Rev. Julius "June" Cheeks (August 7, 1929January 27, 1981) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 gospel

Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 singer, who enjoyed the majority of his success with the Nightingales.

Musical career

Cheeks began singing in the second grade, quitting school to pick cotton and work service stations. He joined a local gospel group dubbed the Baronets and in 1946 he was spotted by the Rev. B.L. Parks, a former Dixie Hummingbird and tapped to join a group called the Nightingales. At the height of their popularity they cut several sides for Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

.

To make ends meet Cheeks briefly joined the Soul Stirrers, rejoining the Nightingales during the early 1950s. During the 1950s, the Nightingales had a number of hits including "Somewhere to Lay My Head" and "The Last Mile of the Way". Due to popularity, they rechristened themselves the Sensational Nightingales.

During this time Cheeks also toured and recorded with the Mighty Clouds of Joy. After going into semi-retirement in 1960, Cheeks returned to action with a new group, the Sensational Knights.