The Ink Spots were a vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s … Read Full Bio ↴(1934-1954)
The Ink Spots were a vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. They gained much acceptance in both the white community and black community largely due to the ballad style introduced to the group by lead singer Bill Kenny. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll hall of fame in 1999.
Their songs usually began with a guitar riff, followed by the tenor Bill Kenny, who sang the whole song through. After Kenny finished singing, the bass would either recite the first half, or the bridge of the song, or would speak the words, almost in a free form, that were not part of the song, commonly using the words "Honey Child", or "Honey Babe", expressing his love for his darling in the song. This was followed by Kenny, who finished up singing the last refrain or the last half of the song. On some songs Deek Watson would sing the lead rather than Bill Kenny. This was mostly on the uptempo "Jive" songs.
The Ink Spots formed in the early 1930s in Indianapolis. The founding members were :-
Orville "Hoppy" Jones (b. 17 February 1902, Chicago, Illinois ā d. 18 October 1944, New York City) (bass) (Played cello in the manner of a stand up bass)[1]
Ivory "Deek" Watson (b. 18 July 1909, Mounds, Illinois ā d. 4 November 1969, Washington, D.C.) (tenor) (Played guitar and trumpet)
Jerry Daniels (b. 14 December 1915 ā d. 7 November 1995, Indianapolis, Indiana) (tenor) (Played guitar and ukulele)
Charlie Fuqua (b. 20 October 1910 ā d. 21 December 1971, New Haven, Connecticut)
(baritone) (Played guitar)
*** BILL KENNY ***
The voice that made them famous Bill Kenny (Mr. Ink Spot) was born June 12th 1914 in Philadelphia PA, and died Mar 23rd 1978 in New West Minister, British Columbia. When Bill Kenny joined the group in 1936 they were mostly a "Jive" ensemble, performing swinging uptempo songs. It wasn't until The Ink Spots 1939 recording of "If I Didn't Care" that Bill Kenny's voice began being regularly featured on Ballads, which it was until The Ink Spots disbanded in 1954. Hits that feature Bill Kenny include "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire", "We Three", "The Gypsy", "Address Unknown", "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming", "So Sorry", "Bless You", "My Prayer", "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie", It Isn't A Dream Anymore", and dozens of others. Bill Kenny has been listed as an influence by such great artists as Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Johnny Mathis, Sonny Till, Clyde McPhatter and many others. Bill Kenny is often noted as the father of Doo Wop for his high tenor singing and his introduction of the popular "Top & Bottom" format used by virtually every Doo Wop group in the 50's and 60's.
Since Bill Kenny broke up The Ink Spots in 1954 there have been well over 500 black vocal Quartets calling themselves The Ink Spots none of which have or had any original members. There are even groups still touring as The Ink Spots today. It is largely accepted that if the group didn't contain Bill Kenny then the group was/ is a fake.
Someone's Rockin' My Dreamboat
The Ink Spots Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone's invading my dream;
We were sailing along,
So peaceful and calm,
Suddenly, something went wrong.
Someone's rocking my dreamboat,
Disturbing a beautiful dream;
This mutiny at sea,
Who can it be?
A friendly breeze gave us a start
To a paradise of our own.
All at once a storm blew us apart,
And left me drifting alone.
Someone's rocking my dreamboat,
I'm captain without any crew;
But with love as my guide,
I'll follow the tide,
I'll keep sailing till I find you.
Someone's rocking my dreamboat,
Someone's invading my dream;
We were sailing along,
So peaceful and calm,
Suddenly, something went wrong.
Someone's rocking my dreamboat,
Disturbing a beautiful dream;
It's a mystery to me,
This mutiny at sea,
Who can it be? (Who can it be?)
A friendly breeze gave us a start
To a paradise of our own.
All at once a storm blew us apart,
And left me drifting alone.
Someone's rocking my dreamboat,
I'm captain without any crew;
But with love as my guide,
I'll follow the tide,
I'll keep sailing till I find you.
