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| | Hank Ballard |
 | | Although Hank did sing in a church choir, his major vocal inspiration during his formative years, he confessed in an interview, was none other than the "Singing Cowboy," Gene Autry, and one song in particular, his signature, "Back In The Saddle Again," captured his fancy. |
 | | The consensus of opinion is that Hank Ballard hitched on to the Royals not at the very beginning but near it (1953), perhaps replacing then-lead Lawson Smith, with Charles Sutton, Sonny Woods, and Henry Booth singing backup. |
 | | By mid-decade, Hank had landed on the soul label, Stang, a division of All Platinum (which eventually bought Chess) of Englewood, NJ, run by the husband and wife team of Joe and Sylvia (of Mickey and Sylvia fame) Robinson, whose bread and butter was the soul group, the Moments. |
| www.bluesworld.com /Ballard.html (1912 words) |
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