The Whatnauts

The Whatnauts are an American soul group from Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1969. The group consisted of members Billy Herndon, Garrett Jones, and Gerard "Chunky" Pinkney. Produced by George Kerr, The Whatnauts gained early traction with several hit singles in the early 1970s. Their breakthrough came with "Message from a Black Man" released in 1970 on A&I International, followed by "Please Make the Love Go Away" later that same year on Stang Records. In 1971, they achieved their biggest success with "I'll Erase Away Your Pain", which became one of their most notable tracks. The group also collaborated with fellow Stang artists the Moments for the hit single "Girls" in 1974. The Whatnauts released several albums throughout their career, including Reaching for the Stars (1971) and Whatnauts on the Rocks (1972). They remained influential in the soul genre into the 2000s, with compilation releases such as Message From A Black Man (2003) and I'll Erase Away Your Pain (2010), which highlighted  their classic 1970s recordings.