The Dells

Biography

The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first recording in 1954 and two years later had their first R&B hit with "Oh What a Night×Oh What a Night1999 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Close Your Eyes3:032Run for Cover3:043The Change You Go Through (For Love)3:164O-O I Love You3:215When I'm in Your Arms2:476There Is3:337Love Is So Simple2:498Always Together3:039(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher & Higher2:3410Love Is Blue (I Can Sing a Rainbow)3:2111Stay in My Corner6:1212Wear It on Our Face3:2413Please Don't Change Me Now3:2814Oh What a Night4:0015Open Up My Heart3:3716The Love We Had Stays on My Mind4:1817Bring Back the Love of Yesterday3:4218Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation4:0119My Pretending Days Are Over4:0320I Wish It Was Me You Loved3:46". After disbanding due to a near-fatal car crash in 1958, the band re-formed in 1960 with Funches being replaced by Johnny Carter. This lineup remained together until Carter's death in 2009. In 2004 the Dells were inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The group performed until illness forced longtime lead singer Marvin Junior and bass vocalist Chuck Barksdale into retirement, ending the group's 60-year run.

Early career

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, Michael McGill, Lucius McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, and Johnny Funches. Lucius McGill 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 Night×Oh, What A Night1989 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1There Is3:272Oh, What a Night3:583Stay in my Corner6:024Love Is Blue (I Can Sing a Rainbow)3:215Alwais Together3:026Wear It on our Face3:227When I'm in your Arms2:448Higher and Higher2:299The Love We Had Stays on my Mind4:1610I Wish It Was Me You Loved3:4611My Pretending Days Are Over4:0412Open Up My Heart3:3713O-O, I Love You3:1714Run For Cover2:5815Close Your Eyes2:5916Bring Back the Love of Yesterday3:39" (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 No. 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 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.

Successful years

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×There Is1968 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1There Is3:35A2Stay in My Corner6:14A3Wear It on Our Face3:26A4Please Don't Change Me Now3:29A5Show Me2:34A6The Change You Go Thru (for Love)3:16B1Higher and Higher2:36B2Close Your Eyes3:04B3Run for Cover3:06B4Love Is So Simple2:50B5When I'm in Your Arms2:47B6O-O, I Love You3:19 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 No. 15), and their first No. 1 R&B hit and first top ten pop hit, 1968's "Stay in My Corner", which reached No. 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×Oh What a Night1999 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Close Your Eyes3:032Run for Cover3:043The Change You Go Through (For Love)3:164O-O I Love You3:215When I'm in Your Arms2:476There Is3:337Love Is So Simple2:498Always Together3:039(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher & Higher2:3410Love Is Blue (I Can Sing a Rainbow)3:2111Stay in My Corner6:1212Wear It on Our Face3:2413Please Don't Change Me Now3:2814Oh What a Night4:0015Open Up My Heart3:3716The Love We Had Stays on My Mind4:1817Bring Back the Love of Yesterday3:4218Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation4:0119My Pretending Days Are Over4:0320I Wish It Was Me You Loved3:46" 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 chart, 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×Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation1973 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation4:34A2Ain't No Sunshine4:40A3You Don't Care3:50A4Share4:04B1Love Can Make It Easier4:47B2The Glory of Love3:50B3Stand Up and Show the World3:10B4Soul Strollin'3:32B5Closer3:43" was their third certified gold record. The song was written by L.V. Johnson and produced by Don Davis.

Later years

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×I Touched a Dream1 July 1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1So You Are Love5:07A2All About the Paper5:30A3Passionate Breezes5:35B1I Touched a Dream5:18B2Just a Little Love3:39B3Look at Us Now3:29B4Your Song3:27", which returned the group to the top 40 on the R&B chart. 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", which reached number 13, making them the first group to chart a top 40 R&B hit in five consecutive decades. It was the group's 33rd and final top 40 R&B entry. The following year, signing with PIR, they released the album, I Salute You×I Salute You14 July 1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1I Salute You5:062Oh My Love4:593Listen Uup Youn Brothers4:264I Can't Help Myself7:075Babylon's Risin'6:466Closer to You4:247Come and Get It4:578I'm Only a Man4:229Baby Don't Go Away Mad4:4110Somebody's Gotta Move5:12. 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 and in 2022 into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. The group continued performing until 2012, where they gave their farewell concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland that June.

Deaths

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.
Lucius McGill died on July 18, 2014, two days before his 79th birthday.
Chuck Barksdale died on May 15, 2019, at the age of 84.
Verne Allison died on October 7, 2026, at the age of 90, leaving Michael McGill as the last surviving member of the group.

Personnel

Members

Marvin Junior (Marvin Curtis Junior, January 31, 1936, Harrell, Arkansas – May 29, 2013) - lead baritone, lead vocals (1952-1958, 1960–2012)
Verne Allison (June 22, 1936, Chicago – October 7, 2026) - second tenor, background vocals (1952-1958, 1960-2012)
Michael McGill (born February 17, 1937, Chicago) - baritone, background vocals (1952–1958, 1960-2012)
Chuck Barksdale (born Charles 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 (July 20, 1935, Chicago – July 18, 2014) - second tenor, background vocals (1952–54)
Johnny Carter (June 2, 1934, Chicago – August 21, 2009) - first tenor/falsetto, lead vocals (1961–2009)
Group Lineup