ABBA
Voulez Vous
The Name of the Game
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Money, Money, Money
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
S.O.S.
Fernando
Take a Chance on Me
Dancing Queen
ALBERT HAMMOND
It Never Rains in Southern California
ANDY GIBB
I Just Wanna Be Your Everything
Don't Throw it All Away (Our Love)
ANITA WARD
Ring My Bell
BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
BEE GEES
How Deep is Your Love
Night Fever
BILLY PAUL
Me and Mrs. Jones
BLONDIE
Heart of Glass
BREAD
Make it With You
If
Baby I'm-a Want You
Everything I Own
Guitar Man
Aubrey
CAT STEVENS
Father & Son
Wild World
Moon Shadow
Peace Train
Oh Very Young
Sad Lisa
Lady d'Arbanville
CHICAGO
25 or 6 to 4
Saturday in the Park
Feelin' Stronger Every Day
Just You 'n' Me
If You Leave Me Now
Baby, What a Big Surprise
No Tell Lover
CREAM
White Room
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
Up Around the Bend
Who'll Stop the Rain
Lookin' Out My Back Door
CROSBY, STILLS & NASH
Teach Your Children
DENIECE WILLIAMS
Free
DENIECE WILLIAMS & JOHNNY MATHIS
Too Much Too Little Too Late
DONNA SUMMER
Love to Love You Baby
I Feel Love
Last Dance
MacArthur Park
Heaven Knows
w/Brooklyn Dreams
Hot Stuff
No More Tears (Enough is Enough)
w/Barbra Streisand
On the Radio
EAGLES
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Best of My Love
One of These Nights
Lyin' Eyes
Take it to the Limit
Hotel California
The Long Run
I Can't Tell You Why
Rocky Mountain Way
EARTH, WIND & FIRE
Boogie Wonderland
September
Let's Groove
FLEETWOOD MAC
Go Your Own Way
Sara
Dreams
GILBERT O'SULLIVAN
Alone Again
Claire
GLORIA GAYNOR
I Will Survive
GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE
The Message
HALL & OATES
Sarah Smile
Rich Girl
HARRY CHAPIN
Cat's in the Cradle
HUES CORPORATION
Rock the Boat
JEFFERSON STARSHIP
Miracles
KANSAS
Dust in the Wind
KOOL & THE GANG
Jungle Boogie
Hollywood Swinging
Ladie's Night
Too Hot
LED ZEPPELIN
Stairway to Heaven
LINDA RONSTADT
Blue Bayou
Long Long Time
LIPPS INC.
Funkytown
MARY MACGREGOR
Torn Between Two Lovers
MUSICALS
Life is a Cabaret
Mein Herr
OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN
Have You Ever Been Mellow
Hopelessy Devoted to You
PATRICK HERNANDEZ
Born to Be Alive
RARE EARTH
Get Ready
ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY
Where is the Love
SANTA ESMERALDA
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
SLY & THE FAMILY STONE
Family Affair
Sly on Dick Cavett
STEVIE WONDER
Superstition on Sesame Street
SUGARHILL GANG
Rapper's Delight
TAVARES
Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel
It Only Takes a Minute
She's Gone
Never Had a Love Like This Before
TERRY JACKS
Seasons in the Sun
THE BAND
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
THE BEATLES
The Long & Winding Road
Let it Be
THE BROTHERS JOHNSON
I'll Be Good to You
Strawberry Letter 23
Stomp
THE CRUSADERS
Street Life
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
What a Fool Believes
Minute by Minute
Long Train Running
Listen to the Music
Black Water
THE FOUR SEASONS
December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)
THE HOLLIES
Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress
The Air That I Breathe
THE PERSUADERS
Thin Line Between Love & Hate
THE ROLLING STONES
Angie
THE TRAMMPS
Disco Inferno
TODD RUNDGREN
Hello It's Me
VAN McCOY
Do the Hustle
Showing posts with label disco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disco. Show all posts
10/26/2008
9/28/2008
Barry White
Walkin' In the Rain With the One I Love
Love Unlimited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJtQbajGElk
Love's Theme
Love Unlimited Orchestra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3S6UVS2JDE&feature=related
I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN38uI2oKkA
I've Got So Much To Give
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXur958KRAQ
Can't Get Enough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXvHRnGe940
You're the First, the Last, My Everything
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS2Fve72AZg
Never, Never Gonna Give You Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4_M5PcJQmU
The Secret Garden
various artists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE0WmzYjchs
All Around the World
w/Lisa Stansfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR_kO6gbIMo
Practice What You Preach
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbIp-KO11QE
Barry Eugene White (born Barrence Eugene Carter, September 12, 1944(1944-09-12) – July 4, 2003) was an American record producer, songwriter and singer.
