Ernie K-Doe

R&B singer Ernie K-Doe was born Ernest Kadore Jr. in New Orleans in 1936. He is mos famous for his 1961 #1 hit, "Mother-in-Law", written and produced by pioneering R&B producer Allen Toussaint. K-Doe sang in various gospel groups in New Orleans before his family moved to Chicago in 1953. There he sang with such groups as The Moonglows and The Flamingos, and recorded several R&B songs for Chicago's United Records, but they were never released. He soon returned to New Orleans and formed his own group, The Blue Diamonds, which released several records on the Savoy label, but they didn't do much for the group's career. In 1955 he left the group and signed with Specialty Records. He gained a reputation for putting on energetic and raucous stage shows and soon was playing in many of the top clubs in New Orleans, but he just couldn't crack the record market. In 1960 he signed with Minit Records and started working with Toussaint. The first two records they cut didn't do much, but the third was "Mother-in-Law", which became his biggest hit. Unfortunately, he was never able to duplicate that record's success. He continued performing and recording throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and even worked for a while as a disc jockey. He died in 2001 and is buried in New Orleans.