When someone my age listens to The Ink Spots, an all-black US vocal group who had their heyday in the 1940’s, one can relatively safely assume they are also a fan of the Fallout video game franchise. And yes indeed, it was Fallout who introduced me to the group; exploring the capital wasteland in Fallout 3 whilst listening to The Ink Spots on the in-game radio remains a cherished memory when it comes to video gaming.

Along with the Grand Theft Auto series, the Fallout series has helped expand my musical horizons considerably. Back when getting into country music some 20 years ago, GTA: San Andreas’ K-Rose radio station was almost a guiding star – and similarly, when I first got interested in old vocal jazz, beyond the obvious Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Fallout 3’s soundtrack provided more than one cue.

Including The Ink Spots.

It’s certainly thanks to Fallout 3 that I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire has become such an iconinc song for a generation who weren’t even born when the song was recorded. It’s a beautiful love song, carried by Bill Kenny’s tenor. Orville Jones provides a spoken deep bass interlude. The instrumentation is sparse, with the vocals being “the thing.” This is the same blueprint the quartet would use for a great majority of their hits – down to the exactly same intro melody. And of course, there are no apocalyptic connotations in the track itself; these are purely the heritage of the Fallout games. Which I by no means count against the series.

This compilation contains most of the other songs that have thus far been featured in the Fallout series – it’s almost a tradition by now, that a new Fallout game features a track by The Ink Spots. Out of these, I find Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall, a duet with aforementioned Ella Fitzgerald, to be particularly strong.

And of course the quartet’s hits are not limited to those featured in video games. Perhaps my favourite of all their songs is When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano, a hauntingly beautiful first rendition of this classic song which was later recorded by, amongst others, Elvis Presley, Glen Miller and Bing Crosby.

And whilst the joke is that all The Ink Spots songs start the same (“The Ink Spots. The Ink Spots never changes.”), a track like With Plenty Of Money And You off this compilation proves it’s simply not true. With accentuated guitar strumming as main instrumental backing, this upbeat track seems to foreshadow future musical developments.

You see, The Ink Spots heyday was a time of racial segregation in the US, and black music wasn’t usually accepted among whites. The Ink Spots were one of the first acts to break through this barrier and find acceptance among white audiences. At the same time, their amalgamation of jazz, swing, contemporary pop and vocal quartet elements anticipated where popular music would go in the following decades. One can certainly hear nascent elements of doo wop in here, but also rock & roll, blues and soul would include elements of The Ink Spots’ sound in the future.

This compilation, released in 1997 by Universal Records on their Half Moon imprint, is a nice 23 track slice through of the group’s career. Considering they were active for 20 years from 1934 to 1954, and recorded prolifically from 1935 onwards, this is obviously far from a thorough look at the group’s discography. However, with its 70 minute running time, it’s certainly enough for a casual listener – and I count myself as one.

After the group disbanded in the mid-50’s, various new incarnations carrying the name have come and gone. Wikipedia mentions that there have been well over a hundred groups carrying the name throughout the years, some with ties to the original group and many with none – but as far as I know, the original group never reunited. However, the sheer number of acts purporting to carry on the legacy of the group – going on to the present day! – just goes to prove not only how much demand there was for their music, but its wider impact.

And whilst nobody can say The Ink Spots sounds topical or “current day” in any way now, 90 years since their inception, there’s certainly much for modern ears here to like. True, the music is a bit samey, with most songs following the exact same structure down to the identical intro and spoken word mid section. But it speaks of a bygone age, when the standards and common practices of the biz were different. And none of this detracts an iota from the beauty and mastery of The Ink Spots.

And man, now I want to play Fallout again…

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In From The Vaults we take a dive into the record collection at Only Death Is Real HQ and write about about items of iconic stature or personal significance; rarities and oddities from the archives; obscure gems that deserve more attention; classics of yore deserving of a moment in the limelight; and so on.