The group debuted in late 1952 at Roosevelt High School in
Gary, Indiana as Pookie Hudson & The Hudsonaires. They changed their
name to The Spaniels that Spring and, upon graduation, became one of the
first two artists to sign with Vee Jay Records, the first large,
independent Afro-American owned record label. The group recorded their
initial release, "Baby It's You" on May 5, 1953. Released in
July, 1953, the song reached number ten on Billboard magazine's Rhythm
and Blues chart on September 5. In Spring 1954, "Goodnite
Sweetheart, Goodnite" hit number twenty-four on Variety's pop
chart, and rose to number five on Billboard's R&B chart. The
Spaniels played regularly at the Apollo, and were on the tour that
proved fatal for Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. The
line-up changed numerous times over the ensuing years. The original
members included: Thornton James "Pookie" Hudson, Ernest
Warren, Willie C. Jackson, Opal Courtney Jr, &Gerald Gregory,
Hudson died January 16, 2007 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Courtney, Jr. died September 18, 2008 after suffering a heart attack.
Ernest Warren died on May 7, 2012, and Willie C. Jackson died of
lung disease on February 18, 2015. Gerald Gregory died on February
12, 1999.
This is a non-profit, informational web page, meant to be a
reminder of the music we listened to 50 years ago. Use of copyrighted
material is consistent with the "fair use" provisions contained in
section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976; the use of copyrighted material is
of a nonprofit, educational nature, intended for the sole purposes of
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