The Midnighters

Year:
2012
Inducted by:
Smokey Robinson
Category:
Performers

Billy Davis
Lawson Smith
Norman Thrasher
Sonny Woods
Henry Booth
Cal Green
Arthur Porter
Charles Sutton

Introduction

Stirring up trouble with bawdy, frantic party songs.

The Midnighters backed Hank Ballard on such risqué hits as “Work With Me Annie.” Together they scored hits on both pop and R&B charts, delighting audiences and themselves with their daring.

Smokey Robinson Inducts the Midnighters

Smokey Robinson Inducts the Midnighters at the 2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Smokey Robinson Inducts the Midnighters

00:02:04
The Midnighters Acceptance Speech

00:01:07

Hall of Fame Essay

2012

Robert Burke Warren

To see how vocal groups helped form the music that would come to be known as rock & roll, one need only look to Detroit’s the Midnighters.

As the Four Falcons in late 1950/early 1951, the vocal group initially consisted of lead singers Henry Booth and Charles Sutton, harmony vocalists Lawson Smith and Sonny Woods, and guitarist Alonzo Tucker. A solid live act very similar to the silky-smooth Orioles, the group changed its name to the Royals and was signed to Federal Records in 1952 by Johnny Otis. It did not distinguish itself, however, until Hank Ballard replaced Smith in 1953.