New Ink Spots Seek to Take Old Name Back to Top Again

The vocal sound was like nothing ever heard before in popular music. A high, soaring tenor lead; rich, warm harmonies; the resonant, sensual voice of a bass softly speaking the lyrics.

The result: instant hits. “If I Didn’t Care” was followed by “My Prayer,” “We Three,” “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire” and more--much more.

The group, as anyone on the sunset side of 50 will instantly know, was the Ink Spots. With the possible exception of jazz and blues performers like Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, the quartet was probably the first black music group to cross over consistently to the white market--no small feat in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s.

But the Ink Spots began to come apart in the mid-’40s. Ivory (Deke) Watson left in late 1944; Orville (Hoppy) Jones, the group’s “talking” bass, died shortly thereafter. In 1952, Bill Kenny, the group’s lead tenor and most visible singer, left to embark on a solo career.

Since the Ink Spots’ name had never been properly copyrighted, the disintegration saw a flurry of vocal ensembles rushing to exploit the ensemble’s stellar reputation. When Kenny died in 1978, so did the last living link to the original group.

Johnny Smith, the leader of the New Ink Spots, which has been performing regularly in Orange County in recent years, alleges that as many as 40 different groups have used the name at various times.

“When the Ink Spots first became successful,” he said in a conversation last week, “everybody was young and they didn’t know anything about the business, so they didn’t get the name copyrighted. All they did was sing, collect their money and play around. After all of the struggle to get to the top, then--after they broke up--other guys came along, helped themselves to the name, and there was nothing anybody could do about it.”

A fill-in singer with the original Ink Spots since 1938, Smith feels that his New Ink Spots ensemble--active for nearly a decade--has the most legitimate claim to the right to carry on the name.

Born in Florida, Smith spent most of his early years singing in various church choirs. “I didn’t have no choice,” he said. “My father was a minister. So I had to sing in the church or get a lickin’.

“I first met Bill Kenny when my church quartet was recording for Decca Records. I told him, ‘Mr. Kenny, I sure would like to work in your group’--you know, just kidding around. And he said, “You sound like a preacher, but I’ll tell you what: I’m going to hire you as a back-up man. That means I call you, anytime, from anywhere, whenever I need you, whenever somebody can’t perform, and you fill in the part.’

“You can bet I said yes. Even though it meant I had to know all the parts--I had to sing first tenor, second tenor, baritone. I couldn’t imitate Bill Kenny--nobody could--but he never got sick, anyhow. But I did all the others, except for the ‘talking’ bass part; I don’t have a bass voice.

“After Bill Kenny stopped performing, I asked him if I could use the Ink Spots’ name. He said, ‘Hoss’--he always used to call me Hoss--’if you can make money, go ahead.’ He told me, ‘Don’t change the format. But bring the Ink Spots back up to the top.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do.”

The group continues to mix private performances, such as one tonight for the residents of Leisure World in Seal Beach, with public appearances, including a free show Wednesday at Oakbrook Village Shopping Center in Laguna Hills. The New Ink Spots’ current recording on Bainbridge Records includes such unlikely material as Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” Lionel Richie’s “Three Times a Lady” and--amazingly--Prince’s “Purple Rain.”

Smith chuckled when the repertoire was mentioned. “Oh, yes,” he said. “We may vary the style, somewhat, but we’re still the Ink Spots. But I want to appeal to the younger generation, too. And I think we are. When we did a nationwide tour recently we were receiving standing ovations all over the country, from young and old.

Before undertaking that tour, the group sharpened its act with nearly two years of shows at Bubbles in Newport Beach. “It was mainly for older people, but we found that after a while they could hardly get in because of all the young people who wanted to hear us. They would line up around the corner waiting to get in. So we like to do some songs for them, too, but we’re not throwing away the old stuff. Don’t worry. . . . We’ll always do those songs.”

Smith’s optimism seems to be having a positive effect. A new Bainbridge recording will feature many of the old Ink Spots classics. A Christmas album is also in the works with several Smith originals, and a tour with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Herb Jeffries looms on the horizon.

The New Ink Spots perform Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Oakbrook Village shopping center, 24351 Avenida de la Carlota, Laguna Hills. Admission: free. Information: (714) 557-5100.