A multiple Grammy Award-winner known for his deep bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring hit soul and disco songs. Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million, according to critics Ed Hogan and Wade Kergan.
White was born in Galveston, Texas and grew up in the high-crime areas of South Central Los Angeles, where he joined a gang at the age of 10. At 17, he was jailed for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.
While in prison, White listened to Elvis Presley singing "It's Now or Never" on the radio, an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life.
After his release, he left gang life and began a musical career at the dawn of the 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the middle of the decade.
He was responsible in 1963 for arranging "Harlem Shuffle" for Bob & Earl, which became a hit in the UK in 1969.
In August 1969, he got his break producing a girl group called Love Unlimited. Formed in imitation of the legendary Motown girl group The Supremes, the group members honed their talents with White for the next two years until they all signed contracts with 20th Century Records.
White produced, wrote and arranged the classic soul ballad "Walking in the Rain (With The One I Love)", which hit the Top 20 of the pop charts. The group would score more hits throughout the '70s and White eventually married the lead singer of the group, Glodean James.
While working on a few demos for a male singer, the record label suggested White step out in front of the microphone, to which he reluctantly agreed.
His first solo chart hit, 1973's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", rose to #1 R&B and #3 Pop. That same year, the Love Unlimited Orchestra's recording of White's composition "Love's Theme" reached #1 Pop in 1974, one of only two instrumental recordings ever to do so. Some regard "Love's Theme" as the first disco hit ever.
Other chart hits by White include "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (1973), "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (1974) and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (1974).
Although White's success on the pop charts slowed down as the disco era came to an end, he maintained a loyal following throughout his career. In the 1990s, he mounted an effective comeback with the albums The Icon Is Love (1994), whose biggest hit, "Practice What You Preach" reached the top of the charts.
In addition, his music was often featured on the sitcom Ally McBeal and he appeared on the show twice.
Barry White had been ill with chronically high blood pressure for some time, which resulted in kidney failure in the autumn of 2002. He suffered a stroke in May 2003, after which he was forced to retire from public life.
On 4 July, 2003, he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from renal failure. White was cremated, and his ashes were scattered by his family off the California coast.
On 20 September, 2004, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York.
White's recordings featured a distinctive sound that combined orchestral instrumentation (string section, woodwinds, horns, harpsichords, etc.) with a steady drumbeat and as many as five electric guitars. His arrangements were influential on the emerging sound of disco music in the early 1970s.
A distinctive feature of White's music was the steamy spoken introductions and interludes that appeared in many of his songs.
Over the course of his career White occasionally did work as a voice actor.
He was featured in several episodes of The Simpsons.
White had been offered the chance to play the voice of Chef in the cartoon series South Park (who had been modeled after White), but declined; as a devout Christian, White was uncomfortable with South Park's often irreverent humor. The part was eventually played by Isaac Hayes.
(Wikipedia)
Love Unlimited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJtQbajGElk
Love's Theme
Love Unlimited Orchestra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3S6UVS2JDE&feature=related
I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN38uI2oKkA
I've Got So Much To Give
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXur958KRAQ
Can't Get Enough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXvHRnGe940
You're the First, the Last, My Everything
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS2Fve72AZg
Never, Never Gonna Give You Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4_M5PcJQmU
The Secret Garden
various artists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE0WmzYjchs
All Around the World
w/Lisa Stansfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR_kO6gbIMo
Practice What You Preach
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbIp-KO11QE
Barry Eugene White (born Barrence Eugene Carter, September 12, 1944(1944-09-12) – July 4, 2003) was an American record producer, songwriter and singer.
