James Harold Marshall, 68, formed doo-wop singing group

James Marshall wasn't about to call it quits.

Although badly injured in a traffic accident in 1971, along with other members of the popular singing group he formed, he was determined to keep moving.

He was a frequent sight on the streets of Tioga/Nicetown in recent years, at first using a cane, then a walker and finally a motorized wheelchair.

And there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he could still belt out a doo-wop song in his resonant tenor if given half a chance.

"God had only given me so much time, so I have got to use it as best I can," he told Robert Bosco, music historian and writer who was writing James' life story.

His story, published in the magazine Echoes of the Past, was entitled The Marshall of Nicetown.

James Harold Marshall died of heart failure June 22 at the age of 68.

The singing group that James started at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in North Philadelphia eventually morphed into The Informers, which cut a number of records and sang at local venues in the '60s and '70s. A new version of it is still performing.

The name was chosen because the group members felt they had a good sound and the public should be informed.

James' singing career was interrupted when he was drafted into the Army in 1967. He served in Korea and attained the rank of sergeant.

James was inspired to sing by his older sisters, Freda, Edith and Joyce, who sang and performed in a group called The Monarchs.

His elementary school group was just for fun. Things got a little more serious when he moved on to Gillespie Junior High School when he formed a group called Danny and the Bachelors. Danny Todd was the lead singer, and the group sang at school dances and assemblies.

It got still more serious when he moved on to Simon Gratz High School, and he and Danny Todd were joined by Tim Jenkins and Henry "Smitty" Smith. It was then that they chose the name The Informers.

Barbara Smith, a history teacher at Gratz, helped the boys secure a rehearsal space in the Nicetown Boys & Girls Club. As they sharpened their performing skills, Barbara Smith introduced them to James Hill, a boxing promoter who ran a gym on North Broad Street.

Hill and his wife, Ruth, thought the boys had potential and financed their first recording venture, True True Love, a bouncy dancer, and Love You, a dreamy ballad.

In August 1965, the boys went to Virtue Studio on North Broad Street and cut a record, If You Love Me, a lush lullaby written by James Marshall, and Hard Way to Go, a dancer.

The single was issued on the J-Rude label, owned by the Hills, and the boys dropped by numerous venues to promote it, including the Arcade Ballroom at Broad and Erie, and the old Philadelphia Athletic Club for popular deejay Lord Fauntleroy, and Loretta's Hi-Hat in South Jersey.

They performed with the late Donnie Elbert, well-known soul singer and songwriter. In a 2000 film about The Informers, Danny Todd said that Elbert called The Informers one of the best performing acts he had ever seen.

Other songs the group recorded include: Baby Set Me Free, One Last Kiss, Where's Your Daddy, Oh How You Hurt Me, Think About It.

Some of these records are prized by collectors, and some are hard to find, Bosco said.

The group was returning from practice one day in August 1971 when their car was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer at Front Street and Girard Avenue. All the occupants suffered injuries and their car was totaled.

The accident put the group out of business, but James Marshall "remained on the fringes of the business," Bob Bosco wrote. He wrote songs and did some performing.

In 2000, he re-formed The Informers and they issued another recording, Memories and Lady of the Night, "which can be purchased," Bosco wrote, "if you can find an existing record store."

James was born in Philadelphia to James and Virginia James.

He had a number of health issues in the last 15 years. "I was counted out by my doctors at least three times," he told Bosco, "but with the help of them, my family, especially Reggie, and God I always made it through."

His brother Reginald, a former singer with the Royal Five, and other men have formed a new version of The Informers.

"How they will fare minus their spiritual leader remains to be seen," said Bosco.

Besides his brother and sisters, James is survived by four daughters, Tyra, Tinita, Teer and Kelly; four sons, James Reynolds, James Smith, Stacy and Garfield; and 12 grandchildren.

James requested there be no funeral services.