Is which included their first R&B chart-topper in years with the title track, which showcased the sharp baritone of Marvin Junior and the harmonies with the four other Dells. The song was also their first top 20 pop hit.
Subsequent R&B hits included "Wear It on Our Face," "Always Together" (Top 20 Pop, "I Can Sing a Rainbow - Love is Blue (medley)" (UK #15), and their first #1 R&B hit and first Top Ten pop hit, 1968's "Stay in My Corner," which reached #10 on the pop chart and showcased both Carter and Marvin in lead vocals. In the following year, 1969, The Dells' soulful remake of their debut hit, "Oh What a Night" gave the group their second chart-topping R&B single and also reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. For a second time, the song sold over a million copies. Subsequent hits included "Open Up My Heart," "Oh What A Day," and "On the Dock of the Bay." In 1971, the Dells' "The Love We Had Stays on My Mind" became another Top Ten hit on the R&B charts, also reaching the pop Top 30. By this time Charles Stepney had taken over production duties from Bobby Miller. 1973's "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation" was their third certified gold record. The song was written by L.V. Johnson and produced by Don Davis.
Leaving Cadet around the end of 1974 with the parent company in financial difficulties, the group would continue recording in order under the Mercury, ABC, and Virgin labels finding some hits, including 1980's "I Touched a Dream", which returned the group to the top 40 on the R&B charts. The Dells were confined mostly to the oldies market afterwards until they were asked to be creative consultants to Robert Townsend's acclaimed 1991 film, The Five Heartbeats, which was loosely based on the lives of The Dells and other groups of its era. The group recorded a composition titled "A Heart Is a House for Love". The song reached number 13 on the Billboard R&B chart, making them only one of two groups to have hit singles in five decades. The following year, signing with PIR, they released the album, I Salute You. The Dells continued performing and recording sporadically in the early years of the new millennium. In 2004, the group were inducted to both the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group continued performing until 2012.
Original Dells vocalist Johnny Funches died of pneumonia on January 23, 1998, at the age of 62.
Johnny Carter died of cancer on August 21, 2009, at the age of 75. Carter is one of the few artists to be a double Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted with The Flamingos in 2001, and the Dells in 2004.
On May 29, 2013, founding member Marvin Junior died in his sleep at his home in Harvey, Illinois, succumbing to complications of kidney failure and a weak heart at the age of 77.
Chuck Barksdale died on 15 May 2019, at the age of 83.
Members
Marvin Junior (born Marvin Curtis Junior, January 31, 1936, Harrell, Arkansas – May 29, 2013) - lead baritone, lead vocals (1952-1958, 1960–2012)
Verne Allison (b. June 22, 1936, Chicago) - second tenor, background vocals (1952-1958, 1960-2012)
Mickey McGill (b. February 17, 1937, Chicago) - baritone, background vocals (1952–1958, 1960-2012)
Chuck Barksdale (January 11, 1935 - May 15, 2019) - bass, background vocals (1952–1958, 1960-2012)
Johnny Funches (July 18, 1935, Chicago – January 23, 1998) - first tenor, lead vocals (1952–58, 1960-1961)
Lucius McGill (b. 1935, Chicago) - second tenor, background vocals (1952–54)
Johnny Carter (June 2, 1934, Chicago – August 21, 2009) - first tenor/falsetto, lead vocals (1961–2009)
Baby Do
The Dells Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She told me you looked so neat
We went out to have a ball we had
A big fight and that was all
Baby do my love I won't be back no more
Now when I′m a baby and that's a fact
I won't be the one to come back
If she loves me she′ll let me know
That′s the only way I will show
Baby do my love I won't be back no more
I will love you, love you baby
I don′t mean, don't mean baby
I stopped your watch silly
Now my baby won′t come back
And that's her Father
I gotta release myself what I thought
I′m need of another woman
Too many vises up in that bun
Baby do my love I won't be back no more
I will love you, love you baby
I don't mean, don′t mean baby
I stopped your watch silly
Now my baby won′t come back
And that's her Father
I gotta release myself what I thought
I′m need of another woman
Too many vises up in that bun
Baby do my love I won't be back no more.
The Dells's song "Baby Do" tells the story of a couple that goes out to have a good time but ends up having a big fight that leads to their breakup. The lyrics indicate that the singer has been telling his girlfriend that she is sweet and that he loves her. However, when they go out, they have a fight which seems to be the final straw in their relationship. The lyrics suggest that the singer is not going to come back to his girlfriend and that she should not expect him to do so either.
The second verse of the song indicates that the singer feels that if his girlfriend really loved him, she would let him know. This could suggest that there were communication issues between the couple, which could have led to the fight. The third verse suggests that the singer is moving on and that he is in need of another relationship. The lyrics also suggest that the singer feels that his former girlfriend had too many "vices", which could indicate that he felt she had bad habits or personality flaws that were getting in the way of their relationship.
Overall, the lyrics to "Baby Do" suggest that the relationship between the singer and his girlfriend was troubled and that they were not able to communicate effectively. The fight that ends the relationship seems to be the final straw, and the singer is moving on to seek a healthier and more fulfilling relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'd my baby that she was sweet
I told my girlfriend that she was sweet
She told me you looked so neat
She complimented another guy's appearance
We went out to have a ball we had
We went out to have fun and we did
A big fight and that was all
We had a big fight and that's all it took to end things
Baby do my love I won't be back no more
I'm breaking up with you and I won't be coming back
Now when I'm a baby and that's a fact
Now that I'm young and naive
I won't be the one to come back
I won't be the one to apologize or try to get back together
If she loves me she'll let me know
If she wants to be with me, she needs to express her feelings
That's the only way I will show
I won't come back unless she shows her love for me
I will love you, love you baby
I will always love you, my dear
I don't mean, don't mean baby
But our relationship cannot continue
I stopped your watch silly
I broke up with you, not the other way around
Now my baby won't come back
Now that we've broken up, there's no going back
And that's her Father
Her father probably didn't approve of our relationship
I gotta release myself what I thought
I need to let go of what I thought we had
I'm need of another woman
I need to find someone else to love
Too many vises up in that bun
There were too many issues in our relationship
Baby do my love I won't be back no more
I'm breaking up with you and I won't be coming back
Writer(s): Verne I Allison
Contributed by Audrey O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.