The Dells
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Year:
2004
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Inducted by:
Robert Townsend
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Category:
Performers
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Charles Barksdale -
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John E. Carter -
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Johnny Funches -
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Marvin Junior -
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Michael McGill -
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Verne Allison
Introduction
Fifty years after they formed, the Dells’ hypnotic sound endures.
The Dells are one of very few groups to have a hit in every decade since the Fifties. Lovable and long-lived, the Dells kept producing hits long after they secured their place in music history.
Robert Townsend Inducts The Dells
Robert Townsend Inducts The Dells at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony-
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Robert Townsend Inducts The Dells00:01:35 -
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The Dells Acceptance Speech00:02:47 -
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"Oh, What A Night"00:03:20
Hall of Fame Essay
2004
They greatest harmony group of all time, the Dells thrilled audiences with their amazing vocal interplay, between the gruff, explore voice of Marvin Junior and the keening high tenor of Johnny Carter, that sweet-home-Chicago blend mediated by Mickey McGill and Veme Allison, and the talking bass voice from Chuck Barksdale.
Their style formed the template for every singing group that came after them. They’ve been recording and touring together for more than fifty years, with merely one lineup change: Carter, formerly of the Flamingos (2001 Hall of Fame inductees), replaced Johnny Funches in 1960.
An accident in the studio produced their biggest classic.
