Along with proto-doo wop groups like the Orioles & Sun Records' many early-'50s blues artists, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters helped create rock & roll. & as Ray Charles' gospel & R&B blend would later lay the foundation for soul artists like Marvin Gaye & Aretha Franklin, Ballard's mixing of jump blues & holy-roller vocal intensity helped the likes of Elvis Presley & Chuck Berry become rock & roll's first stars. While at Detroit's Dunbar High, Ballard formed the Midnighters (origina