The group comprised of:
Nicholas Caldwell (b .5th April 1944, Loma Linda, California, U.S.A. d. 5th January 2016, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California, U.S.A.)
Walter Scott (b. 23rd September 1943, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.)
Wallace 'Scotty' Scott (b. 23rd September 1943, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.)
Marcus Hutson (b. 8th January 1943, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. d. 2000)
Gordy Harmon (who departed in 1973. b. 1943, U.S.A. d. 5th January 2023, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.)
and
Leaveil Degree (b. 31st July 1948, New Orleans, Lousiana, U.S.A.)
The Whispers were formed in 1963, in the Watts Area, South Central Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
The group were formed, originally, by Nicholas Caldwell and the late Marcus Hutson as the Eden Singers in 1963.
The group became the Whispers after the Scott twins and Gordy Harmon had been recruited to the ranks.
The Whispers signed to the Dore label in 1964 and released 'I Was Born When You Kissed Me.'
The same year they released 'It Only Hurts For A Little While / The Happy One', with 'The Dip / It Hurts So Much' and 'As I Sit Here / Shake It, Shake It' released the following year.
1966 saw 'Take A Lesson From The Teacher / Claire De Looney', and 1967 followed on with 'You Got A Man On Your Hands / You Can't Fight What's Right' and 'Needle In A Haystack / Waltz For You'.
never again b/w/ slow jerk - dore 729 - 1965
The group also recorded the first version of the song made popular by Bobby Sheen, namely 'Dr Love'.
in 1974 / planets of life
In 1969, the quintet climbed the soul charts for the first time with 'The Time Will Come' on Soul Clock, and they cracked the R & B Top Ten the next year with 'Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong.'
Soul Clock was a label owned by the group's original producer Ron Carson (Dick Griffey taking over in 1971).
Other Soul Clock releases included 'Great Day', 'What Will I Do', 'I Can Remember', 'I'm The One' and 'Where Have You Been'.
love story / love story single 'can't stop talking'
The Whispers first official solo album on Dore was the release 'Planets Of Life, which was recorded between 1969 and 1970. The album was later released on the Janus label in 1973.
'Love Story' was released on the Janus imprint in 1972 (containing 'I Only Meant To Wet My Feet' / 'You Fill My Life With Music'), along with 'Life and Breath' for the same label.
In 1973, Gordy Harmon was replaced by Leaveil Degree, a former member of the Friends of Distinction.
life and breath / bingo
In 1974 the Whispers released two Janus albums.
'Bingo' contained the popular title track and 'Mother For My Children'.
whispers getting louder
'Whispers Getting Louder' saw a U.K. release through Polygram, and contained the songs 'Where There Is Love', the ballad 'Somone's Waiting', 'Broken Home' and the excellent 'Will You Be Mine', the album mainly comprising of several of the recordings featured on the 'Bingo' release.
one for the money / open up your love
Resettling at the Soul Train imprint, the group released the Norman Harris produced 'One For The Money', featuring 'Living Together In Sin' and the dancefloor friendly title track in 1976.
In 1977 a further Soul Train release, entitled 'Open Up Your Love' featured their own dancefloor take on the Bread song 'Make It With You'.
headlights / happy holidays to you
'Headlights' followed a year later, by which time the group were recording for the S.O.L.A.R. label (the name standing for the 'Sound Of Los Angeles Records').
'Headlights' featured the songs 'Let's Go All The Way' and 'Olivia (Lost and Turned Out'.
In 1979, the group recorded an album of Festive songs, entitled 'Happy Holidays To You', along with a straight ahead Soul release ''Whisper In Your Ear'.
whisper in your ear / the whispers
The latter album featured the Keni Burke / Curtis Mayfield penned 'Can't Do Without Love' and the ballad 'If I Don't Get Your Love'.
The same year the group released a self titled album, which featured the massive nightclub hit 'And The Beat Goes On' (a number 1 R & B hit).
'And the Beat Goes On' would later be sampled on Will Smith's 1998 song, 'Miami'.
By 1980, the Whispers had moved into their most successful period of releases for the group.
imagination / this kind of lovin'
'Imagination' featured the hit song 'It's a Love Thing' (number 2 in 1981).
'This Kind Of Lovin', released in 1981, featured the Gene Dozier rare groove classic, 'I'm The One For You'.
love is where you find it / love for love / so good / just gets better with time
'Love Is Where You Find It' (1982), 'Love For Love (1983), 'So Good' (1984) and 'Just Gets Better With Time' (which featured a number 1 R & B hit 'Rock Steady', written by L.A. 'Babyface' Reid, along with the Gary Taylor penned title song)
In 1990, the group released 'More Than The Night', which featured the number 3 R & B hit 'Innocent', and the ballad single 'Is It Good To You'.
Overall, the Whispers recorded 32 albums and 39 singles between 1970 and 2007.
Ten of their songs made the R & B top 10.
Their Donny Hathaway tribute ('A Song for Donny') reached number 21 in 1979.
The group have been absent from the charts since 1995, the year that saw the release of the abum 'Toast To The Ladies'.
Marcus Hutson left the group in 1992 due to illness.
According to the Whispers' website, when Hutson died in 2000, they vowed to never replace him, and now perform as a quartet.
walter and scotty
After being their backbone and selling point since the group's inception, twin lead vocalists Walter and Wallace Scott departed for solo careers in 1993, releasing 'My Brother's Keeper' (featuring the Keni Burke penned 'Heaven', which also featured on the Whispers 'Toast To The Ladies' 1995 set).
toast to the ladies / for your ears only
In 2006 the group released 'For Your Ears Only' for the Satin Tie imprint.
The Whispers still record, to this day, as an ensemble, and play the U.K. in 2009.
Nicholas Caldwell had a triple by pass operation in 2000.
He sadly passed away in January 2016.
gordy harmon
Gordy Harmon died in January 2023.
One soul music pundit, (commentating on the prolific output of this group) once said 'If you could find any 'cylinder' records around, in an antique shop, these days, you could be guaranteed that one of them would probably feature a cylinder by The Whispers!'.
Albums:
The Whispers (Soul Clock 1971)
The Whispers' Love Story (Janus 1972)
Life And Breath (Janus 1972)
Planet Of Life (Soul Clock reissue 1973)
Bingo (Janus 1974)
Whispers Getting Louder (Janus 1974)
One for the Money (Soul Train 1976)
The Whispers (Soul Train 1976)
Open up Your Love (Soul Train 1977)
Headlights (Solar 1978)
Whisper in Your Ear (Solar 1979)
Happy Holidays to You (Solar 1979)
The Whispers (Solar 1980)
This Kind of Lovin' (Solar 1981)
Imagination (Solar 1981)
Love Is Where You Find It (Solar 1982)
Love for Love (Capitol 1983)
So Good (Solar 1984)
Just Gets Better with Time (Solar 1987)
More of the Night (Capitol 1990)
Somebody Loves You (Quicksilver 1991)
Beat Goes On (Unidisc 1994)
Christmas Moments (Capitol 1994)
Toast to the Ladies (Capitol 1995)
The Whispers (Sequel 1996)
Songbook, Vol. 1: The Songs of Babyface (Interscope 1997)
For Your Ears Only (Satin Tie 2006)
Live Form Las Vegas (Satin Tie 2007)
Thankful (Kingdom Records 2009)
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