Steve Gibson and the Red Caps

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African-American R&B vocal group.

Steve Gibson shifted in and out of various bands well into the '40s. It was the Four Toppers who decided to change their name to the Five Red Caps in 1943. Producer Joe Davis recorded the band as much as was possible under the restrictions of the second World War recording ban, even getting hit with violations for some of the sessions. In 1944, Gibson and the then-five other band members jumped to the Savoy label. This enterprising outfit managed to release more sides by the group then it actually ever recorded simply by distributing the tunes under more than one title. Gibson's moment of song title immortality is involved in the process, as one of these recordings came out first as "Nat's Boogie Woogie," and then was released as "Steve's Boogie Woogie."
They charted as The 5 Red Caps five times, In 1944, they charted four times and all in the top 10 on the R&B charts. Their top song was "I Learned a Lesson, I'll Never Forget", which rose to #14 overall, #2 country, and #3 R&B. They also charted as Steve Gibson & The Original Red Caps with "I Went to Your Wedding", featuring Damita Jo.
The sound of the group evolved with the addition of vocalist Damita Jo. She married Gibson in 1954 and divorced him in 1958 but was committed to stay on with the group for performances through 1960. That was the year before the then-unnumbered members of Red Caps split into two groups because of tax problems.

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