Clarence Reid and The Delmyras at King Of Hearts with The Miracles – 1963

From the Miami Times Newspaper – Saturday, August 17, 1963 via Miami Dade Library Collection

The King O’ Hearts Club in Miami’s Liberty City at 6000 NW 7th Avenue isn’t just the place where Sam&Dave, the #1 selling soul duo of all time, got their start. It’s also where Clarence Reid and The Delmyras (Often misspelled Delmiros, Delmyrals, and Delmiras) cut their teeth as an opening act for some of the top r&b pop groovers in the country, like The Miracles.

The Miracles were a Berry Gordy Motown Group who started as the first artists on his original Tamla label. They clocked in 26 Top 40 pop hits and are one of the most influential groups in American music.

Clarence Reid and his group were the house band at the King Of Hearts for a little while. The place was owned by a big white guy named John Lomelo who later became the mayor for life of Sunrise, FL just a bit north in Broward County. Later on he got indicted, arrested, and served time before getting elected again. Back in the soulified 60s he carried a pistol and fronted his artists money when they shot bad dice loads in the craps games that took place in and around his venue.

According to Steve Alaimo, who also performed there, “The door of the dressing room had bullet holes in it and people would watch you through them while you were in there getting ready.”

Clarence Reid’s Blowfly character got a lot of practice on stage with his band The Delmyras, and the Miami soul 60s led into the huge dance music popularity of the 70s, both genres of which he became a signature artist as both of his personas.

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