Goldie Boots & The Falcons

By Marv Goldberg

© 2026 by Marv Goldberg

This is going to be a strange one. These Falcons only ever recorded four songs, all at a single session. I'd have to say that they barely survived the session, since there are no known appearances for them.

I've always liked the Falcons on Regent/Savoy. We've always known that their members were Goldie Boots, George Alsup, Earl Alsup, and Vernon Burton "Bert" Palmer. Some of you even know that Goldie Boots was Goldie Alsup, George and Earl's sister. We'll see that "Goldie Boots" wasn't a nickname.

Since there's not much I can say about the Falcons, most of this is going to deal with the Alsup family. But I guarantee it'll be interesting.

Goldie G. Alsup was born in Baltimore (and no, I don't know what the "G." was for). However, I can't find either a birth or death record for her. In the April 1930 census, she was enumerated as being one year and six months old, therefore born around October 1928. When two of her brothers died in 1991, she wasn't mentioned in either obituary.

Goldie's father was George Alsup, who married Mary Jane Meredith around 1919. Goldie was the fifth of six children: Charles (born 1919), Hilda (around 1922), George, Jr. (1923), Earl (1925), Goldie (1928), and Shirley (1936). Shirley was born posthumously, as George, Sr had died in July 1935.

Mary Jane Alsup appears in many trees, but not a single one gives a death date for her (although, when two of her sons died in 1991, she wasn't mentioned in either obituary).

The family always lived in and around Baltimore. In the 1920 census, there was only George & Mary Alsup, with son Charles. By 1930, they were joined by Hilda, George, Jr., Earl, and Goldie.

George, Sr was the first to make the papers. In late October 1922, he was one of those arrested for shooting craps. The September 20, 1930 Baltimore Afro-American had a long list of those arrested for being "revelers". It began:

Investigating complaints filed by neighbors against nightly whoopee parties, members of the vice squad raided fourteen homes and arrested over 200 revelers who were found in the places, this week. [One of those was George Alsup.]

George, Sr. died on July 5, 1935, so, by the time of the 1940 census, Mary was a widow, with all six children.

On July 30, 1940, George, Jr. was admitted to the hospital for heat exhaustion; it was a brutally hot summer in Baltimore. (Just thought you'd like to know that.)

In May 1940, Goldie's mother, Mary Jane, married Clinton F. Spence, Jr. They were still married in December 1957, but I don't know what happened to her after that.

A few months later, there was an announcement in the August 17, 1940 Afro-American that Hilda Alsup and Reynold Duboris had taken out a marriage license. However, try as I might, I couldn't find anyone with that name. I suppose someone at the paper took his name over the phone and wrote it down incorrectly. (And, yes, I tried "Dubois" and other variants.)

At some point, in the 1940s, Goldie Alsup married Ellsworth Boots, thereby becoming Goldie Boots. (See, I told you it wasn't a nickname.) As far as I can tell, they had no children.

The January 18, 1947 Baltimore Afro-American reported that a group called the Rhythm Kings (George and Earl Alsup, Henry Harmon, and James Diggs) won first prize ($25) in a talent contest held at the Avenue Cafe on the 15th. There'd be only one other mention of any Alsup as a singer.

In September 1950, in honor of his sister, Hilda, Earl Alsup married Hilda Berger. They'd be living with her parents in the 1950 census, but would subsequently divorce.

Now, the real fun starts. An article in the April 7, 1951 Baltimore Sun told us that both Charles and Earl Alsup had been arrested as drug dealers (heroin for Charles; marijuana for Earl). The April 14 Afro-American reported that Charles' bail was set at $3000 (selling four capsules of heroin) and Earl's bail was $4500 (selling 20 marajuana cigarettes). In spite of this minor inconvenience, Earl would manage to be a part of the Falcons in August.

The July 14, 1951 Billboard had this announcement:

Herman Lubinsky inked a new vocal group for his Savoy label. Known as the Falcons, the three boy-one girl group comes from Baltimore. Lead voice is Vernon Palmer, formerly with the Four Buddies, and featured thrush is Goldie Boots.

Palmer, a member of Savoy's 4 Buddies, was probably planning to leave them for some reason, but his plans didn't work out. [Gregory Carroll, of the Buddies, claimed that he knew nothing about Palmer's moonlighting with the Falcons. Considering that Palmer was present on the 4 Buddies' session held only three days after the Falcons', that was probably true. It's strange, though, that Savoy would release a blurb to the trades about it (and even stranger that their signing would be announced before they'd recorded anything). Since nothing happened with the Falcons, Palmer re‧mained with the 4 Buddies.

