- Cadillacs Trivia: From Harlem in New York, their original group name was "The Carnations".
- Cadillacs Trivia: The group came together in 1953 with Earl Carroll as lead vocalist.
- Cadillacs Trivia: in 1953, the Cadillacs (Carnations) were Earl Carroll (lead vocalist), Bobby Phillips, Lavern Drake (bass vocalist), and Gus Willingham.
- Cadillacs Trivia: The group's first recording came in July 1954, with Josie Records #765, featuring "Gloria" and "Wonder Why."
- Cadillacs Trivia: In 1955 they recorded their biggest hit, "Speedo", which was lead singer Carroll's nickname.
- Cadillacs Trivia: They had a lot of personnel changes over the years. In addition to Earl Carrol, other Cadillacs have been:
- Bobby Phillips, Lavern Drake, Gus Willingham, James "Poppa" Clark, Earl Wade, Charles Brooks, J.R. Bailey, Roland Martinez, Bobby Spencer, Jesse "Tex" Powell, Milton Love, Reggie Barnes, Kirk Davis, Ronnie Bright, Curtis Williams, Ray Brewster, Irving Lee Gail, Bobby Baylor, Fred Barksdale, Leroy Binns, Steven Brown, Teddy Pendergrass, Johnny Brown, Gary K. Lewis.
- Cadillacs Trivia: In 1959, the Cadillacs were also featured in the movie Go Johnny, Go.
- Cadillacs Trivia: By 1962 Earl Carroll left the Cadillacs to join the Coasters.
- Cadillacs Trivia: In 1982, Earl Carroll took a vacation from music, taking a job as a custodian at PS 87 elementary school in New York City and worked there until retiring in 2005.
- Cadillacs Trivia: A popular figure with the students, Earl Carroll was chosen to be the subject of a children's book, That's Our Custodian, by Ann Morris (Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press).
- Cadillacs Trivia: The publicity helped him to revive his career. He became a mainstay of the PBS series honoring doo wop, hosted by Jerry Butler and continued performing until the early 2010s when deteriorating health forced him to retire.
- Cadillacs Trivia: Earl Carroll died on November 25, 2012 at age 75 of complications from a stroke and diabetes.
- Cadillacs Trivia: They were the first doo-wop group to crossover to the pop charts.
- Cadillacs Trivia: They were the first of the doo-wop groups to wear flashy clothes and name themselves after a car.
- Cadillacs Trivia:They were the first vocal group to have choreographed dance moves.
- Cadillacs Trivia: DJ Alan Freed took special interest and made them be one of the first black groups to tour before white audiences.
- Cadillacs Trivia: The Cadillacs were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
