Tragedy struck the group in November 1950. The group was traveling in two cars near Baltimore. Gaither drove one, with Reed and Nelson as passengers. He took a corner too fast and lost control of the car. It rolled down an embankment and crashed into a drive-in restaurant. Gaither was killed and Nelson and Reed were severely injured. Til and Sharp, in the other car, were not near enough to witness the accident. They heard about it when they arrived home. For a short time, only Til and Sharp performed as the Orioles.
They soon added two new members: guitarist/second tenor Ralph Williams and pianist Charlie Harris. Nelson returned in a few days, and Reed a few weeks later. Just a year after their tragic accident, they were involved in another accident in Akron, Ohio, but there were no injuries.
George Nelson left in 1953, to be replaced by Gregory Carroll, formerly of the Four Buddies. This new line-up had several hits in 1953, including "Crying In the Chapel" and their final big hit, "In the Mission of St. Augustine". Williams left briefly in late 1953, and was replaced, for a few weeks, by Chauncy Westbrook. In February of 1955, Reed left and eventually joined an The Ink Spots group. He was replaced by Maurice Hicks. Williams and Harris left soon after. The group continued a short time and disbanded.
Left without the Orioles, Til picked up another group, The Regals, whose members were Tex Cornelius, Diz Russell, Jerry Holeman, Billy Adams, and pianist Paul Griffin. This group became the new Orioles. Til liked the Regals' modern harmony style, and the existing tunes were rearranged to match the Regals' style (in many cases, sounding rather different than they formerly had). During this time, they were often billed as "Sonny Til and his New Orioles". Now without Chessler, they were self-managed. They left Jubilee and signed with Vee-Jay Records.
They continued with this arrangement until 1957 when Cornelius left the group. He was replaced for a short time by Frank Todd, who was replaced by Jimmy Brown. This lineup went until the last day of 1959. Holeman left the group, and Russel the next day, after finding Sonny's car (their means of transportation) repossesed. This was the end of the second Orioles.
Til recorded briefly as a solo artist before putting together the third Orioles group, with members Delton McCall, Billy Taylor, and Gerald Gregory, former bass of The Spaniels. They continued recording, this time for Charlie Parker Records. Gregory left after a couple of years and was replaced by Lawrence Joyner. This group split up in the mid 1960s.
In 1966, Til met Bobby Thomas, a long time Orioles fan. Bobby was singing in a group known as "The Vibrannaires"; coincidentally named the same as the Orioles' original name. This group consisted of Thomas, Clarence Young, Harry Accoo, and Mike Robinson. Thomas, Young, and Robinson joined Til to become the fourth Orioles group. Gregory Carroll was occasionally a member of this group. They recorded until 1975.
Following the breakup of that Orioles group, Til joined George Holmes' Ink Spots, who were Til, Holmes, Ann Lawson, and Larry Reed. With the addition of George "Pepi" Grant in 1977, they began touring as both The Ink Spots and The Orioles (as the Orioles, Lawson was billed as a special guest). Til and Grant alternated leads, and Holmes sang bass. They recorded briefly in 1977.
In 1977, Til formed the sixth Orioles group with former members: Diz Russell and Jerry Holeman from the second group, and Billy Taylor from the third group. The group also sometimes featured Eddie Palmer. This group was together in 1981, when Til died from a heart attack. He was 56.
The group continued, and by the late 1990s featured Russell, Reese Palmer, Skip Mahoney, Larry Jordan (who also tours with The Flamingos) and musical director Eddie Jones, who also works with The Cadillacs. Jones and Mahoney were later replaced by George Spann and Royal Height. Bobby Thomas started his own Orioles group following Til's death. Johnny Reed played with this group until his death in June of 2005.
The Orioles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Both groups were featured in the PBS special Doo Wop 51 in 2000, with the groups alternating verses on "Crying in the Chapel" (with Bobby Thomas and Larry Jordan on lead).
Oh Holy Night
The Orioles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
The Orioles’ version of O Holy Night is a beautifully sung Christian hymn that tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. The lyrics capture the joyousness of the occasion, as well as the contribution made by the birth of Jesus in breaking the shackles of sin and freeing humanity. The first verse of the song highlights the importance of the night of Christ’s birth, which brought hope to a world that was weary from sin and error. The appearance of Jesus brought about a spiritual awakening, which is reflected in the line, “Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.”
The second verse of the song focuses on the three wise men who journeyed to the birthplace of Jesus, led by the “light of faith serenely beaming.” They were guided by a star, which is “sweetly gleaming” and it led them to the manger where Jesus was born. The third verse is a call to love and peace, which were the teachings of Jesus. His message “is love and His gospel is peace.” The chains of oppression shall be broken, and all people shall be treated equally under the power and glory of the Lord.
Line by Line Meaning
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
This is a night that is considered holy and beautiful because the stars in the sky are shining so bright.
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
This is the night when the dear savior, Jesus Christ, was born.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
For a long time, the world was lost in sin and wrong actions, waiting for help.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
But then Jesus came, and the Holy Spirit realized how valuable his arrival was.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
The tired and sad world got a sudden burst of hope and began to rejoice.
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
A new and amazing day is coming soon.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
Let's all kneel down and listen carefully to the voices of the angels.
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
This is a divine and important night because Jesus was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
This night is very special and holy because Jesus was born at this time.
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
Guided by our faith, we quietly move forward with calmness and peace.
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
Our hearts feel warm and full of love as we stand by Jesus' cradle.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
A star is shining beautifully around the world.
Now come the wise men from out of the Orient land.
The wise men from the East have come to visit.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
The King of kings was laid in a humble manger.
In all our trials born to be our friends.
Jesus was born to be our friend, especially during difficult times.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Jesus understands what we need and is not unfamiliar with our weaknesses.
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Look and see your King! Bow down and show respect!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
Jesus taught us to love and care for each other.
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
His teachings are about love and peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
Jesus will break the chains of slavery because every human being is our sibling.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
All forms of oppression will end because of the power of Jesus' name.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let's sing sweet songs of happiness and gratitude together.
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
With every ounce of our beings, let's praise Jesus' holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
Jesus is our Lord, so let's always continue to praise Him.
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
Let's continue to declare and exalt Jesus' power and glory forevermore.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: DONALD HAYES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jimthompson606
This is sung so simply and reverently with such sweet back-up harmonies.
@holyspacemonkey
I think this is my favorite Christmas song ever. This version. So beautiful.
@RockinEd
only thing more beautiful is the flip-- The Lord's Prayer
@stephenrio274
The incredible voice of Sonny till
@jeromemckenna7102
So beautiful!
@danielmkubacki
I love it!
@melcoulson8815
Best version ever stunning
@harptone55
GREAT VERSION
@ajg2558
Beautiful
@robertchesnosky4689
TOP OF THEIR FORM