The 5 Red Caps and 'Destination Unknown'

Our friend and contributor David Federman asked me if I had a copy of this record, specifically the song "Destination Unknown," written by Andy Razaf and Irene Higginbotham. I did not, but was able to locate a lossless transfer on Internet Archive, and here - following some remastering- it is for David and all interested.

The artists were the 5 Red Caps, who appeared on my main blog in its early days, in their guise of Steve Gibson and the Red Caps. The group has a convoluted history, extensively covered by Marv Goldberg on his R&B Notebooks pages. The quick version is that the quintet was known as the Toppers until producer Joe Davis brought them into the studio and dubbed them the 5 Red Caps. Goldberg believes the name change was an attempt to fool the Musicians Union, who were striking the record companies at the time. For some time, the Toppers/5 Red Caps maintained the dual identity.

From Marv Goldberg's site

The group was under contract with Davis from 1942-46, then took flight to Mercury Records, where member Steve Gibson began to get first billing. When "Destination Unknown" and its flip side, "Don't Say We're Through," were recorded, the personnel were probably Gibson, Romaine Brown, Doles Dickens, Jimmy Springs, Emmett Mathews, and David Patillo. (I know that adds up to six members, but maybe one of them didn't wear a red cap.) Springs is the tenor on these records.

I've remastered and reuploaded my earlier Red Caps posts for those interested. They consist of the 10-inch LP You're Driving Me Crazy (with a cover that has to be seen to be believed) and the EP Blueberry Hill plus four bonus 78 sides. Those posts have more on the Red Caps and their style of music. At the time of the Joe Davis record above, they were heavily under the spell of the Ink Spots - as were many groups.

It's an enjoyable record. Although the 78 was worn, the remastering has revealed very good presence with acceptable noise. As I mentioned above, David's interest was what he calls a lost Andy Razaf song, "Destination Unknown." Razaf wrote the lyrics to such well-known songs as "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" and "Honeysuckle Rose." David says he is deserving of the same increased attention as has been given to Willard Robison.

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