Discover

'Hank Ballard' (born 'John Henry Kendricks') (November 18, 1927 - March 2, 2003) was an African American R&B/rock singer and the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard & the Midnighters. He played an integral part in the development of rock music releasing the hit singles "Work With Me, Annie" and "Annie Had a Baby" with his Midnighters, later contributed as the sole songwriter of Chubby Checker's "The Twist".

Contents

Biography

Music sample

Quotation

See also

External links

Notes

Biography

Born John Henry Kendricks in Detroit, Michigan, Ballard grew up in Bessemer, Alabama where he began singing in church and later aspired on a career in music. In 1951, Ballard moved back to Detroit and formed a doo wop group. He soon joined a group called 'The Royals' along with Henry Booth, Charles Sutton, Sonny Woods and Alonzo Tucker. The Royals had already signed to Federal Records when Ballard joined, and the group soon released ''Get It'' (1953), an R&B hit.
The group then changed its name to 'The Midnighters' to avoid confusion with ''The "5" Royales''. Sutton was replaced by Lawson Smith, while Thrasher was replaced by Sonny Woods. Tucker was replaced first by Arthur Porter and then by Cal Green.
The Midnighters' first major hit was "Work With Me, Annie", a R&B hit that also sold well in mainstream markets, along with the answer song ''Annie Had a Baby''. ^[1].
Their third major hit was "Sexy Ways," a song that cemented the band as one of the most risqué groups of the time. They are an illustration of why white radio stations tended to avoid playing songs by black R&B performers. For example, in the song "Open Up the Back Door", he sings a line "I want to make a little cream".
They had four more R&B chart hits in 1954-55. The Midnighters continued releasing singles and albums, and also changed their name to "Hank Ballard and The Midnighters". Their label also changed to King. They had no hits in 1956-58. Then between 1959 and 1961 they had several more both on the R&B and Pop charts, including "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go".
In 1959 Ballard's song "The Twist" was released as the B-side of "Teardrops on Your Letter". A year later Chubby Checker's cover version of the song went to #1 on the pop charts. (It would return to the top of the charts in 1962.) Though this brought about renewed interest in Ballard and The Midnighters for a time, this lasted for only a few years, and the group dissolved in 1965. Ballard tried to launch a solo career, working with James Brown. Though he later tried to re-form The Midnighters, the new lineups never achieved much success.
In 1990 Ballard was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On March 2 2003 he died of throat cancer in his Los Angeles home, aged 75.

Music sample

If your player can play the ogg Vorbis format you can press the highlighted title. The right icon will use the Wikimedia player.

Quotation

See also

★ Chicago Blues Festival

External links

★ All Music Guide profile

★ Article at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

★ Discography at Soulfulkindamusic

Notes

1.