Doles Dickens

American Doo wop singer. bassist and bandleader. Doles began his recording career in 1940, on bass, with the Eddie South Orchestra. He left them in mid-1943, when he joined The Five Red Caps. He cut a few records with them for Beacon and stayed on with them until 1946, when he went on his own. He waxed for Superdisc, Continental and Gotham in the mid-40's with his own jazz quartet, featuring Herbie Scott, Reuben Cole and Dickie Thompson, then moved to New York in 1949 to record for Decca. There, in 1949, he recorded "We're Gonna Rock This Morning," and covered Wild Bill Moore's "Rock and Roll," which Moore had cut the year before. At the same time, he played bass in sessions for Piano Red. He recorded in 1954 as Doles Dickens and the Strangers, and made records at least into the soul years of the mid-60's, acting as musical director. In 1964 he became a studio session man for the Gotham label, backing up some pop singers.