After nearly four decades of recording an incredible legacy of hits, the Dells have made only one personnel change in their entire professional career. Perhaps that's why the venerable R&B vocal group can boast such a remarkably consistent track record.

The quintet from Chicagos' south suburbs has weathered stylistic shifts from doo wop and soul to disco and urban contemporary and every permutation in between. Their harmony remains as striking as ever, with Marvin Junior's earthshaking lead enduring as the group's focal point.

Signing with Vee-Jay in 1955, their creamy vocal blend on"Oh, What a Night" gave them their first major R&B hit the next year, but it would be nearly a decade before they returned to the winner's circle with another dreamy classic, "Stay in My Corner.". By then Chicagos' R&B sound had changed drastically - doowop was dead and soul was king - but they adapted effortlessly, regularly scaling the charts for the Chess subsidiary Cadet with "There Is," "AlwaysTogether," "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation," and a marathon remake of "Stay in My Corner" that afforde Juniors' booming baritone room to roam.

Seemingly an indestructible force (turning up on the R&B charts as recently as 1984), the succinct harmonies of the Dells span entire generations of R&B history.

The highlight of The Dells career, which introduced them to the "PEPSI Generation", was when director Robert Townsend wrote the inspiring movie The FiveHeartbeats based on the tumultuous lives and career of The Dells. This film produced the hit sound track chartbuster A Heart Is A House For Love which catapulted The Dells into another dimension as superstars.

MARVIN JUNIOR
Marvin Junior was born on January 31st 1936 and is the Godfather of lead singers. He has influenced everyone from Teddy Pendergrass ('his musical daddy') and a legion of others.

Known for his power and subtlety, Marvin has created a unique musical legacy for The Dells and himself. He is recognised as a lead singer's lead singer and to this day he still receives standing ovations for holding the note in 'Stay In My Corner'.