Among the 78 rpm records in my family's record collection when I was a kid were some by the Ink Spots. They were one of the great black singing groups popular in the 1930's and 40's and into the 50's. Equally famous during that time were the Mills Brothers. I remember hearing that the Ink Spots got their name when a fountain pen they were using accidentally sprayed a few ink spots on the paper on which they were writing possible names for the group. The tale may be apocryphal but it makes for a good story. My brothers and I loved their music but the 78's are long gone, probably all broken since they were extremely fragile.
About twenty years ago I bought a cd called "We Four - The Best of the Ink Spots". There are many other Ink Spots cd collections available plus individual songs and albums on i-tunes. "We Four" contained 24 songs, most of them familiar to me but some I hadn't heard. The cd was made in the Czech Republic for Jasmine Records (London, England) in 1998. According to the liner notes, their first big hit was "If I Didn't Care" in 1939 although the group was formed in 1934. Many of the songs were sentimental ballads which featured what became their signature guitar intro plus a "talking chorus". The lead singer was tenor Bill Kenny and the talking chorus was performed by bass vocalist Orville "Hoppy" Jones. The love interest in the talking chorus was often referred to as "Honey" or "Honey Child". Charles Fuqua and Ivory "Deek" Watson completed the group providing harmony for most of their big hits but there were changes in the group over the years, most notably when Hoppy Jones died in October 1944. What a mellow sound they had.
The songs I remembered besides "If I Didn't Care" include "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)", "Maybe", "Do I Worry" (dated with the line "Do I worry, when the iceman calls"), "The Gypsy", "Whispering Grass", "To Each His Own", "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire", "Until the Real Thing Comes Along", "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat", "Prisoner of Love", "Thoughtless" "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Address Unknown". ("My Prayer" I first heard by the Platters probably in the late 50's.) There are two songs in which they are joined by Ella Fitzgerald, "Into Each Life A Little Rain Must Fall" and "I'm Beginning to See the Light". Check out The Ink Spots Home Page and The Ink Spots (Original Group) and other sites online for their history and complete discography.