Gospel group from Fruitland, MD. Members included Monroe ‘Mony’ Askins, Orville Brooks…
Ken Collins recollections: “My father, George Melvin Collins, was one of the original members of the Fruitland Harmonizers from Fruitland, Maryland (Maryland’s Eastern Shore). They sang as group for over 60 years. Even though some of the group members changed there were three members that stayed throughout their performing years, going back into the 1940s. Those members were my father, George Collins, Mr. Irvin Church and Mr. Donald Jones. They are all deceased now, but for many years they had a regular gospel hour on WBOC Radio in Salisbury, Maryland that aired at 10:00 a.m. every Sunday morning. They recorded several songs in a recording studio in Baltimore.”
“At one point in the early and mid-1940s my father sang with the Harmonizing Four from Richmond, Virginia. When he was with them the group members were Gospel Joe, Tommy Johnson, Lonnie Smith and Jimmy Jones. When Jimmy Jones (bass singer) embarked on a solo career he was replaced by Tommy Johnson’s son Ellis Johnson. When confronted with the rigors of being on the road with the group and being away from his family or being home, he opted for family, but continued singing locally.
Brooks joined Florida based Bill Langford’s Southern Sons in the early ‘40s who relocated to Philadelphia, then New York, and then later to the West Coast where Brooks joined the Golden Gate Quartet. He later sang with the Larks, and the Ink Spots.
The Fruitland Harmonizers released a single in 1963 on Ru-Jac 45009 “Take Care of Me” b/w “My Father Watches Over Me.” Ru-Jac owner Rufus Mitchell provided vocals…
1963 Ru-Jac 45009 Take Care of Me / My Father Watches Over Me
