The Four Speeds

The Four Speeds were formed in June, 1954, in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, where all the band members lived at the time. They were a vocal group with lead vocals sung by Benny Goodwin, and the backing vocals handled by James Hartley, Marvin Robinson and Willie Driskell Jnr. Goodwin had been discovered by DeLuxe Records then A&R representative, Carl LeBow, a few years earlier. LeBow thought Goodwin needed more experience before recording anything, so it was not until 1954 that he was deemed "ready", The Four Speeds were formed, and a recording session held. The resulting single, The Girls Back Home b/w I Need You Baby, was written by band members Goodwin (Girls) and Hartley (Baby) and showed promise for them as an up and coming group. It was to be their only release and, although it was reviewed well in Billboard Magazine, failed to make any impact on the charts. The band had also been signed to a contract with Elmore James, along with saxophonist Fats Jackson, in 1954. James was keen to get his new lineup into the studio and record some material, which he did, but none of his releases around that time featured any backing vocals, so it is doubtful if The Four Speeds ever actually recorded anything with him. They were listed on the roster of artists signed to DeLuxe Records in the January 29 edition of Billboard magazine in 1955, but no further mentions occur after that date. The band, therefore, was only together for around seven months, and then the individual members moved on to do other things.