The Five Keys

In 1949, brothers Rudy and Bernard West joined another set of singing brothers, Ripley and Raphael Ingram, to form gospel quartet The Sentimental Four. Inspired by the harmonies of The Mills Brothers and The Ink Spots, they soon began to shift toward R&B.

The young foursome toured briefly with Miller's Brown-Skinned Models, an all-black revue that played fairs and carnivals. The act started winning local talent contests and those victories led to a chance to perform at the Apollo Theatre in New York City where the group won a contest as well. Soon after, Los Angeles-based Aladdin Records signed the group. After a few lineup changes that included adding a fifth member, the combo renamed itself The Five Keys.

"Ling, Ting, Tong," was a number 28 pop hit in 1954. That was followed by the ballad "Out of Sight, Out of Mind," which reached number 23 in 1956 and "Wisdom of a Fool" which hit number 35 in 1957. However, the group's influence was greater than the best-sellers would indicate.

Before black groups started crossing over onto pop charts, The Five Keys had a powerful effect on R&B music especially among vocal harmony acts. "One of the most popular, influential and beautiful-sounding R&B singing groups of the 1950s, The Five Keys were not only a link between the gospel/pop units of the '40s and the later R&B and rock groups, they led by example, having hits in R&B, rock 'n' roll, and pop before the decade was through," wrote Jay Warner in the Billboard Book of American Singing Groups.