The Flashback of the 60s, 70s, 80s Greatest Music Hits

Showing posts with label Philly Soul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philly Soul. Show all posts

May 30, 2019

When Will I See You Again (single) by The Three Degrees (1974)

When Will I See You Again (single) by The Three Degrees (1974)
"When Will I See You Again" is a song released in 1974 by American soul group The Three Degrees, from their third album The Three Degrees. The song was written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The violin strings were an arrangement written by the great arranger Belford "Sinky" Hendricks who arranged songs for many top flight groups and recording artist during the 20th Century. Sheila Ferguson sang the lead, accompanied by Fayette Pinkney and Valerie Holiday. Billboard named the song #67 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.



It was one of the most successful recordings of the "Philly Soul" era. In the U.S.,"When Will I See You Again" peaked at #2 on the pop singles chart, Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas kept it from the #1 spot.

On other US charts, the song reached #1 on the adult contemporary chart, and #4 on the R&B chart in the autumn of 1974. In the UK, it fared even better, spending two weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in August 1974.

Nov 19, 2016

Dee Dee Sharp - Do The Bird on The Best Of Dee Dee Sharp (1963)

Dee Dee Sharp - Do The Bird on The Best Of Dee Dee Sharp (1963)
While Bobby Rydell was matched with Chubby Checker in a pairing of white and black teen idols, the new twist king also interacted with a female dance song queen, North Philadelphian Dione LaRue, who was transformed from a church vocalist in a home where dancing was forbidden into Dee Dee Sharp, who at age seventeen released one of the most popular dance records of the sixties, "Mashed Potato Time." Dee Dee and Chubby quickly became the king and queen of teen dance songs and were paired off in both a huge hit, "Slow Twistin"' in early 1962, and a movie reprise in Don't Knock the Twist. Soon "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)," "Ride," and "Do the Bird" had Dee Dee Sharp matching Chubby Checker, song for song and dance for dance.


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Oct 5, 2015

Billy Paul - Me And Mrs. Jones (1972)

Billy Paul - Me And Mrs. Jones (1972) On WLCY Radio
"Me and Mrs. Jones" is a 1972 soul song written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert, and originally recorded by Billy Paul. It describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, Mrs. Jones. It has been covered by Michael BublƩ, among others.

The single became Paul's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at that position for three weeks in December 1972. "Me and Mrs. Jones" also achieved this feat on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, remaining at the number-one position for four weeks. It replaced "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy and was replaced by Carly Simon's "You're So Vain".


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Jan 24, 2015

McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now - On McFadden & Whitehead (1979)

McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is a 1979 disco song performed by R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead, from their debut album McFadden & Whitehead. They wrote and produced the song along with keyboard player Jerry Cohen. Released as the lead single from the album, the song spent a week at number one on the R&B singles chart. It also proved to be a successful crossover hit, peaking at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number 5 in the UK. The single also made it to number ten on the disco charts. It eventually went double platinum, selling over 2 million copies.



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"Ain't No Stopping Us Now" is about succeeding despite having faced previous disadvantages ("so many things that held us down"). It was widely interpreted to be about the experience of the African American community, and after attaining popularity, became referred to as "the new black national anthem" (the original being the 1900 song "Lift Every Voice and Sing"). McFadden & Whitehead would revisit the song in their 1984 single "Ain't No Stoppin' (Ain't No Way)."

Jan 3, 2015

Sister Sledge - He's The Greatest Dancer (1979)

Sister Sledge - He's The Greatest Dancer (1979)
"He's the Greatest Dancer" is a popular disco song written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers and recorded by American disco group Sister Sledge for their successful album We Are Family (1979).

"He's the Greatest Dancer" was sampled by Will Smith in his 1998 number one hit single "Gettin' Jiggy wit It". In 2000, DJ Tony Touch recorded a version of the song, entitled "I Wonder Why? (He's the Greatest DJ)" with lyrics sung by Keisha Spivey and Pam Long of R&B girl group Total. The song was recorded and released by Dannii Minogue in 2007 and was an international Top 40 hit.


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Jan 2, 2015

Sister Sledge - We Are Family (1979)

Sister Sledge - We Are Family (1979)
"We Are Family" is a song by Sister Sledge, composed by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. Rodgers and Edwards offered the song to Atlantic Records; although the record label initially declined, the track was released as a single from the album of the same name and quickly began to gain club and radio play. It eventually went Gold, becoming the number one R&B and number two pop song on the US charts in 1979. Along with the tracks, "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "Lost in Music", "We Are Family" reached number one on the disco charts. It was also the theme song for the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, and was featured in both the 1996 film The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, and the 1997 film The Full Monty.


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Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - If You Don't Know Me By Now (1972)

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - If You Don't Know Me By Now (1972)
"If You Don't Know Me by Now" is a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and recorded by the Philly soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which became their first hit after being released as a single in 1972 topping the US R&B chart and peaking at number three on the US Pop chart.

The song was originally written for Labelle (a trio led by Patti LaBelle) but they never recorded it. Much like the issue with "I Miss You" and The Dells passing on it, the song's composers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff gave the song to Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which featured Teddy Pendergrass as lead vocalist. In addition to the single release, the song was included on their eponymous debut album.


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Patti LaBelle later made the song as part of her concert repertoire in 1982. A live version appears on her 1985 album, Patti.
It was later covered by the English pop/soul band Simply Red, also becoming their best-known hit after reaching number one on the U.S. Hot 100 on July 15, 1989 and at number thirty-eight on the Hot Black Singles chart. It peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart. It also topped the Canadian Singles Chart. Seal recorded the song for his 2008 album Soul, and, in April 2009, it became his first top-ten Adult Contemporary hit since "Love's Divine" in 2004; the song was subsequently nominated for the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy.
Rod Stewart also included this song on his 2009 album Soulbook.
The song was chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by the RIAA. It was featured at the end of Michael Apted's movie Class Action.