The Ink Spots were a vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. They gained much acceptance in both the white community and black community largely due to the ballad style introduced to the group by lead singer Bill Kenny. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll hall of fame in 1999. Since The Ink Spots disbanded in 1954, there have been well over 100 vocal groups calling themselves "The Ink Spots" without any rights to the name or any original members in the group. These groups often have claimed to be "2nd generation" or "3rd generation" Ink Spots. Many such groups are still touring today.[1] [2] The Ink Spots songs usually began with a guitar riff, followed by the tenor Bill Kenny, who sang the whole song through. After Kenny finished singing, the bass would either recite the first half, or the bridge of the song, or would speak the words, almost in a free form, that were not part of the song, commonly using the words "Honey Child", or "Honey Babe", expressing his love for his darling in the song. This was followed by Kenny, who finished up singing the last refrain or the last half of the song. On some songs Deek Watson would sing the lead rather than Bill Kenny. This was mostly on the uptempo "Jive" songs. Charlie Fuqua was drafted in 1943, and was replaced by Bernie Mackey. Hoppy Jones, an important personality to the group, died in late 1944 after collapsing on stage at the Cafe Zanzibar in New York City, near the height of their popularity. Bill Kenny and Deek Watson then began feuding, leading to fragmentation in 1945, when Watson went on to form a group called the Brown Dots (which later became the 4 Tunes). He later formed a host of offshoot Ink Spots groups in the 1950s and 1960s. Watson's place was taken in the original group by Billy Bowen (born 3 January 1909 d. 27 September 1982), and Jones was replaced by Cliff Givens (who was replaced eventually by Herb Kenny, Bill's twin brother, consequently born on the same date and died 11 July 1992). Mackey left at this time and was briefly replaced by Huey Long of Houston, Texas. Charlie Fuqua was discharged in 1945 and returned to the group later that year, replacing Huey Long. This lineup of Bill Kenny, Billy Bowen, Charlie Fuqua, and Herb Kenny recorded into the early 1950s when Herb Kenny left and was replaced by Adriel McDonald. Bowen left the next year and was replaced by Teddy Williams. Ernie Brown substituted for Williams for a short time and Fuqua left in 1952 to form his own group and was replaced first by Jimmy Cannady, then by Everett Barksdale. Fuqua would lead a separate Ink Spots group in the future. In 1954 Bill Kenny officially disbanded The Ink Spots after an appearance at the "Bolero Bar" in Wildwood, New Jersey. Songs by the Ink Spots have been featured heavily in the popular video game franchise Fallout. "Maybe" was used as the opening theme in Fallout (1997), while also being played alongside their songs, "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" and "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" on the in-game radio station Galaxy News Radio in Fallout 3. "I Don't Want To Set the World on Fire" is also featured on the game's trailer, and opening for the game. The song "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" (Bill Kenny's Solo, not original recording from 1941) is played on the in-game radio station Radio New Vegas in the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas. While also being included in "Bioshock and Bioshock 2" with the songs of "If I didn't care" and "The Best Things in Life are Free" while Bioshock 2 included "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)" - Ink Spots and "I'm Making Believe" - The Ink Spots ; Ella Fitzgerald, "Memories of You" - The Ink Spots, "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" - The Ink Spots, while others were included in L.A. Noire on the radio stations. The inclusion of The Ink Spots' songs in Fallout and other games has sparked a renewed interest in The Ink Spots' work among newer generations in recent years.

• published: 24 May 2013
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