The Fantastic Violinaires

<a href="spotify:artist:4t1J3HKirFUfsuVneYfzTy">The Violinaires</a> have been an institution in Detroit gospel music since 1952, appearing under a variety of names -- usually <a href="spotify:artist:4t1J3HKirFUfsuVneYfzTy">the Violinaires</a> or the Fantastic Violinaires -- and being led by a number of singers, including founder <a href="spotify:artist:0ZJ64GNpXryGeGbwektFmr">Willie Banks</a> and Robert Blair, who led the group until his death in 2001, when he was replaced by pastor Danny Walker.

The first version of <a href="spotify:artist:4t1J3HKirFUfsuVneYfzTy">the Violinaires</a> was formed by Isaiah "Lil Shot" Jones, Leo Coney, and Wilson DeShields in 1952. Not long afterward, Providence Thomas and Raymond, Mississippi native <a href="spotify:artist:0ZJ64GNpXryGeGbwektFmr">Willie Banks</a> joined, and the group adopted the name <a href="spotify:artist:4t1J3HKirFUfsuVneYfzTy">the Violinaires</a>. From the outset, the membership of the group changed frequently, but Jones, Coney, and DeShields were mainstays through the '50s.

<a href="spotify:artist:4t1J3HKirFUfsuVneYfzTy">The Violinaires</a> made their recording debut in 1953, when "Another Soldier Gone" appeared on the local Drummond imprint. The following year, it was re-released for the secular market under the name the Question Marks by Swing Time Records, and this crossover attempt led the vocal group to pursue R&B in the late '50s. At the peak of their R&B phase, the group featured <a href="spotify:artist:0N5PyKJzS3M1XNlaCL7bbE">Wilson Pickett</a> on lead; the singer appeared on the 1957 single "Sign of the Judgment."

By the time <a href="spotify:artist:4t1J3HKirFUfsuVneYfzTy">the Violinaires</a> signed with the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Chess%22">Chess</a> subsidiary <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Checker%22">Checker</a> in 1964, the group returned to gospel music and featured Robert Blair as the lead; Jones, Coney, and DeShields all remained in the band. The group stayed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Checker%22">Checker</a> throughout the '60s and moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Jewel%22">Jewel</a> in the '70s.

In the '80s, <a href="spotify:artist:4t1J3HKirFUfsuVneYfzTy">the Violinaires</a> became the Fantastic Violinaires and signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Malaco+Records%22">Malaco Records</a>. This lineup featured Blair and a selection of new vocalists: Robert Arrington, David Battle, Dwight "Tito" Arthur," David "Bunker Hill" Walker, and Dr. Frank "Daddy" Thompson, Jr. This lineup held through the late '80s, when the group moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Atlantic+International+Records%22">Atlantic International Records</a> to release the successful album The Pink Tornado. During the '90s, the lineup shifted on a semi-regular basis -- Danny Walker joined during this time -- as did the group's record labels; during the '90s, they recorded for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Paula%22">Paula</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Grammercy%22">Grammercy</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Gospel+Jubilee%22">Gospel Jubilee</a>, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Universal+Music%22">Universal Music</a>.

Robert Blair led the Fantastic Violinaires until his death on March 19, 2001. In the wake of his passing, the group spun off into several incarnations, including a brief spell where Rev. Charlie Brown took Blair's spot. The Fantastic Violinaires continued under the direction of pastor Danny Walker -- they were billed as Danny Walker & the Fantastic Violinaires -- while Titus "Lil' Blair" Stallworth took a different group out as <a href="spotify:artist:2P9ePettcz2myctVEM7bqz">Lil' Blair & the Fantastic Heirs</a>. There was also a group called <a href="spotify:artist:6g7o6V36DTNfW1zsXrYIPZ">Robert Blair & the Fantastic Violinaires</a>. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi