The
Philadelphia Sound that dominated American airwaves throughout the mid to late
1970s is one my favourite. Smooth
strings, delicious horns and some of the greatest soul groups: The O’Jays, The Four Tops, The Stylistics,
The Manhattans and of course, the coolest of a very chilly crop, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Who
just happen to be the feature album tonight.
As it has
been a very long couple of weeks (and that tunnel light just keeps getting
further and further away) the good folks at AMG will tell you all about this
crack outfit.
Harold Melvin was one of the driving
forces behind Philadelphia soul, leading his group the Blue Notes
to the top of the charts during their stint on Kenny Gamble
and Leon Huff's
Philadelphia International label. Despite Melvin's billing out
front, the Blue Notes'
focal point was lead singer and onetime drummer Teddy
Pendergrass, whose surging baritone graced the Blue Notes'
recordings during their glory years of 1972-1975 and gave them a truly distinctive
sound. Their output ranged from sweeping, extended proto-disco dance tracks to
silky, smoldering ballads, all wrapped up in Gamble and Huff's lushly orchestrated
production. When Pendergrass
left for a solo career, Melvin & the
Blue Notes' commercial fortunes largely reverted to the pre-Pendergrass days
(of which there were quite a few), although they did continue to record for a
time. They never really disbanded, and by the time Melvin passed away in
1997, he'd been leading the Blue Notes
for over four decades.
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes |
Melvin was born June 25,
1939, in Philadelphia. A self-taught pianist, he began singing doo wop as a
teenager with a group called the Charlemagnes, and put together the very first
edition of the Blue Notes
in 1954. The original lineup was a quintet featuring Melvin as the lead singer
(for a time), songwriter, arranger, and choreographer; ironically, he would
mostly relinquish those duties by the time the group achieved its greatest
success. The other members were co-leader Bernard Williams,
Roosevelt Brodie,
Jesse Gillis,
Jr., and Franklin Peaker.
The Blue Notes cut their first single, "If You Love Me," for Josie in
1956, and turned it into a regional hit. They recorded for several other labels
over the next few years, Dot chief among them, before scoring their first
R&B chart hit in 1960 with "My Hero" (released on Val-Ue). Numerous
personnel shifts kept the group in flux despite steady recording activity, and Bernard Williams
split off to lead what he dubbed the Original Blue Notes in the mid-'60s. Melvin assembled a new
version of the Blue Notes
centered around lead singer John Atkins,
who returned the group to the R&B charts in 1965 with the Landa single
"Get Out (And Let Me Cry)." Further releases on Arctic, Checker, and
Uni followed over the rest of the '60s, as well as more personnel changes.
During the late '60s, the group toured often with the Cadillacs,
whose young drummer Teddy
Pendergrass would prove to be Melvin's greatest
discovery.
Teddy Pendergrass |
Pendergrass first
joined the Blue Notes'
backing band, but demonstrated so much vocal talent that after John Atkins
left in 1970, Melvin
soon elevated him to the post of lead vocalist. This move helped them land a
deal with Gamble
and Huff's
Philadelphia International label in 1972, just as the company was taking its
place as soul music's new epicenter; Pendergrass' voice
was similar to that of Dells
singer Marvin Junior,
whom Gamble &
Huff had courted heavily. By this time, the Blue Notes
consisted of Melvin,
Pendergrass,
bass vocalist Lawrence Brown, baritone vocalist Bernard Wilson,
and tenor vocalist Lloyd Parks.
With Gamble &
Huff now supplying top-quality material and production, Harold Melvin
& the Blue Notes would become one of the most popular groups in
R&B over the next few years. Their self-titled debut mostly featured songs
that had been written in anticipation of landing Marvin Junior.
The first single, "I Miss You," was a hit on the R&B charts, but
their second was a smash -- the classic ballad "If You Don't Know Me by
Now," which featured an anguished, star-making vocal turn from Pendergrass.
"If You Don't Know Me by Now" went all the way to number one R&B,
and also became their only Top Five hit on the pop side; it was later covered
in 1989 for a number one hit by Simply Red.
Harold Melvin |
The
Blue Notes scored again in 1973 with the string-laden dance track "The
Love I Lost," credited by many observers as one of the first disco
records; it was their second R&B chart-topper and Top Ten pop single. The
accompanying album, Black & Blue,
produced another R&B Top Ten in the follow-up "Satisfaction Guaranteed
(Or Take Your Love Back)." In 1974, Lloyd Parks
was replaced by Jerry Cummings,
who debuted on the R&B chart-topping LP To Be True.
"Where Are All My Friends" and "Bad Luck" continued their
string of Top Ten R&B hits, and a new addition to the group, female
vocalist Sharon Paige,
helped bring them back to the top of the R&B charts in 1975 with the duet
"Hope That We Can Be Together Soon." Another excellent album followed
later that year in Wake Up Everybody,
whose title track was another R&B number one; "Tell the World How I
Feel About 'Cha Baby" also reached the R&B Top Ten, and the album cut
"Don't Leave Me This Way" was later covered for a disco smash by Thelma Houston.
However, tension was building within the group. The
heavily spotlighted Pendergrass
was hungry for separate billing, but Melvin, still the group's
chief organizing force, turned him down. In 1976, Pendergrass left the Blue Notes
for a solo career that quickly made him one of R&B's top sex symbols. Sharon Paige
helped fill his shoes on lead vocals, as well as new male lead David Ebo, whose
sound was fairly similar to Pendergrass'.
However, Pendergrass'
departure also signaled the end of the Blue Notes'
relationship with Philadelphia International -- their next recordings were for
ABC, for whom they hit the R&B Top Ten in 1977 with the title track of Reaching for the
World. It would prove to be their last major success,
Sadly, Melvin suffered a stroke
and never fully recovered; he passed away on March 24, 1997, in his beloved
hometown of Philadelphia.
So many great songs on this collection! Enjoy and
enjoy some more!
Track
Listing:
01 Wake Up Everybody
02 The Love I Lost
03 Bad Luck
04 If You Don't Know Me By Now
05 Yesterday I Had The Blues
06 Don't Leave Me This Way
07 Keep On Lovin' You
09 Hope That We Can Be Together Soon
10 I Miss You
11 I'm Weak For You
12 Be For Real
13 Where Are All My Friends
14 Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back)
15 Tell The World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby
Listen here.
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