Du-Droppers
An R&B vocal group from New York City, New York, USA. Original members were lead Caleb ‘J.C.’ Ginyard Jnr. (b. 15 January 1910, St. Matthews, South Carolina, USA), brothers tenor Willie Ray and baritone Harvey Ray, and bass Eddie Hashaw. The Du-Droppers, which specialized in swinging jump tunes, arrived on the scene at the beginning of the R&B vocal group explosion in the early '50s, yet they brought to their vocal art the older traditions of jubilee, gospel, and pop singing. Ginyard had been singing professionally since 1936 and had sung with top-flight Jubilee groups such as the Jubalaires and Dixieaires. The Du-Droppers formed in 1952 and shortly thereafter began recording for Bobby Robinson's Red Robin label. They had regional success with the rousing Can't Do Sixty No More, an answer to the Dominos' Sixty Minute Man. After this record Bob Kornegay replaced Hashaw on bass. In late 1952 the Du-Droppers signed with RCA-Victor, which put them on the charts in 1953 with I Wanna Know (number 3 R&B) in 1953 and I Found Out (What You Do When You Go 'Round There) (number 3 R&B). The group survived considerable turbulence and personnel changes during the next two years, but when Ginyard left the group in mid-1955 to join the Golden Gate Quartet the Du-Droppers found him irreplaceable and finally disbanded in 1956.