Pockets are an American
R&B band.
They had three top 40 R&B hits in the late 1970s. They are best known for their single "
Come Go With Me
"Come Go with Me" is a song written by C. E. Quick (a.k.a. Clarence Quick), an original member (bass vocalist) of the American doo-wop vocal group the Del-Vikings. The song was originally recorded by The Del-Vikings (lead singer Norman Wright) ...
".
History
The
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
based band was firstly dubbed the Pockets by singer
Luther Ingram
Luther Thomas Ingram (November 30, 1937 – March 19, 2007) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. His most successful record, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right", reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and No. 3 ...
as a description of their musical style. As a septet the band went on to record several demos at Sheffield Studios in 1975. Being mostly top 40 covers and four original songs these records didn't make much of an impact. With this being so band member Al McKinney eventually met up with
John Mackey of the
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
. Mackey happened to be
Verdine White
Verdine Adams White (born Verdine Adams Jr.; July 25, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list oThe 50 Greatest Bassists of Al ...
's next-door neighbor and thus a cassette of the group was passed along to White who became impressed. White went on to bring in Larry Jacobs from San Francisco to be the group's lead vocalist. As an eight-man band the Pockets got signed in 1977 to
. The group then started recording their first album which was being produced by White.
Entitled ''
Come Go with Us'', the Pockets' debut LP was issued in October 1977 by Columbia. ''Come Go with Us'' reached No. 17 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Top R&B Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart.
The album's lead single "
Come Go with Me
"Come Go with Me" is a song written by C. E. Quick (a.k.a. Clarence Quick), an original member (bass vocalist) of the American doo-wop vocal group the Del-Vikings. The song was originally recorded by The Del-Vikings (lead singer Norman Wright) ...
" peaked at No. 17 and No. 32 on the ''Billboard''
Hot R&B Singles
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...
and
Disco Action charts, respectively.
The Pockets' second album, ''
Take It On Up'', was released in 1978 on Columbia Records. The LP was executively produced by
Maurice White
Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey. ...
with Verdine White and Robert Wright also serving as producers. The album reached No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' R&B Albums chart. The LP's title track reached No. 24 on the ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart.
"So Delicious" gave the group their third top 40 R&B single, reaching No. 34. Lower charting singles include "Catch Me" (No. 69 R&B) and "Happy for Love" (No. 79 Disco/Dance).
The band eventually reformed and along with another classic R&B act
Breakwater
Breakwater may refer to:
* Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour
Places
* Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
* Breakwater Island, Antarctica
* Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada
* ...
went about a tour of the United Kingdom in 2016 and 2017.
Members
Original lineup
* Kevin Barnes - trombone, vocals, percussion
* Gary Grainger - bass, vocals
* Gregory Grainger - percussionist, vocals, aux drummer
* George Gray - drums, vocals, percussion
* Larry Jacobs - vocals, percussion
* Albert McKinney - keyboards, vocals
* Irving Madison - saxophone, vocals, percussion
* Jacob Sheffer - guitar, percussion
* Charles "Chuck" Williams - trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, vocals, percussion
2016/2017 line up
* Craig Alsten
* Rick Aspel
* Greg Boyer
* Chris Fischer
* Gary Grainger
* Greg Grainger
* Freedom Imani
* Larry Jacobs
* Marshall Keyes
* Robert Wawa Legrand
* Edgar Montalvo
* David Ylvisaker
* Bryan Fox (Special guest)
[Pockets website ]
Upcoming Events, The Band:
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Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
Website
{{Authority control
American soul musical groups
Musical groups from Baltimore