Ollie & The Nightingales - Ollie & The Nightingales (1969)

Ollie & The Nightingales were an American R&B vocal group.

The Dixie Nightingales were originally a gospel group, formed in Memphis in the late 50s, when they recorded for Pepper Records. The original lineup consisted of lead singer Ollie Hoskins with Bill Davis, Nelson Lesure, Willie Neal and Rochester Neal. At one point they also featured a teenage David Ruffin, who of course went on to find fame with The Temptations.
In 1965 the Nightingales were brought to Stax Records, and signed to Stax's gospel subsidiary Chalice, on which they released three singles. A few years later Al Bell convinced them to make the move from gospel to secular music, moving them to the main Stax label and renaming them Ollie & The Nightingales. The change in style paid off, as they scored a #17 R&B hit in 1968 with the song "I Got A Sure Thing", written by Stax labelmates William Bell and Booker T. Jones. They released some follow-ups, but none of them charted as high. Around the same time they also featured as backing singers on Eddie Floyd's hit "I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)".
Their only album saw release in 1969. It was all recorded at the Stax studios, and featured songs by other Stax writers - as well as more songs by Bell, Jones and Floyd there were numbers from the partnership of Isaac Hayes and David Porter. It also featured their own version of "I've Never Found A Girl". Interestingly the album didn't actually include "I've Got A Sure Thing", but I have put it on the end as a bonus track.
In 1970 Ollie Hoskins left the group to go solo. The rest of them recorded a few singles without him before disbanding. Several of the remaining members went on to join The Ovations.

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