The Falcons only session, held on August 20, 1951, saw the recording of four tunes, all led by Goldie: "How Blind Can You Be", "I Can't Tell You Now", "You're The Beating Of My Heart", and "It's You I Miss".

"The Beating Of My Heart" [sic] was copyright by Bert Palmer, Earl Alsup, and Goldie Boots on September 21. However, the record label credited it to "M.L. Smith".

"How Blind Can You Be" (the only tune with Goldie's name on the label) and "You're The Beating Of My Heart" were released on Savoy's Regent subsidiary. They appeared in Billboard's Advance Record Releases column on November 17, and were reviewed in its December 1 edition:

How Blind Can You Be (72): Thrush pipes lead on likely ballad, with male group doing the harmony in back. She does fair, group backs smartly.

I Can't Tell You Now (72): Much like the flip.

That seemed to be that; as I said, no appearances. Note that I can't find a single photo of any of the Alsups.

The February 26, 1953 Evening Sun told us that Charles Alsup was fined $250 for drunk driving and $5 for failing to obey a stop sign.

Now, it's April 1953, about a year and a half later, and Savoy decided to release the other two songs, this time on its main label. Something must have triggered this, but it's unclear what. The sides were reviewed in the May 16 Billboard:

You're The Beating Of My Heart (77): Here's a good side by the Falcons, new group on the label. The boys [?] handle the pretty ballad warmly, showing off smooth harmony and a listenable lead. Side is attractive and, with exposure, could get some action. Good debut for the boys.

It's You I Miss (73): Group does another effective job here on a pleasant effort, but the flip has much more power.

I dunno; sounds like a woman's voice to me. They should have put her name on the label.

Time for Earl Alsup to reappear. The December 28, 1954 Evening Sun had an article saying that Earl had confessed to a "friendly" pool hall stabbing and received a suspended 30-day sentence. The judge was quoted as saying "You just can't go around stabbing people -- particularly your friends."

Ellsworth and Goldie appeared together in the 1956 Baltimore City Directory. But she got into as much trouble as her brothers. The July 20, 1957 Baltimore Afro-American reported that: "Miss Goldie Boots ... $3,000 bail on charge of having marijuana in her possession."

The December 7, 1957 Baltimore Afro-American told us that Clinton Spence was found not guilty of striking Mrs. Mary Spence. This is the last mention I can find of mother Mary.

On February 1, 1958, Goldie was part of the Big Toppers, a band that appeared, with Sil Austin, at Baltimore's Coliseum. They'd been around for a couple of years, but this was the only time her name was ever mentioned.

The February 10, 1962 Baltimore Afro-American had an article titled "Wife's Weekly Jaunt Leads To Divorce Court":

It was Mrs. Goldie Boots' weekend jaunts that brought friction to their marriage, said Ellsworth C. Boots, of 3606 W. Saratoga St., in testimony that won a divorce for him, this week."

We would always have trouble on weekends. She would leave on Friday and it would be the middle of the week, or a whole week later before I would see her again," he said.

"I told her that if she couldn't do better there was no use of us staying together, and that we should separate. She just shrugged her shoulders and said, 'I guess we should'," he added.

Mr. Boots said that when he came home from work a week later, she had moved.

Remember that Earl Alsup had married Hilda Berger back in the 1940s? They'd subsequently divorced, but Hilda still felt that she had a tradition to uphold. This appeared in the June 17, 1963 Baltimore Sun:

A 33-year-old woman was seriously wounded yesterday when she was struck by a volley of shots from a .32-caliber revolver in the 200 block of Scott Street. The victim, Hilda Alsup, was found lying on the sidewalk near her home at 1 A.M. by police and rushed to University Hospital. Southwestern district officer said seven spent cartridges were found nearby.

Within a few minutes police arrested a 48-year-old man at Scott and McHenry streets and booked him at the Southwestern station for investigation.

The drama unfolded in the August 30 Sun:

A 46-year-old man was sentenced in Criminal Court yesterday to ten years in the Maryland Penitentiary after Judge J. Harold Grady found him guilty of shooting his former common-law wife in an argument last June. "It is only a matter of an inch or two," Judge Grady told the defendant, "that means you are not here on a charge of murder instead of assault." The defendant, Richard J. Washington, of the 2800 block Presstman Street, was arrested last June 16, shortly after the shooting occurred.

