The Spiders (American band)

For the Japanese band of the same name, see The Spiders (Japanese band).

The Spiders were an R&B vocal group from New Orleans, who achieved their greatest fame in the 1950s. Within the span of two years, the group had all their five entries, on the US R&B chart hit the Top 10.

The group was founded as a gospel group in 1947 under the name Zion City Harmonizers, and later sang as the Delta Southernaires, recording and performing on radio under the latter name in 1952-53. Cosimo Matassa convinced them to begin singing secular music, and in 1953 the five-piece signed with Imperial Records under the name The Spiders. They had a string of U.S. hits in the middle of the decade, including "I Didn't Want to Do It" (R&B #3, 1954), "21" (R&B #9, 1955), and "Witchcraft" (R&B #5, 1956). The last of these was written by Dave Bartholomew and was later covered by Elvis Presley.

Members Joe Maxon and Matthew West left the group in 1955, and were replaced by Issacher Gordon and Bill Moore. Chick Carbo signed with Atlantic Records as a solo artist late in 1956, and by the next year the group had splintered; their last single as a group was 1957's "That's My Desire", though the song "Tennessee Slim", recorded in the middle of the decade, was issued as a single in 1960.

Chuck Carbo later recorded for Rounder Records, releasing an album in 1993; Chick Carbo died in 1998, Chuck in 2008.

Members

• Hayward "Chuck" Carbo
• Leonard "Chick" Carbo
• Joe Maxon
• Matthew West
• Bill Moore
• Issacher Gordon
• Oliver Howard

References

• Steve Huey, The Spiders at Allmusic