Todd Rhodes

1952-1954 Todd Rhodes

This, the final CD in the trilogy, concludes the Todd Rhodes story with his final recordings for King Records from 1952-54. The loss of the band's star vocalist, LaVern Baker, in 1953 to Atlantic Records was a severe blow from which the band never really recovered. The two final sessions included just two vocal numbers, with the group relying on the instrumentals which had formerly made it famous. None, however, made any impression on the national charts. Following the last session for King, the musicians held together doing session work for the local Fortune label and, later after the band had finally split up, for Motown where drummer Benny Benjamin would become a legend.