The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year before The Orioles) when Leon Hardy and Meredith Brothers convinced Donald Johnson to join them in harmony on the corner of Gay Street and Forest.
They did the usual round of Baltimore bars and nightclubs for experience, singing the songs of black and white pop groups such as The Fortunes, The Ink Spots, and The Ames Brothers.
It is a pretty ballad that was written by Meredith Brothers, but in a maneuver that was typical of the music business at the time, store owner Azrael wound up listed as a co-writer.
Their next session of songs, recorded on October 6, 1950, included their second single I’ll Always Love You, another ballad that featuring Warren's strong lead ably supported by the warbling Cardinals.
Between February and March 1952, various versions of the song were pop hits for Kay Starr (#1), Bobby Wayne (#6), The Bell Sisters (#10) and Sunny Gale (#13).
The group had not had a single in five months and it was beginning to appear that Atlantic was either losing interest or waiting for Warren to return full-time from the army.
The primary yield of this four-song date was the Chuck Willis-penned The Door Is Still Open to My Heart, which was issued as a single in the fourth week of February 1955.
A stunning vocal interpretation of a deceptively simple melody gave the Cardinals their biggest hit as The Door Is Still Open (To My Heart) reached top 10 R&B Best Seller and #7 Jukebox for a total of 13 weeks.
In July 1955 Atlantic released the group's 8th single, Come Back My Love, a song issued five months earlier by Rama Records artists The Wrens.