These two soundies are by the Ink Spots, probably the most influential vocal group ever. They were obviously filmed at the same time, but I'm not sure of the date, or even the personnel. "If I Didn't Care" was recorded in 1939 and "The Gypsy" in 1946, so the date is somewhere between 1946 and as late as 1952. The lead singer is the great Bill Kenny. During the first verse of "If I Didn't Care," they stand, from left to right, Kenny, Billy Bowen, unknown and Charlie Fuqua. The unknown man is the bass. On the original record, the talking bass was sung by Orville "Hoppy" Jones, but he died in 1944. For most of the late '40s, the fourth member of the group was Kenny's brother Herb, but this is not him. Can anyone identify the mystery man?
Later in the '50s, Herb Kenny made some excellent records as lead singer of Herb Kenny and the Rockets. Charlie Fuqua was the uncle of Harvey Fuqua, one of the lead singers of the Moonglows.
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