The Five Keys

American R&B and doo-wop group popular in the late 1950's.

In 1949, brothers Rudy and Bernard West joined another set of singing brothers, Ripley and Raphael Ingram, to form gospel quartet [b]The Sentimental Four[/b]. 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.

"[i]Ling, Ting, Tong[/i]," was a number 28 pop hit in 1954. That was followed by the ballad "[i]Out of Sight, Out of Mind[/i]," which reached number 23 in 1956 and "[i]Wisdom of a Fool[/i]" 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 [u]Billboard Book of American Singing Groups[/u].

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