NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Earl (Speedoo) Carroll, who fronted the 1950s doo-wop group the Cadillacs and later, The Coasters, died in New York on Sunday. He was 75 at the time of his passing and the New York Times reported that the cause of his death was complications of diabetes and a recent stroke.
Born in Harlem in 1937, Carroll helped to found the group known as The Carnations in 1953 which would later become The Cadillacs. The group saw success through the decade with hits such as 1955's "Speedoo," based on Carroll's nickname, "Gloria" and "Peek-A-Boo."
In 1963, Carroll left the Cadillacs to join the Coasters but by the 1980s, he was working as a custodian at P.S. 87, a public elementary school on West 78th Street in New York until his retirement in 2005.
“You really felt good about keeping the school clean, and then the teeny-weenies, they love you so much,” Mr. Carroll told The San Diego Union-Tribune during an interview in 1988. “When they found out I was a rock ’n’ roller — I was on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo with Bill Cosby — the kids couldn’t believe it.” – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
