For Fans Of The Mighty Dells (performing at the 1998 B.I.G. Annual Conference in D.C.)

There was one group in the R&B Soul/Doo Woo genres that epitomized what a real singing group was back in the day...The Mighty Dells from Harvey Illinois. For those who are fans of The Mighty Dells, we miss them and their soulful music that started in 1953 and continued until 2012. The passing of lead singer Marvin Junior, falsetto/lead singer Johnny Carter and bass singer Chuck Barksdale starting in 2009 ended the group's reign. These men, along with Verne Allison and Michael McGill, performed together creating hits in 5 decades. With hits like "Stay In My Corner", "Love Is So Simple", "Oh What A Nite", "A Heart Is A House For Love", "Wichita Lineman", "I Can Sing A Rainbow-Love Is Blue" and "Open Up My Heart", the group will live on as long as those who loved them remain. Most don't know that their biggest hit "Stay In My Corner", was originally released in 1965 and it peaked at #25 on the Billboard R&B Chart. They re-released the song in a new version in 1968 which is the one we all know, and it peaked at #10 on the Billboard Pop Chart and #1 on the Billboard R&B Chart. The Mighty Dells were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and Johnny Carter was also inducted again that year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a former member of The Flamingos. The group was one of only two groups with hits in five decades. I grew up with The Mighty Dells' music in the 60's so when I had the opportunity to meet them in the 90's, I was on cloud nine. I videotaped the group during the Ben E. King Celebrity Golf Tournament in 2003 and Chuck Barksdale was absolutely hilarious. I will post those videos in the near future. I began to videotape some of their performances when they came to DC in the 90's and 2000's and this 1998 video was one of the last opportunities I got to record them. They were up in years but their showmanship performance of their timeless hits never wavered. Enjoy and thanks for being a Dells fan.

Added 13 Jul 2026