Luther Ingram

The Gardenias (1) (Alton, IL.) 



Personnel :

Luther Thomas Ingram (Lead)

Archie Ingram

Richard Ingram

Connie Perry

Lawrence Witherspoon



Discography :

Single:
1956 - My Baby's Tops / Flaming Love (Federal 12284)

Unreleased :
1956 - (All Alone And) Miserable (Federal)
1956 - You Found The Time (Federal)



Biography :

Born in Jackson, Tennessee on November 30, 1937 and raised in the southern Illinois town of Alton from age 10, Luther Ingram started out singing gospel in The Midwest Crusaders before veering into doo-wop with The Gardenias, which included his brothers Archie and Richard, Connie Perry and Lawrence Witherspoon. On September 13, 1956, the Gardenias went to the Federal Studios in Cincinnati to record four songs: "My Baby's Tops", "Flaming Love", "(All Alone And) Miserable", and "You Found The Time". All leads were handled by Luther and they were backed by Ike Turner's Kings Of Rhythm. Federal released only “My Baby’s Tops” b/w “ Flaming Love”.

There was nothing much happening with the Gardenias in 1957, They still occasionally appeared with Ike Turner, and even though they were still singing gospel as the Midwest Crusaders. Soon, the group simply fell apart. Luther moved to New York and became a songwriter working with producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. His first solo recording came on Decca records in 1965, “You Never Miss Your Water” b/w “Ain’t That Nice”. After a few more unsuccessful recordings, he moved on to the Koko label, an obscure subsidiary of Stax records, and re-launched his solo career.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Gardenias/gardenias.html



Songs :

  
   My Baby's Tops                                 Flaming Love

  
You Found The Time                     (All Alone And) Miserable


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