Earl Speedo Carroll was born 76 years ago today. Carroll was the lead vocalist for the doo-wop group, The Cadillacs. The groups biggest hit was Speedoo, Carrolls subsequent nickname. It was released in 1955. He joined The Coasters in 1961, leaving the group in the early 1990s to permanently reform The Cadillacs. In the 1990s, a newspaper reported that Carroll had worked as a custodian at PS 87, a New York elementary school, where he was a beloved figure whom the children called Speedo. Earl was chosen to be the subject of a childrens book, Thats Our Custodian, by Ann Morris (Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press). The publicity helped him to revive his career. He became a mainstay of the PBS series honoring doo wop, hosted by Jerry Butler. He achieved his dream of getting inducted into the Vocal Groups Hall of Fame in 2004, and retired from his custodial job in 2005. Carroll died in 2012 in a nursing home in New York at the age of 75, following a stroke and a battle with diabetes. Here, Carroll and the Cadillacs perform “Gloria” in 2006.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 04:25:25 +0000
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