According to police reports, Washington's estranged common-law wife, Hilda Alsup, 33, of the 200 block Scott Street, suffered 23 wounds in the legs and body. Many were from bullet fragments that ricocheted off the sidewalk.

Police could not determine exactly how many shots were fired, but seven empty 7.65 mm cartridge cases were found at the scene of the shooting.

Washington surrendered minutes after the shooting to a special officer, a guard at a plant across the street, who ran over after a child told him of the shooting. He [Washington] had a bullet wound in the left arm.

In court yesterday, Washington testified that Miss Alsup had the pistol at the start of the argument and that she shot him first as he was trying to get it away.

And the fun continues. The Evening Sun of February 27, 1964 said "Convict Stabbed In Prison":

A 43-year-old House of Correction [Jessup, Maryland] inmate was stabbed in the chest yesterday as he was returning from the prison dining room to his quarters.

Vernon Burton Palmer, of Jamaica, NY., who had been serving three years on a narcotics charge, was taken to University Hospital, where he was reported today in satisfactory condition.

John L. Dettler, the assistant warden, said today that neither the weapon nor the assailants had been found yet. He said State Police had questioned some inmates.

Remember back when Charles was pinched for being a bad driver? Now it may have been George's turn. The Evening Sun of April 30, 1966 had a photo of a smashed car and an overturned truck. The caption read:

The mangled car at center smashed into a parked bread truck in the 1000 block of West Lafayette Avenue this morning, flipping it over, before striking the parked car at left. The occupants of the moving car, John L. Brown ... and George Alsup ... were taken to Franklin Square Hospital, where Mr. Brown remained unconscious. Police worked five minutes to get the men from their car. No one else was hurt. [Actually, it didn't say which of the men was driving.]

This family really knows how to get into trouble. Even if George wasn't responsible for that car wreck, it still didn't turn out well for him. This was in the August 26, 1968 Baltimore Sun:

A 43-year-old man was bludgeoned to death beside the City Jail yesterday during a street brawl that erupted after a child was almost struck by a car.

The victim, George E. Alsup, of the 600 block Melvin Drive, died at Mercy Hospital two hours after the 2.30 P.M. brawl without regaining consciousness.

A companion of the victim, Thomas Anderson, 53, of the 700 block West Barre Street, was treated for a cut on the head and treated and released.

Mr. Anderson told police that he was leading his five children across the intersection of Eager and Warden streets when a car almost ran them down.

Mr. Anderson and Mr. Alsup argued with a man and a woman in the car and a shoving match started, police said.

Two men sitting on nearby stoops jumped into the fray, taking the side of the man and the woman, police said.

Police said Mr. Alsup was killed when the fighters began wielding 4-by-4-inch pieces of lumber.The victim was found sprawled between two parked cars when police arrived.

Mary's husband, Clinton F. Spence, Jr died in February 1969, but there was no obituary, so I don't know if they were still married (or even if she was still alive).

Earl Alsup died on February 10, 1991 of a respiratory illness. The obituary said that he had lost his left arm to shrapnel, while serving with the Army in Italy in World War 2. He was survived by his wife and several children. Also named was brother Charles and sister Shirley (now Shirley Jordan). Not named was sister Hilda or, more importantly, sister Goldie.

Charles Alsup didn't survive much longer, passing away on May 5, 1991. The obituary said that he was the son of the late George Alsup and Mary Jane Spence (remember that she'd married Clinton Spence in August 1940). The obituary once again named sister Shirley Jordan, but not Goldie.

We know Goldie was alive in 1962, at the time of her divorce. Sometime between then and these 1991 deaths she had passed away. Since she hadn't started to collect Social Security, there's no death record I can check.

The last Alsup standing was Shirley Alsup Jordan, who died on November 23, 1993. Her obituary in the November 25 Baltimore Sun had this unintelligible phrase: "... devoted daughter of the Clinton (Mack) and Mary Jane Spence." Clinton Spence would have been her step-father.

As part of my research, I always look at family trees. The Alsups' relatives are probably as bewildered as I am; none of the online trees tie into the others.

I can't begin to imagine how to sum up the Falcons. They recorded four songs (which I like; you probably do too) and then totally disappeared. At least the members were interesting to document.


REGENT (the Falcons)
1041 How Blind Can You Be / I Can't Tell You Now - 11/--/51
            "Blind" says "Featuring Goldie Boots"

SAVOY (the Falcons)
893 You're The Beating Of My Heart / It's You I Miss - 4/53