Verne Allison, a founding member and second tenor of the Dells, died October 7 at age 90, according to Legacy’s October 8 obituary. His career connected the Chicago area’s early vocal-group scene with decades of soul recordings and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Allison helped give the Dells the blend heard on records including “Oh, What a Night,” “Stay in My Corner” and “Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation.” Legacy also credits him with songwriting contributions including “Dry Your Eyes” and “Movin’ On.”

RNN has not independently confirmed a cause of death, funeral arrangements or a complete list of survivors. Those details will be added when verified.

From Harvey schoolmates to the Dells

Born June 22, 1936, Allison became part of a group of students at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois, south of Chicago. Their early name was the El-Rays. The original members included Marvin Junior, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, Michael “Mickey” McGill and his brother Lucius, alongside Allison.

Music historian Marv Goldberg’s detailed discography and history traces their beginnings to around 1952. The teenagers rehearsed in school, hallways and neighborhood gathering places before auditioning for Leonard Chess.

Goldberg dates their first session to February 17, 1954. “Darling, I Know” and “Christine” followed on Checker, the Chess subsidiary. After Lucius McGill departed, the remaining singers moved to Vee-Jay and adopted the Dells name.

The breakthrough came with “Oh What a Nite” in 1956. It eventually reached No. 4 on the national R&B charts. That October, the Dells appeared at New York’s Apollo Theater on a bill introducing new R&B talent.

The harmony mattered as much as the lead

The Dells’ best-known sound combined Marvin Junior’s forceful baritone with Johnnie Carter’s high tenor. Allison was central to the voices around them. In the group’s 2004 Rock Hall induction essay, Harry Weinger described Allison and Mickey McGill as helping bind that vocal contrast together, with Chuck Barksdale supplying the bass.

A serious automobile accident interrupted the group’s career in 1958. The singers regrouped, and Carter, formerly of the Flamingos, replaced Funches in 1960. Work with Dinah Washington helped the Dells return to music full time.

As Rhino’s career retrospective documents, their later partnership with producer Bobby Miller and arranger Charles Stepney at Cadet brought a new period of success. The group carried its vocal identity into more elaborate soul arrangements.

Old songs found new lives

“Stay in My Corner” first charted for the Dells in 1965. Their 1968 remake reached No. 1 R&B and the pop Top 10. A new recording of “Oh, What a Night” followed in 1969, again topping the R&B chart and reaching the pop Top 10.

Rhino counts 46 R&B hits between 1956 and 1992, including eight pop Top 40 entries. The range matters: Allison’s story belongs to a group that repeatedly reached listeners across changing musical eras.

A connection to radio—and The Five Heartbeats

Broadcaster Jerry Blavat’s contribution to the 2004 induction program recalled making the Dells’ recordings part of his radio show and seeing listeners respond. His account also described the competitive but close-knit world of Chicago performers, record executives and theater shows that helped carry their music to audiences.

The Dells later advised Robert Townsend during the development of The Five Heartbeats, the 1991 fictional film about a soul group. They recorded “A Heart Is a House for Love” for the soundtrack. The movie was not a literal Dells biography, but their experience helped inform it.

Townsend inducted the Dells into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Recognition beyond the records

On June 6, 2017, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton honored Allison and the Dells in the Congressional Record. She noted Allison’s work with DC Legendary Musicians, an organization preserving and promoting the Washington area’s musical heritage, and the Dells’ appearances at venues including the Howard Theatre, Constitution Hall and the Kennedy Center.

Help tell Verne’s story

RNN publisher Lee Michaels is seeking firsthand recollections from people who knew or worked with Allison for follow-up coverage. A particular conversation, recording session, concert or station visit can help readers understand the person behind the records.

If you have a memory to share, please leave a comment with your name, your connection to Verne and the approximate year and location. Please do not post private contact information. Recollections will be checked and attributed before inclusion in an update.

Photo: The Dells in a 1967 Cadet Records publicity image, with Verne Allison at upper right. Source: Billboard, October 28, 1967, via Wikimedia Commons; identified there as public domain in the United States.