YEAR
2001
INDUCTED BY
Frankie Valli (The Four Seasons)
CATEGORY
Performers
Nobody’s perfect, but the Flamingos came extremely close.
The Flamingos took listeners higher with sublime harmonies and impeccable arrangements. Today they stand as one of the most sophisticated doo wop groups and most influential vocal groups.
Ezekiel Carey
Jacob Carey
John E. Carter
Nathaniel Nelson
Paul Wilson
Sollie McElroy
Terry Johnson
Tommy Hunt
HALL OF FAME
ESSAY
By Jerry Blavat
The fifties: a time of musical change.
The place: Chicago, home of the blues, gospel, jazz. Pulsating with rhythm and nightlife. No other city except perhaps New Orleans has that rhythm. The sounds from the independent labels – Chess, Checker, Chance, Parrot, United, Vee-Jay – are setting the pace.
The groups – the Dells, the Spaniels, the El Dorados, the Moonglows – are creating the Chicago sound. Enter into this mix a group called the Swallows, who must change their name because of an existing group. They call themselves El Flamingos and then the Flamingos.