A multiple Grammy Award-winner known for his deep bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring hit soul and disco songs. Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million, according to critics Ed Hogan and Wade Kergan.
White was born in Galveston, Texas and grew up in the high-crime areas of South Central Los Angeles, where he joined a gang at the age of 10. At 17, he was jailed for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.
While in prison, White listened to Elvis Presley singing "It's Now or Never" on the radio, an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life.
After his release, he left gang life and began a musical career at the dawn of the 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the middle of the decade.
He was responsible in 1963 for arranging "Harlem Shuffle" for Bob & Earl, which became a hit in the UK in 1969.
In August 1969, he got his break producing a girl group called Love Unlimited. Formed in imitation of the legendary Motown girl group The Supremes, the group members honed their talents with White for the next two years until they all signed contracts with 20th Century Records.
White produced, wrote and arranged the classic soul ballad "Walking in the Rain (With The One I Love)", which hit the Top 20 of the pop charts. The group would score more hits throughout the '70s and White eventually married the lead singer of the group, Glodean James.
While working on a few demos for a male singer, the record label suggested White step out in front of the microphone, to which he reluctantly agreed.
His first solo chart hit, 1973's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", rose to #1 R&B and #3 Pop. That same year, the Love Unlimited Orchestra's recording of White's composition "Love's Theme" reached #1 Pop in 1974, one of only two instrumental recordings ever to do so. Some regard "Love's Theme" as the first disco hit ever.
Other chart hits by White include "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (1973), "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (1974) and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (1974).
Although White's success on the pop charts slowed down as the disco era came to an end, he maintained a loyal following throughout his career. In the 1990s, he mounted an effective comeback with the albums The Icon Is Love (1994), whose biggest hit, "Practice What You Preach" reached the top of the charts.
In addition, his music was often featured on the sitcom Ally McBeal and he appeared on the show twice.
Barry White had been ill with chronically high blood pressure for some time, which resulted in kidney failure in the autumn of 2002. He suffered a stroke in May 2003, after which he was forced to retire from public life.
On 4 July, 2003, he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from renal failure. White was cremated, and his ashes were scattered by his family off the California coast.
On 20 September, 2004, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York.
White's recordings featured a distinctive sound that combined orchestral instrumentation (string section, woodwinds, horns, harpsichords, etc.) with a steady drumbeat and as many as five electric guitars. His arrangements were influential on the emerging sound of disco music in the early 1970s.
A distinctive feature of White's music was the steamy spoken introductions and interludes that appeared in many of his songs.
Over the course of his career White occasionally did work as a voice actor.
He was featured in several episodes of The Simpsons.
White had been offered the chance to play the voice of Chef in the cartoon series South Park (who had been modeled after White), but declined; as a devout Christian, White was uncomfortable with South Park's often irreverent humor. The part was eventually played by Isaac Hayes.
(Wikipedia)
Disco
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco
Disco is a genre of dance-oriented music whose origins are hard to define.
In what is considered a forerunner to disco style clubs in February 1970 New York City DJ David Mancuso opened The Loft, a members-only private dance club set in his own home.
Most agree that the first disco songs were released in 1973, though some claim Manu Dibango's 1972 Soul Makossa to be the first disco record.
The first article about disco was written in September 1973 by Vince Aletti for Rolling Stone Magazine.
In 1974 New York City's WPIX-FM premiered the first disco radio show.
Musical influences include funk, soul music, and salsa and the Latin or Hispanic musics which influenced salsa. The disco sound has a soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady "four-on-the-floor" beat, an eighth note (quaver) or sixteenth note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and prominent, syncopated electric bass line. Strings, horns, electric pianos, and electric guitars create a lush background sound. Orchestral instruments such as the flute are often used for solo melodies, and unlike in rock, lead guitar is rarely used.
Well-known late 1970s disco performers included Bee Gees, Donna Summer and The Jacksons. Summer would become the first well-known and most popular female disco artist, and also played a part in pioneering the electronic sound that later became a part of disco.
