Before the Blues Brothers, the Chips served a "gum cookie"

The doo-wop sound of the 1950s was born on the street corners of America’s cities. Groups of teenagers harmonized creating music without instruments. Their a cappella the melodies relied on nonsense words, such as the “bom-bom-bom” of the bass, to mimic the absent guitars and drums. Few groups took this concept further than the Chips: Charles “Kenrod” Johnson (lead), Nathaniel Epps (baritone), Paul Fulton (bass), and tenors Sammy Strain and Shedrick Lincoln. The teens sang together on the corners of Bergen Street, Classon Avenue and Clifton Place in turbulent Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn. However, the first song the Chips would record was written by Kenrod Johnson 60 miles upstate… at the Warwick School for Teen Delinquents.

Although Warwick School was a harsh and violent place, Johnson amused the other teenagers by mocking the Army’s “hup-two-three-four” chant with his own silly verses. The rhymes formed the basis of “Rubber Biscuit,” a lyrical mix of nonsense and crazy kitchen items like cold water sandwiches and scones to go to the Sunday gathering.

After its release, Johnson and his Brooklyn-based vocal group, now known as the Chips, recorded “Rubber Biscuit” for Josie Records in August 1956 at Belltone Studios in New York City. Released in September 1956, the record never broke the national top 40 but became a favorite of East Coast disc jockeys. The Chips briefly toured with the Dells and the Cadillacs, then broke up in late 1957; its members went on to join groups such as the Platters and Little Anthony and the Imperials.

In 1973, “Rubber Biscuit” received renewed attention when director Martin Scorsese included the track in his seminal film “Mean Streets,” the story of small-time kingpins in Little Italy. The Chips original is heard as Charlie (Harvey Keitel) staggers drunk through a neighborhood bar.

“Rubber Biscuit” finally became a hit in 1978 when the Blues Brothers, “Saturday Night Live” comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as “Joliet” Jake and Elwood Blues singers, covered the song on their LP “Briefcase Full of Blues”. Backed by an all-star band, Belushi and Aykroyd recorded their debut album live at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. Reflecting Belushi and Aykroyd’s respect for the greats of rhythm and blues, the LP reached number one on the Billboard charts and sold two million copies; “Briefcase” also produced another hit single, “Soul Man”. The album’s success led to the release of the 1980 movie “The Blues Brothers.”

And in case you’re wondering, a cold water sandwich is a slice of watermelon and a scone to go to Sunday meeting is a muffin you grab from the kitchen table on your way to church.