Originating in 1952, in Detroit, MI, as The Royales (Henry Booth, Charles Sutton, Lawson Smith and Sonny Woods)
And enlisting the services of such Motor City luminaries as Jackie Wilson
(Up until that time,
"of The Dominoes")
and Levi Stubbs,
throughout the years,
They became The Midnighters when Hank Ballard came on board, replacing Lawson Smith as the lead singer, in late 1953...
—The name change to Hank Ballard and The Midnighters came in ’54 when it became clear that songwriter, producer, performer
Hank Ballard was in charge!
Hank Ballard was in charge!
With Hank at the helm, The Midnighters saw TWO #1 hits in 1954:
“Work With Me Annie"
"Annie Had A Baby"
Not to mention the other ”Annie Tunes” like:
“Annie’s Aunt Fannie”
Their 1954 “Sexy Ways” was also a HIT!!!
In 1959, at the time of Howard Theater show, they had a smash with a tune which would become popular again, almost thirty years later, when Stevie Ray Vaughan (R.I.P.) had a hit with it too!!!
“Look at Little Sister”
“Finger Poppin’ Time” would hit the chart in ’60, along with “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go,” and both were surely part of the act…
The most significant part of any late 1959 /early 1960 show for Hank Ballard was the fact that he’d written a tune and invented a dance to go with it (b/w “Teardrops on YourLetter”
—which became the hit!)…
The ORIGINAL
“The Twist” by Hank Ballard and The Midnighters”…
WHAT A SHOW!!!
 |
| R.I.P. HANK! |
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