While performers and singers garnered the lion's share of public attention, the behind-the-scenes producers played an equal, if not more important role in disco, since they often wrote the songs and created the innovative sounds and production techniques that were part of the "disco sound".
Disco was very important in the development of Hip hop music (especially the subgenres of crunk, snap, and hyphy), British New Wave, and disco's direct descendants: the 1980s and 1990s dance music genres of house music and its harder-driving offshoot, techno.
(Wikipedia)
Disco is a genre of dance-oriented music whose origins are hard to define.
In what is considered a forerunner to disco style clubs in February 1970 New York City DJ David Mancuso opened The Loft, a members-only private dance club set in his own home.
Most agree that the first disco songs were released in 1973, though some claim Manu Dibango's 1972 Soul Makossa to be the first disco record.
The first article about disco was written in September 1973 by Vince Aletti for Rolling Stone Magazine.
In 1974 New York City's WPIX-FM premiered the first disco radio show.
Musical influences include funk, soul music, and salsa and the Latin or Hispanic musics which influenced salsa. The disco sound has a soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady "four-on-the-floor" beat, an eighth note (quaver) or sixteenth note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and prominent, syncopated electric bass line. Strings, horns, electric pianos, and electric guitars create a lush background sound. Orchestral instruments such as the flute are often used for solo melodies, and unlike in rock, lead guitar is rarely used.
Well-known late 1970s disco performers included Bee Gees, Donna Summer and The Jacksons. Summer would become the first well-known and most popular female disco artist, and also played a part in pioneering the electronic sound that later became a part of disco.
While performers and singers garnered the lion's share of public attention, the behind-the-scenes producers played an equal, if not more important role in disco, since they often wrote the songs and created the innovative sounds and production techniques that were part of the "disco sound".
Disco was very important in the development of Hip hop music (especially the subgenres of crunk, snap, and hyphy), British New Wave, and disco's direct descendants: the 1980s and 1990s dance music genres of house music and its harder-driving offshoot, techno.
(Wikipedia)
9/10/2008
More 70s Soul Groups
THE DELFONICS
La La Means I Love You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaUX_D1UZtY
Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZtHehptprc
Hey Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXt47-XRB5I
The Delfonics are a Philadelphia soul singing group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include "La-La (Means I Love You)", "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," "Break Your Promise," "I'm Sorry," and "Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)".
Their songs are written by lead vocalist and founder William Hart and have been used extensively in numerous film soundtracks, the most notable being Quentin Tarantino's movie, "Jackie Brown" in which their music ("La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind") are used as a pivotal part of the plot to underscore the relationship between Robert De Niro, Pam Grier & Robert Forster. The film helped create a border-line cult following for the songs and this group.
Their songs have been sampled extensively by various Hip-Hop & Rap artists including: The Fugees (Ready Or Not), Lauryn Hill (for which she won a '97 Grammy), Nas, Boyz II Men, Missy Elliott and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.
William Hart songs have been recorded by numerous performers including: Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, New Kids on the Block, Todd Rundgren, Prince and Manhattan Transfer, among others.
THE CHI-LITES
Oh Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCT0VHdlc5g
Have You Seen Her
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTKRTO1BSeQ
The Chi-Lites (pronounced "SHY-lights") are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal group, best known for their early 1970s hits, "Oh Girl" and "Have You Seen Her".
The Chi-Lites were from Chicago, a town better known for its gritty urban blues and driving R&B.
Led by vocalist Eugene Record, the Chi-Lites had a lush, creamy sound distinguished by their four-part harmonies and layered productions. During the early 1970s, they racked up 11 Top Ten R&B singles. All the songs featured Record's warm, pleading tenor and falsetto, and the majority of the group's hits were written by Record, often in collaboration with other songwriters like Barbara Acklin.
The Chi-Lites were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.
BLUE MAGIC
Sideshow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERtwe8iU-Jo
Spell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZx4yrkAl-s
Stop to Start
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KP0cFHwdU8
Blue Magic is an American R&B soul vocal quintet best known for their 1974 hit song, "Sideshow."
