The Cadillacs

• Genre: Doo-Wop

About

One of the rock 'n' roll/doo-wop groups that had a hand in breaking down the barrier between black and white audiences in the 1950s, the Cadillacs are best known for their big hit "Speedo," a hopping doo-wop/R&B hybrid inspired by the nickname of lead singer Earl Carroll. Formed in Harlem in 1953, the group was signed to Josie Records and released a reworking of the 1948 Mills Brothers song "Gloria" in 1954. "Speedo" landed a year later and captured the minds of the teenage record-buying public as it crossed over from R&B rotations to widespread pop airplay, cracking the Top 20. As was often the case with doo-wop groups, the Cadillacs split into several different iterations featuring various "original" members in the '60s, and Carroll himself eventually joined the Coasters. Following decades of intermittent activity, Carroll reformed the Cadillacs in the 1990s and began performing regularly on PBS.

- Mike McGuirk