The Ink Spotsā Someoneās Rocking My Dreamboat is a song about a sailor who is enjoying a peaceful sail when suddenly, his ship is rocked by an intruder. The sailor is confused and disoriented as he tries to figure out who is vandalizing his ship, making him feel like he is at the mercy of an unknown enemy. The singer initially had a crew and had started on a journey to a paradise that they had all dreamt of. Suddenly the wind changed and they were separated. Now he finds himself alone on the rocking ship, which he now has to captain without a crew.
Metaphorically, the lyrics may be interpreted in different ways. The intruder that the sailor is referring to could be a significant figure in his life who is disrupting his peace of mind. Additionally, the calm sea could represent something that they have both worked hard to create, and the intruder represents the obstacles that they must face to overcome the temporary separation between them. Ultimately, with love as his guide, the singer will follow the tide and continue to sail until he finds his missing link, the person who is rocking his boat.
Line by Line Meaning
Someone's rocking my dreamboat,
My ideal life is being disrupted, there is an unwanted interference.
Someone's invading my dream;
Unwanted party or an obstruction trying to gain access to my peaceful life and disrupt it.
We were sailing along,
Living our life near perfection.
So peaceful and calm,
Living without any problems or troubles, with everything happening in a perfect harmony.
Suddenly, something went wrong.
Abruptly and unexpectedly, something interrupted the idyllic life we were living.
It's a mystery to me,
The source of the problem is unknown and bewildering.
This mutiny at sea,
The upheaval and disturbance happening in my life.
Who can it be?
Trying to figure out the cause or the person behind the disturbance.
A friendly breeze gave us a start
Our life together began smoothly and without much trouble, much like a gentle breeze.
To a paradise of our own.
Together we built a perfect world, a haven of tranquillity.
All at once a storm blew us apart,
Suddenly, something happened causing the utopia we built to crumble and leave us in chaos.
And left me drifting alone.
I am lost without any direction, cut adrift without any support.
I'm captain without any crew;
I am in charge of my life, without any support or help.
But with love as my guide,
With my love for myself and others, I will guide myself back on track.
I'll follow the tide,
I will accept and work with whatever comes my way.
I'll keep sailing till I find you.
I will keep going until I reach the point of happiness and tranquillity again.
Lyrics Ā© SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: EMERSON C. SCOTT, LEON T. RENE, OTIS J RENE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@KokoGogo1728
Someone's rocking my dream boat
Someone's invading my dream
We were sailing along
So peaceful and calm
Suddenly something went wrong
Someone's rocking my dream boat
Disturbing the beautiful dream
It's a mystery to me
This mutiny at sea
Who can it be?
A friendly breeze gave us a start
To a paradise of our own
All at once a storm blew us apart
And left me drifting alone
Someone's rocking my dream boat
I'm a captain without any crew
But with love as my guide
I'll follow the tide
I'll keep sailing 'til I find you
(Someone's rockin' my dream boat)
(Someone's invading my dream)
We were sailing along
So peaceful and calm
Suddenly something went wrong
(Someone's rockin' my dream boat)
(Disturbing our beautiful dream)
It's a mystery to me
This mutiny at sea
Who can it be?
(Who can it be?)
A friendly breeze gave us a start
To a paradise of our own
All at once a storm blew us apart
And left me drifting alone
(Someone's rockin' my dream boat)
(I'm a captain without any crew)
But with love as my guide
I'll follow the tide
I'll keep sailing 'til I find you
@944gemma
Nobody writes beautiful melodic songs like this anymore. And the Ink Spots, first class all the way.
@markymarkzero
Cringe. Melody isn't dead. And they didn't even write these songs. Their songs were written for them.
@psycholuigiman
People do. You just have to actually look for them. But in order to look for them, you have to leave your comfort zone.
@laptebatut1
still listening to this in 1950 who else
@GClephMusique
wait.... you have a time machine? I'm listening to this in 2017.
@reytofu1520
GCleph Musique woooosh
@anonymousrameka5917
Me
@willambrock2809
Are you a time traveler? What does the year 3000 look like for us?
@TheCreeperCyborg
@@reytofu1520 you're worse than the person who didn't get the joke
@kerrypainter9095
Imagine no smart phones. No tablets. No computers. Just the The Ink Spots on the radio. What great music!