Blue Magic was formed in Philadelphia in 1972 when former member of The Delfonics, Randy Cain brought singer-songwriter Ted Mills in to do some writing with the Philly-based WMOT production company.
The Group became popular in 1974 with their first million-selling US Top 10 hit single Sideshow, co-written by guitarist Bobby Eli. They became known mostly for their smooth ballads.
With the rise of disco and the group making the mistake of changing their style for the Halloween-oriented album 'Mystic Dragons', which was centered around the single 'Freak-N-Stein,' the group became less popular.
THE MAIN INGREDIENT
Everybody Plays The Fool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvHogknHyI
Just Don't Want to Be Lonely
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYpmB2dPlq4
The Main Ingredient is an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song, "Everybody Plays the Fool".
The group was formed in Harlem, NY in 1964 as a trio called the Poets. After a couple of singles, they changed their name once again in 1966, this time permanently to the Main Ingredient.
Nothing much happened until the Main Ingredient hooked up with producer Bert DeCoteaux, who had an excellent sense of the lush, orchestrated direction soul music would take in the early '70s. Under his direction, the Main Ingredient reached the R&B Top 30 for the first time in 1970 with "You've Been My Inspiration." Things grew steadily from there; a cover of the Impressions' "I'm So Proud" broke the Top 20, and "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" went Top Ten. They scored again with the Donald McPherson-penned black power anthem "Black Seeds Keep on Growing," but tragedy struck in 1971: McPherson, who had suddenly taken ill with leukemia, died unexpectedly. Stunned, Silvester and Simmons regrouped with new lead singer Cuba Gooding, Sr., who'd served as a backing vocalist on some of their previous recordings and had filled in on tour during McPherson's brief illness.
The Gooding era began auspiciously enough with the million-selling smash "Everybody Plays the Fool," which hit number two R&B and number three pop to become the group's biggest hit ever.
They peaked at number eight on the R&B chart in 1974 with "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely," which sold over a million copies and also reached number ten on the pop chart.
Gooding's son is, of course, Cuba Gooding, Jr., the actor best known for his Oscar-winning performance in Jerry Maguire.
THE MANHATTANS
Kiss and Say Goodbye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1e6RK4aMWI
Shining Star
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_VpjSv_4QM&feature=related
The Manhattans are a popular R&B vocal group with a string of hit records over three decades, but best known for their million-selling songs "Kiss and Say Goodbye" and "Shining Star" in 1976 and 1980, respectively.
The Manhattans, originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 1962.
They hit it big in 1976 with "Kiss and Say Goodbye". The song, with an impassioned vocal by Gerald Alston and a memorable opening rap by Winfred Lovett, quickly became a #1 chart-topper on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. It also became only the second single ever to go platinum.
The group hit it big again in March of 1980, with the release of "Shining Star", which reached #5 on the Billboard pop charts and #4 on the R&B chart; it received a Grammy award the following year.
HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES
If You Don't Know Me by Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Kf1ATjl9A
The Love I Lost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2axbXDjYqA
I Miss You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh8fZLjt5Uc
Hope That We Can Be Together Soon
w/Sharon Paige
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4E-k09o2eg
Don't Leave Me This Way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5tqAIY-TzA
Wake Up Everybody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVVKP3Gh8CI
Bad Luck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR8KfMTmPRQ
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American singing group, one of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. The group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 1950s as The Charlemagnes, the group is most noted for several hits on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976. Despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing, the Blue Notes' most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass, their lead singer during the success years at Philadelphia International.
The group formerly known as The Charlemagnes took on the name "The Blue Notes" in 1954.
In 1970, the group recruited drummer Teddy Pendergrass as the drummer for their backing band. Pendergrass had been a former member of The Cadillacs, and was promoted to lead singer.
Among the Blue Notes' most important and successful recordings are love songs such as "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (1972, their breakout single), "I Miss You" (1972), "The Love I Lost" (1973), and "Don't Leave Me This Way" (1975), and socially conscious songs such as "Wake Up Everybody" and "Bad Luck" (both 1975).
"Bad Luck" holds the record for longest-running number-one hit on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart: eleven weeks.
