(1934-1954)

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 – 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 – d. 4 November 1969, Washington, D.C.) (tenor) (Played guitar and trumpet)
Jerry Daniels (b. 14 December 1915 – d. 7 November 1995, Indianapolis, Indiana) (tenor) (Played guitar and ukulele)
Charlie Fuqua (b. 20 October 1910 – 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.

Stairway To The Stars
The Ink Spots Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Let's build a stairway to the stars
And climb that stairway to the stars
With love beside us to fill the night with a song
We'll hear the sound of violins
Out yonder where the blue begins
The moon will guide us as we go drifting along
Can't we sail away on a lazy daisy petal
Over the rim of the hill?

Can't we sail away on a little dream
And settle high on the crest of a thrill!

Let's build a stairway to the stars
A lovely stairway to the stars

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Stairway to the Stars by The Ink Spots are highly romantic and dreamy. It talks about building a stairway to the stars and climbing it with love by our side to fill the night with a song. The song leaves room for imagination as to what the stairway may actually represent. It could be a metaphor for the journey of life that we take with our loved ones where we face hurdles along the way but continue to climb up, or it could be a literal stairway to the stars where the characters of the song would escape the mundane and be encased in an environment of magic, away from earthly troubles. The sound of violins out yonder where the blue begins is mesmerizing to the characters of the song, making them realize the beauty of the journey they are undertaking. The moon acts as a guiding force that drifts them along, wrap themselves in the love that they share, as they dream of escaping to a world above and beyond.

The song brings out the magic of love, making it seem like anything is possible in its presence. It is truly the stuff of fairy tales where the characters dream big and believe in their dreams, making even the impossible a reality. The lyrics are filled with colorful imagery that depict this sense of wonder and inspires the listener to dream and believe in the magic of love.

Line by Line Meaning

Let's build a stairway to the stars
Let's create a pathway towards success and great heights

And climb that stairway to the stars
We should strive to reach the top of our goals and dreams

With love beside us to fill the night with a song
Our journey to success and happiness will be accompanied by love, joy, and music

We'll hear the sound of violins
As we move forward, we will experience moments of beauty, romance, and art

Out yonder where the blue begins
Our journey will take us to new, unknown places, full of possibilities and wonders

The moon will guide us as we go drifting along
We will rely on our intuition and inner strength to navigate through life's challenges and uncertainties

Can't we sail away on a lazy daisy petal
Why not enjoy the simple things in life and take a break from our worries?

Over the rim of the hill?
We can explore new horizons and venture beyond our comfort zones

Can't we sail away on a little dream
Our imagination and aspirations can take us to incredible places, if we let them

And settle high on the crest of a thrill!
Let's aim for excitement, passion, and fulfillment in all that we do

Let's build a stairway to the stars
Let's never stop dreaming, growing, and trying to reach for the stars

A lovely stairway to the stars
Our journey towards greatness should be filled with elegance, grace, and beauty

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDREW SCOTT, BRIAN CONNOLLY, MICHAEL TUCKER, STEPHEN PRIEST

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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