For the second time in a week, the obituary page told of the death of a rock & roll / doo wop legend, Earl "Speedo" Carroll of the group, The Cadillacs. He was 75 years old.
This was a really interesting obit. In 1955, one of the members of the group referred to Carroll as "Speedo", and he testily replied "my name is Earl". Within a few hours, while the group was driving in a car to a gig, the following Lyrics were born:
"Oh, well, they often call me Speedo,
"But my real name is Mr. Earl"
You've all heard the song, and it seems like Martin Scorsese uses it in the soundtrack to almost all of his movies.
Interesting, the Cadillacs have been credited as being the first group to incorporate dance movements and choreography into their act, and such groups as The Temptations, The Miracles, and The Four Tops merely followed their lead.
To me, though, one of the most interesting parts of the obituary was the fact that in 1982, long after the Cadillacs performing days were over, Earl Carroll took a job as a maintenance man in the New York City Public Schools, and held the job until he retired in 2005. He loved his job, enjoyed being around young kids, and would often sing in the hallways of the school. The kids never believed him when he told him his history until The Cadillacs made a come back of sorts in various Rock & Roll and Doo Wop revival shows, such as those seen on PBS Fundraisers.
Interesting back story.
RIP "Speedo".
By the way, check out some of the "comments" from those school kids posted on this YouTube clip.
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