A 1976 cover of "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Motown artist Thelma Houston was a number-one hit on the US pop chart; both it and the Blue Notes' originals are considered defining recordings of the disco era.
While at the top of their success in 1976, Pendergrass quit the Blue Notes, after unsuccessfully lobbying to have Melvin rename the act "Teddy Pendergrass & the Blue Notes".
Pendergrass went on to a successful solo career, cut short by a paralyzing 1982 car accident, although he made a brief comeback at the historic Live Aid concert in 1985.
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes are arguably the most-covered Philly soul group in history: many of their hits have been re-recorded by other artists, including Simply Red, David Ruffin, Jimmy Somerville and Sybil, while dance music DJ Danny Rampling cites "Wake Up Everybody" as his favorite song of all time.
For his album This Note's for You, singer Neil Young named his back-up band The Blue Notes without permission from name rights holder Harold Melvin. Melvin took legal action against Young over use of the Blue Notes name, forcing the singer to change the name of the back-up band to "Ten Men Workin'" during the balance of the tour that promoted the This Note's for You album.
(Wikipedia)
La La Means I Love You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaUX_D1UZtY
Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZtHehptprc
Hey Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXt47-XRB5I
The Delfonics are a Philadelphia soul singing group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include "La-La (Means I Love You)", "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," "Break Your Promise," "I'm Sorry," and "Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)".
Their songs are written by lead vocalist and founder William Hart and have been used extensively in numerous film soundtracks, the most notable being Quentin Tarantino's movie, "Jackie Brown" in which their music ("La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind") are used as a pivotal part of the plot to underscore the relationship between Robert De Niro, Pam Grier & Robert Forster. The film helped create a border-line cult following for the songs and this group.
Their songs have been sampled extensively by various Hip-Hop & Rap artists including: The Fugees (Ready Or Not), Lauryn Hill (for which she won a '97 Grammy), Nas, Boyz II Men, Missy Elliott and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.
William Hart songs have been recorded by numerous performers including: Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, New Kids on the Block, Todd Rundgren, Prince and Manhattan Transfer, among others.
THE CHI-LITES
Oh Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCT0VHdlc5g
Have You Seen Her
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTKRTO1BSeQ
The Chi-Lites (pronounced "SHY-lights") are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal group, best known for their early 1970s hits, "Oh Girl" and "Have You Seen Her".
The Chi-Lites were from Chicago, a town better known for its gritty urban blues and driving R&B.
Led by vocalist Eugene Record, the Chi-Lites had a lush, creamy sound distinguished by their four-part harmonies and layered productions. During the early 1970s, they racked up 11 Top Ten R&B singles. All the songs featured Record's warm, pleading tenor and falsetto, and the majority of the group's hits were written by Record, often in collaboration with other songwriters like Barbara Acklin.
The Chi-Lites were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.
BLUE MAGIC
Sideshow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERtwe8iU-Jo
Spell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZx4yrkAl-s
Stop to Start
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KP0cFHwdU8
Blue Magic is an American R&B soul vocal quintet best known for their 1974 hit song, "Sideshow."
Blue Magic was formed in Philadelphia in 1972 when former member of The Delfonics, Randy Cain brought singer-songwriter Ted Mills in to do some writing with the Philly-based WMOT production company.
The Group became popular in 1974 with their first million-selling US Top 10 hit single Sideshow, co-written by guitarist Bobby Eli. They became known mostly for their smooth ballads.
With the rise of disco and the group making the mistake of changing their style for the Halloween-oriented album 'Mystic Dragons', which was centered around the single 'Freak-N-Stein,' the group became less popular.
THE MAIN INGREDIENT
Everybody Plays The Fool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvHogknHyI
Just Don't Want to Be Lonely
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYpmB2dPlq4
The Main Ingredient is an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song, "Everybody Plays the Fool".
The group was formed in Harlem, NY in 1964 as a trio called the Poets. After a couple of singles, they changed their name once again in 1966, this time permanently to the Main Ingredient.
