By Larry Nager
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Williams

It's an old rock 'n' roll story - high school kids put together a group for a talent show; a record label scout hears them and the next thing you know - top of the pops.

When it happened to Otis Williams, the old story was brand-new. "That was in 1952, my first year in high school," recalls Williams, 66.

Just for fun, the popular Withrow athlete had joined a vocal group for a school competition. "And someone heard us and recommended us to (King Records owner) Syd Nathan."

Segregation was still the rule, and the band backing the other contestants (all white) refused to play for Williams. "We had to do ours a cappella," he says. "Those were bad times."

But Williams has the last laugh. The racist bandleader is long forgotten, but Otis Williams & the Charms (named after the candy) remain popular on the doo-wop circuit. Saturday, they perform at the Taft.

IF YOU GO

What: "Rock, Rhythm & Doo Wop" - Otis Williams & the Charms, Pookie Hudson & the Spaniels, Gene Hughes & the Casinos, La La Brooks, Gene Chandler, the Capris, the Elegants, the Penguins When: 8 p.m. Saturday Where: Taft Theatre How much: $25-$40, at Ticketmaster, 562-4949 and Web site, and the Taft box office

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES

Cincinnati wants recognition for its place in music history, specifically King Records' role in the birth of rock 'n' roll. This week, Councilman John Cranley kicked off a campaign to collect an oral history archive of local King-related stories. Send your memories to: King Records Project, Councilman John Cranley's office, c/o Marvin Hawkins, 801 Plum St., Room 348, Cincinnati, 45202.

"He's the real deal. He goes back all the way to the beginning," says Terry Stewart, president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. "He's part of the first wave that really started to cross over."

The Charms' first hit, 1954's "Hearts of Stone," shot to No. 1 on the R&B charts and No. 15 pop. Until then, Williams never considered a music career.

"I had a scholarship to play football at Ohio State and I had a Cincinnati Reds baseball contract and a gold record, all at the same time."

Plans to attend OSU and then join the Reds ended as the hits kept coming. Recording for King's R&B subsidiary, DeLuxe, the Charms hit No. 5 on the R&B charts in January 1955 with "Ling, Ting, Tong" (No. 26 pop). In March, they were back with "Two Hearts" (No. 8 R&B) and in April 1956 with "Ivory Tower" (No. 5 R&B, No. 11 pop).

In terms of longevity, he made the right choice. There aren't 66-year-old ball players still on the field.

"My voice is in good shape," says Williams, who performs about 20 shows a year with his current Charms, which include his cousin Rollie Willis, an alumnus of the 1956 group.

He also recorded with other King groups, arranging background vocals on Little Willie John's "Fever" and Hank Ballard's "The Twist."

After doo-wop died in the late '50s, he stayed busy in Northern Kentucky clubs and casinos. By the late '60s, he had moved to Florida, playing golf and dabbling in real estate. The '70s found him back in music, singing country as Otis Williams & the Midnight Cowboys.

But the '70s oldies movement brought the Charms back. He moved back to Cincinnati in 1994, and, in 2002, won a Lifetime Achievement Cammy Award. But Otis Williams & the Charms aren't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Stewart makes a strong case, but nominees are decided by the New York board. "I think he's one of the first R&B stars that really started to pull the black and white cultures together. His music ... really influenced all of the emerging musical trends of America."

But after a life of barrier breaking, Williams is philosophical about his hall snub. He knows pioneers are often forgotten.

"We were on the front end of it all," he says. "And you know, you get no recognition for that."

E-mail lnager@enquirer.com