The Essex

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The Essex was an R&B vocal group formed in 1962. The Essex eventually included Anita Humes, Walter Vickers (guitar), Rodney Taylor (drums), Billy Hill and Rudolph Johnson.

"Easier Said Than Done", which reached the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, was performed by four marines, not including co-writer William Linton, stationed at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina. Linton said that the beat was inspired by the sound of multiple teletype machines, noisy mechanical beasts pounding out copy in the base's communications room.^{[citation needed]} In 1963, a demo earned them a recording contract with Roulette Records. Recruiting lead singer Anita Humes, they recorded the song (Roulette 4494) in twenty minutes.^{[citation needed]}

Three months after "Easier Said Than Done" reached #1 in July 1963, The Essex had a #12 hit with the follow-up song, "A Walkin' Miracle" (Roulette 4515) in September 1963. "She's Got Everything" was a mild (#56) hit. Marine duties made it hard for the group to take advantage of their hits; for example, before long, Johnson was posted to Japan and Hill to Okinawa.

The vinyl recordings are collectors' items. A "best-of" CD was released by Sequel Records in 1995.[1]