Music
Nolan Strong
1934–1977 · singer
High-tenor lead of the Diablos, Detroit's leading pre-Motown doo-wop group on Fortune Records ("The Wind"), and a key early influence on Smokey Robinson.
- Born
Scottsboro, Alabama- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 43- Also known as
- Nolan Strong & the Diablos
- Detroit years
- 1940s–1977
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Strong came to Detroit from Alabama as a child and formed the first Diablos around 1950 at Central High School; the name came from a book he was reading for a school report. In late 1953 the group went into Fortune Records' small studio to cut demos, beginning a decade-long relationship with Jack and Devora Brown's family label. Their second Fortune record, "The Wind" (1954), with the group chanting "blow wind" behind Strong's delicate tenor, became a doo-wop classic, and "The Way You Dog Me Around" reached No. 12 R&B in 1956; "Mind Over Matter" followed in 1962. Strong's smooth high voice, modeled on Clyde McPhatter, was a primary influence on the young Smokey Robinson, and the Miracles cited the Diablos as a model. After army service (1956–1958) he returned to Fortune, but national success never came. He died in Detroit in 1977, aged 43.
Highlights
- Formed the Diablos at Central High School (about 1950)
- "The Wind" (1954), a doo-wop classic
- "The Way You Dog Me Around" (1956): R&B No. 12
- Major influence on Smokey Robinson
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · c. 1950
Central High School
The Diablos were formed here around 1950.
Recorded here · 1953–1964
Fortune Records studio and shop
Demolished · 1956–2001
The Diablos recorded for Fortune for about a decade; the Third Avenue studio used from 1956 was demolished in 2001.