Biography

Red Caps Trio
Effective period / Period of releases: 1945
Members: Steve Gibson (4), Doles Dickens, Romaine Brown
In June 1945, the Red Caps Trio (Steve Gibson, Romaine Brown, and Doles Dickens, backed Bon Bon on "If You Cared For Me", "Again And Again And Again", "Please Think Of Me Sometime", and "Don't Go Back On Your Word".In July, Bon Bon and the trio waxed ten tunes. Four of them ("I Drove You Into Some Else's Arms", "Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome", "Building A Dream", and "I Just Had To See You Dear") were issued as Bon Bon and the Red Caps Trio. The other six ("Playin' The Field", "Riffin' With The Riff-Raff", "Must We Say Goodbye?", "Heaven Happens Tonight", "Too Bad", and "It Was So Nice Knowing You") were released as Bon Bon and the Park Avenue Trio.
In August 1945, Bon Bon and the Red Caps Trio recorded "My Dreams Are Getting Me Nowhere" and "You'd Better Stop Playing With Fire". This time, the Red Caps Trio consisted of Steve Gibson, Romaine Brown, and bassist Israel Crosby (who had been with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra and had briefly been a member of the 3 Sharps And A Flat).
November 1945 saw two records by the "Magnolia Five" (all four songs, led by Romaine Brown, had been recorded in September: "It Hurts Me, But I Like It", "Don't Come Cryin' To Me", "If You Can't Get Five, Take Two", and "Ouch!"). This was actually the Red Caps Trio (Steve Gibson, Romaine Brown, and Israel Crosby), augmented by musicians Walter "Foots" Thomas and Reginald Merrill (both sax and clarinet players). At that same session, they did the last Bon Bon and the Red Caps Trio recordings: "I Admit" and "Two Can Play That Game".