Love Is Blue
View on Discogs
View on Wikipedia
Album Summary
Released in 1969 on Chicago's storied Cadet label, 'Love Is Blue' found The Dells — Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, Marvin Junior, Mickey McGill, Johnny Carter, and Johnny Funches — doing what they did best: taking familiar songs and making them feel like they were written just for them. The album leaned into the lush, orchestrated soul sound that Cadet was cultivating in that era, wrapping the group's deeply layered vocals around a set of covers that ranged from pop standards to R&B chestnuts. It was a moment in the Dells' career when the group had fully hit their stride as interpreters, breathing new life into material that other artists had already put their fingerprints on.
Reception
- The album performed respectably within the soul market, riding the wave of momentum the Dells had built as one of Chicago's most enduring and respected vocal groups by the late 1960s.
- Critical attention at the time tended to focus on the group's vocal chemistry and their ability to transform well-known titles into something distinctly their own soulful statement.
- The album did not generate significant crossover chart data that can be independently verified for this specific release.
Significance
- The Dells' willingness to tackle songs like 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' and 'Dock of the Bay' alongside classics like 'The Glory of Love' and 'One Mint Julep' illustrated the remarkable stylistic breadth of Black vocal group soul at the close of the 1960s.
- As a Cadet release, the album sits within a body of work that helped define the sophisticated, orchestrated soul sound emanating from Chicago — a regional identity distinct from the Motown sheen or the raw grit of Southern soul.
- The Dells' six-man vocal arrangement, featuring the interplay between lead voices and deep bass anchoring from Chuck Barksdale, gave the group a textural richness that made their interpretations stand apart from the originals and cemented their reputation as one of soul's great vocal ensembles.
Tracklist
-
A2 Oh What A Night 106
-
A3 Dock Of The Bay 205
-
A4 A Little Understanding 153
-
A5 One Mint Julep 102
-
B1 A Whiter Shade Of Pale 153
-
B2 Theme From A "Summer Place" —
-
B3 The Glory Of Love 80
-
B4 Honey 138
Artist Details
The Dells were a soulful American vocal group whose smooth harmonies and deep grooves carried the spirit of classic soul into the disco era, recording for 20th Century Fox Records with a sound that was equal parts heart and heat. Built around the rich vocal blend of Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, Marvin Junior, Mickey McGill, Johnny Carter, and Johnny Funches, this Chicago-rooted ensemble brought a seasoned elegance to the soul and disco styles that defined their work. Their music stood as a testament to the enduring power of group harmony, proving that true soul doesn't chase trends — it transcends them.
