The Larks - The Larks Collection 1950-55 (CD)

Hailing from North Carolina, the Larks were a classic African-American doowop group of the early 1950s, with their roots firmly in gospel, but moving to secular music to form The Larks, although their early recorded work ranged across both gospel and secular genres as they recorded under different names when they made their studio debut. Although they were not among the most prolific doowop hitmakers, their style and technique made them one of the most admired and imitated of the early doowop ensembles. This 48-track 2-CD set comprises the A & B sides of just about all their releases on the Apollo and in a second incarnation of the group under lead singer Eugene Mumford on the Apollo subsidiary label Lloyds, plus some titles from those labels which were not released at the time, along with recordings on Jubilee as The Selah Singers, on Regent as The 4 Barons, and on Apollo as The Southern Harmonaires. It features their Top 10 R&B hits "Eyesight To The Blind" and "Little Side Car". It's a substantial overview of their career - they broke up before their final release - and it's a thorough and excellent showcase for their highly-regarded skills as vocal harmonisers.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. Why Not Today
2. Down Here I've Done My Best
3. Lemon Squeezer
4. Got To Go Back Again
5. My Heart Cries For You
6. Coffee, Cigarettes And Tears
7. Who Will Your Captain Be?
8. I'm So Glad
9. When I Leave These Prison Walls
10. Hopefully Yours
11. Let's Say A Prayer
12. My Reverie
13. Eyesight To The Blind
14. I Ain't Fattenin' Frogs For Snakes
15. Little Side Car
16. Hey, Little Girl
17. I Don't Believe In Tomorrow
18. Ooh…It Feels So Good
19. My Lost Love
20. How Long Must I Wait For You?
21. Honey In The Rock
22. Shadrack
23. Stolen Love
24. In My Lonely Room

Disc: 2

1. Darlin'
2. Lucy Brown
3. I Live True To You
4. Hold Me
5. Christmas To New Year's
6. All I Want For Christmas
7. What's The Matter
8. It's Breaking My Heart
9. Margie
10. Rockin' In the Rocket Room
11. If It's A Crime
12. Tippin' In
13. When You're Near
14. Who Walks In When I Walk Out
15. No Other Girl
16. The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise
17. Os-Ca-Lu-Ski-O
18. Forget It
19. Johnny Darlin'
20. You're Gonna Lose Your Gal
21. Honey From The Bee
22. No, Mama, No
23. If You Were The Only Girl In The World
24. For The Love Of You