Zeke Carey born 24 January 1933

Zeke Carey (January 24, 1933 - December 24, 1999) was a tenor vocalist who came to prominence as an original co-founder of the American doo-wop group, The Flamingoes. 

Ezekiel J Carey was born in Bluefield, West Virginia and raised in Norfolk.  Zeke and Jacob “Jake” Carey are often noted as being cousins, but they weren’t really directly related at all. The Careys lived in Baltimore (down the street from Sonny Til), and Zeke was taken in and raised by Jake’s uncle and aunt. He adopted the Carey name and from that time on they’d always refer to each other as “cousin.” 

In 1950, they relocated to Chicago, where they joined the choir of the Jewish Church of God and Saints of Christ Congregation on the city's south side. Through the choir the Careys met Paul Wilson and Johnny Carter, and together they began performing as a quartet, performing in the same neighborhoods as another future soul legend, Sam Cooke. With the addition of lead Earl Lewis, the fledgling group's lineup was complete, with Carter and Zeke Carey installed as tenors, Wilson as baritone, and Jake Carey as bass. At first they called themselves the Swallows, but about six months later learned of a rival group with the same name back in Baltimore. Carter suggested el Flamingos, which was quickly modified to the Five Flamingos and finally just the Flamingos. 

They released their first single, "If I Can't Have You," in March 1953 and "Golden Teardrops" in October of the same year. The latter song became a strong regional hit in Chicago and New York and later kicked off the doo-wop collecting craze when it became the first 45 to sell for $20 at the legendary Times Square Records stall in a Manhattan subway. "Golden Teardrops" is often quoted as the most perfect group harmony record ever released and regularly tops polls from aficionados of this style of music. 

                                    

Most prominent among a succession of lead singers were McElroy (1951–54) and Nelson (1954–60). The group had regional success with a number of rhythm-and-blues records before achieving national fame in 1956 with the ballad “I’ll Be Home.” They went on to help pioneer rock and roll with appearances in several Alan Freed-sponsored stage shows and in the films Rock, Rock, Rock (1956) and Go Johnny Go (1958). After moving to New York City in 1957, the Flamingos lost Carter but added vocalist-keyboardist Hunt and guitarist Johnson. 

Working with producer George Goldner, they registered their biggest hits: “Lovers Never Say Goodbye” (1958), “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1959), and “Nobody Loves Me Like You” (1960). 1959 to 1961 was the group's most prolific period chart and album-wise. End put out four LPs in four years, "Requestfully Yours", "Flamingo Favorites", "The Sound Of The Flamingos" and "Flamingo Serenade", along with such outstanding singles as "Love Walked In", "I Was Such a Fool" , "Mio Amore" , "Your Other Love" , and "Time Was" . 

By 1961, however, the group was falling apart. Tommy Hunt left for a solo career; Nelson and Johnson formed a rival group called the Modern Flamingos. In the spring of 1964 the Flamingos returned to Checker for a few sides. They recorded an incredible Latin-rhythmed version of Oscar Hammerstein's "Lover Come Back to Me" that would have established a whole new legion of Flamingos followers had radio given it a chance to be heard. In 1965 the veterans joined Phillips Records and released a funk/doo wop version of Bing Crosby's 1934 (number three) hit "Temptation." 

The Flamingos' last charter was a 1970 ode to the black cavalry soldiers of the 1880s titled "Buffalo Soldier"  They  released a few singles for Roulette, Worlds, Julmar, and their own Ronze label (including three LPs shifting between an old and new sound) and by 1976 the Flamingos were finished with recording. They remained a fixture of the casino circuit, however, and for close to a quarter century both the Carey cousins and Terry Johnson led competing Flamingos lineups to considerable box-office success. 

Although suffering from Cancer, Zeke’s last performance was during December 1999 with his group on public television broadcasts of a doo-wop special, featuring more than 100 performers and hosted by singer-songwriter Jerry "The Iceman" Butler. That same month Zeke died from a heart attack on the 24th at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington. 

Though they've had only one national US top 20 hit and only 11 national US charters all told, the artists they've influenced (including the Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Jackson Five, the Spinners, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and Gladys Knight and the Pips to name just a few) testify to their significance. Their timeless recordings live on forever. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic, Billboard &  Brittanica. Thanks to Marv Goldberg for the dated photos)