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The Five Embers

The Five Embers, Owensboro, KY, 1959.  Left to right: Sonny Rates (2nd tenor), Melvin Smith (bass), Richard Brown (lead, 1st tenor), Raymond Johnson (baritone), Charles Brown (lead, 1st tenor).  Courtesy of Phil Schwartz.

 

Fifth and Elm streets was the center of action in Owensboro, Kentucky.  The year was 1956.  "Everything you've heard about 5th Street wasn't a lie," Charles Brown says with a chuckle at the street's reputation as a walk on the wild side.  "You'd dress up to come out and lay back to watch the action," adds younger brother Richard. Street corner groups were plentiful in this section of the city in the mid-50s. ''There'd be eight or nine of us ... sometimes even girls," Charles recalls.  The police would come and run us off.  But after awhile, they started coming around just to listen."

The Five Embers came about from a loosely organized group of individual talents who were part of this scene in the northern Kentucky town of Owensboro, not far from the home of the Everly Brothers and Merle Travis.  The members all attended Western High, an all-black school in the area.  An early version of the group had a brush with success in 1957 when they won a NFA competition at Tennessee State College.  Part of the prize was an appearance on WLAC radio, Nashville, with Roy Acuff.  On the chartered bus which took them to the engagement, they received their first taste of the life of black entertainers in segregated America.  It wouldn't be their last.  "All that was on that bus was four of us singers and our sponsor ... and a white bus driver,” says Charles Brown.  "And we still had to sit in the back."  The group performed "Sincerely" on the live show, and they recall Roy Acuff as being very cordial.

In 1958, the act was organized under the management of Gerald Emberton.  The groups' name was derived from the manager's last name.  Besides Charles and Richard Brown, Raymond Johnson, baritone; Mel Smith, bass; and Delmar "Sonny" Rates, second tenor, rounded out the group. Richard and Charles generally alternated leads.  Richard was the youngest, and often had to get permission to play in the local clubs, which included the Savoy Club and the Little Brown Jug in Owensboro, as well as several regular appearances in neighboring Indiana.  Evansville's Roberts Stadium provided them with one of their larger audiences.  As the group developed their stage act, Richard became known as "Crazy Legs".  He was the dancer in the act, with more moves than Elvis.  Richard vividly recalls one night in the Rustic Club in Jasper, Indiana, where his moves inspired some white girls to jump up on to the stage to dance with him.  ''The owner stopped the music," he says.  Times weren't changing very fast."

Their manager felt that the Embers needed a record, and, in 1959 contacted Royce Morgan.  Royce and his partner Bobby Anderson were operating a label out of the State (movie) Theater in Central City.  Bobby worked at the local radio station, WMTA-AM, where they were recording acts late at night.  Bobby was a partner at Summit records and, when he discontinued that label in 1958, he took on Royce as his new partner, and they began marketing under the Royce banner.  Royce was actually more of a recording service.  For $300.00, you could get two sides recorded, and receive most of the run of 300 45's.  The rest were mailed to area disc jockeys and promoters.  For material, they chose "I'm Free", penned by Bobby Anderson and Bill Russ.  It's a fine up-tempo side with shades of Thurston Harris' "Little Bitty Pretty One".  The ballad side was written by Harold and Irene Clark of Owensboro.  They operated a furniture store in the area, and wrote songs as a sideline.  The song, entitled "My Fragile Heart" has a haunting melody, possibly inspired, in part, by Hank Snow's "Yellow Roses".  Richard sang the lead on the jump side, and Charles handled the lead on the ballad.  Other musicians on the session included Royce Morgan, guitar; "Boots" Brown (the third brother), drums; and Tura Carson, keyboard.  Both Charles and Richard recall the session as being very long, with many takes to achieve the sound they wanted.  This was mainly due to the small recording space and lack of high-tech equipment.  In the end, Bobby and Royce ended up with 2 cuts which were undoubtedly the best of their label's material.

 

One of 300 copies pressed.
From the CUH Archives.

 

Released in early 1960, local reaction was excellent, with many jukebox plays, and heavy promotion from LeRoy Woodward, who operated a local record store called the "Wax Works", and had a weekly radio show on WVGS, Owensboro.  The record got as far as Louisville, where Charles recalls it being a pick-of -the week on WHAS.

A session at a Nashville studio (near the Ryman Auditorium) followed, and produced a few demos, including a tune called "Marie".  They even cut a background track for Elvis in Nashville, which was, apparently, never used.  In 1961, Richard enlisted in the Army.  Sonny Rates followed.  By 1963, the Embers were no more. “We had to survive”, Charles Brown laments.  “We had to get real jobs.”

 

 

In 1995, five hundred copies of their sole single were pressed on the X-BAT label, with a picture sleeve of the group, as they appeared in 1959.

Following their service stints, the group occasionally performed for weddings, and for Western High reunions.  But the heyday of the sound was gone.  Richard became a Kentucky probation officer.  Charles was a fire fighter in Owensboro for 25 years.  Mel Smith became steel worker. Sonny Rates was a metallurgist in Hammond, Indiana and Raymond Johnson was with U.P.S. in Atlanta.

Previously unpublished article by Dr. Phil Schwartz, 1996, printed here with the author’s permission.

Based on interviews with Charles Brown, Richard Brown and Bobby Anderson and excerpts from Keith Lawrence of the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer from interviews 9/3/95.

 

Update:  Delmar “Sonny” Rates died September 10. 2007, in Michigan City, IN, after a long battle with cancer.