Nothing much happened until the Main Ingredient hooked up with producer Bert DeCoteaux, who had an excellent sense of the lush, orchestrated direction soul music would take in the early '70s. Under his direction, the Main Ingredient reached the R&B Top 30 for the first time in 1970 with "You've Been My Inspiration." Things grew steadily from there; a cover of the Impressions' "I'm So Proud" broke the Top 20, and "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" went Top Ten. They scored again with the Donald McPherson-penned black power anthem "Black Seeds Keep on Growing," but tragedy struck in 1971: McPherson, who had suddenly taken ill with leukemia, died unexpectedly. Stunned, Silvester and Simmons regrouped with new lead singer Cuba Gooding, Sr., who'd served as a backing vocalist on some of their previous recordings and had filled in on tour during McPherson's brief illness.
The Gooding era began auspiciously enough with the million-selling smash "Everybody Plays the Fool," which hit number two R&B and number three pop to become the group's biggest hit ever.
They peaked at number eight on the R&B chart in 1974 with "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely," which sold over a million copies and also reached number ten on the pop chart.
Gooding's son is, of course, Cuba Gooding, Jr., the actor best known for his Oscar-winning performance in Jerry Maguire.
THE MANHATTANS
Kiss and Say Goodbye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1e6RK4aMWI
Shining Star
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_VpjSv_4QM&feature=related
The Manhattans are a popular R&B vocal group with a string of hit records over three decades, but best known for their million-selling songs "Kiss and Say Goodbye" and "Shining Star" in 1976 and 1980, respectively.
The Manhattans, originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 1962.
They hit it big in 1976 with "Kiss and Say Goodbye". The song, with an impassioned vocal by Gerald Alston and a memorable opening rap by Winfred Lovett, quickly became a #1 chart-topper on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. It also became only the second single ever to go platinum.
The group hit it big again in March of 1980, with the release of "Shining Star", which reached #5 on the Billboard pop charts and #4 on the R&B chart; it received a Grammy award the following year.
HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES
If You Don't Know Me by Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Kf1ATjl9A
The Love I Lost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2axbXDjYqA
I Miss You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh8fZLjt5Uc
Hope That We Can Be Together Soon
w/Sharon Paige
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4E-k09o2eg
Don't Leave Me This Way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5tqAIY-TzA
Wake Up Everybody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVVKP3Gh8CI
Bad Luck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR8KfMTmPRQ
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American singing group, one of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. The group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 1950s as The Charlemagnes, the group is most noted for several hits on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976. Despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing, the Blue Notes' most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass, their lead singer during the success years at Philadelphia International.
The group formerly known as The Charlemagnes took on the name "The Blue Notes" in 1954.
In 1970, the group recruited drummer Teddy Pendergrass as the drummer for their backing band. Pendergrass had been a former member of The Cadillacs, and was promoted to lead singer.
Among the Blue Notes' most important and successful recordings are love songs such as "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (1972, their breakout single), "I Miss You" (1972), "The Love I Lost" (1973), and "Don't Leave Me This Way" (1975), and socially conscious songs such as "Wake Up Everybody" and "Bad Luck" (both 1975).
"Bad Luck" holds the record for longest-running number-one hit on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart: eleven weeks.
A 1976 cover of "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Motown artist Thelma Houston was a number-one hit on the US pop chart; both it and the Blue Notes' originals are considered defining recordings of the disco era.
While at the top of their success in 1976, Pendergrass quit the Blue Notes, after unsuccessfully lobbying to have Melvin rename the act "Teddy Pendergrass & the Blue Notes".
Pendergrass went on to a successful solo career, cut short by a paralyzing 1982 car accident, although he made a brief comeback at the historic Live Aid concert in 1985.
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes are arguably the most-covered Philly soul group in history: many of their hits have been re-recorded by other artists, including Simply Red, David Ruffin, Jimmy Somerville and Sybil, while dance music DJ Danny Rampling cites "Wake Up Everybody" as his favorite song of all time.
For his album This Note's for You, singer Neil Young named his back-up band The Blue Notes without permission from name rights holder Harold Melvin. Melvin took legal action against Young over use of the Blue Notes name, forcing the singer to change the name of the back-up band to "Ten Men Workin'" during the balance of the tour that promoted the This Note's for You album.
(Wikipedia)
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