Sensational Nightingales

Sensational Nightingales The Nightingales, or “the Gales,” known as “the Gentlemen of Songs,” were founded in 1942 by Barney L. Parks, Jr. , a singer from the Dixie Hummingbirds of Philadelphia. Parks’s wife was gospel soloist Madame Edna Gallmon Cooke (1917–1967). Other original members were Howard Carroll of the Hummingbirds, Paul Owens of the Swan Silvertones , Ben Joiner , and William Henry . Baritone Julius “June” Cheeks (1929–1981) joined at the request of Parks. Cheeks was a member of…