By boynextdoor (67.24.159.98) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 08:28 am:

I have always pretty much followed girl groups, but, now have gotten interested in the male groups. I did collect some Temptations/4 Tops over the years, but don't know that much about the other groups from the 70's, i.e. Whispers, Blue Magic, Del Fonics, etc. Can anyone recommend some groups that have great harmonies/backrounds. Not too big on the lead singing falsetto style. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

By John Lester (62.49.61.57) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 08:35 am:

Try
Chairman of the Board

1OO Proof

Spinners on Atlantic

By LG Nilsson (212.247.9.242) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 09:24 am:

Check out Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, The O'Jays & The Commodores

Lars

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 10:58 am:

Various Chi-lites recordings feature Eugene Record singing in his natural tenor & the group with their natural harmonies:
"Oh Girl"
"For God's Sake Give More Power To The People"
"We Need Order"
"Homely Girl"
"The Coldest Days Of My Life"
"The Man & The Woman, The Boy & The Girl"
"Living In The Footsteps Of Another Man"

Also check out the Whispers, Dramatics, Intruders, Four Tops (ABC-Dunhill/MCA sessions) & the Isley Brothers.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Michael/Cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 01:40 pm:

I would check out:

The Dells
Take Six
Smokey and the Miracles
Mills Brothers (from an earlier time but incredible harmonies!)
Tavares
The Trammps (especially love "Disco That's Where the Happy People Go")
Ink Spots

By STUBASS (152.163.188.68) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 01:46 pm:

BOYNE: GOOD QUESTION!!!...MICHAEL ACTUALLY HAS THE BEST IDEA IN MY OPINION!!!...IF YOU BEGIN WITH SOME OF THE EARLY PIONEERING GROUPS SUCH AS THE MILLS BROTHERS...THE INK SPOTS...AND THE PLATTERS...THAN YOU WILL SEE THE ROOTS OF WHAT LED TO THE POPULAR GROUPS OF THE 60'S...70'S...AND ON!!!...STU

By Eli (151.197.120.43) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 03:23 pm:

Blue Magic
Delfonics
Dells
Enchantment
Whispers
Ojays
Blue Notes
Ebonys
Temprees
Ethics/Love Committee
Impact

By Nish (216.148.246.134) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 03:32 pm:

I HAVE to recommend the Whispers' Dore and Janus recordings in particular - if you want to hear superb, intricate, delicate male harmonies, go for them. Also the Originals are good.

Younghearts, Escorts, Moments, and Black Ivory are great groups to get into as you delve deeper.

By Sly fan (67.119.52.138) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 04:47 pm:

Eli and Nish!! I am loving all of your recommendations!! Now I got nothing to list!!(LOL)

The Main Ingredient
The Dramatics
Natural Four
Dynamic Superiors
Detroit Emeralds
The Joneses!!!
Smith Connection
The Ebonys and The Intruders!!!! again all day!!!
Bobby Taylor and The Vancouvers
The Independents!!!

By Sly fan (67.119.52.138) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 05:00 pm:

also dont sleep on the highly underated!!

The Sylvers (material pre 75)good luck finding it on cd.

By Nish (66.119.33.135) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 06:16 pm:

Sly Fan, Thanks! You did clean-up nicely there, because I missed the Detroit Emeralds and Dynamic Superiors (gasp!!!)

By Sly fan (64.169.104.213) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 06:28 pm:

Thanx a mil Nish!!

oh yeah..how could I forget

The Originals
The Fantastic Four

By Sly fan (64.169.104.213) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 06:34 pm:

damn you are too good Nish..you already put The Originals..

how could yall forget The Manhattans??

By medusa9e (66.73.8.56) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 08:54 am:

Moments
Masqueraders
Volumes
Sweet James/Fantastic Four
Archie Bell & The Drells
T-Connection
Dazz Band
Brainstorm
Ohio Players
The Tymes (so in love)
Solo

By Mark Speck (65.56.222.187) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 12:26 am:

I'll add the Radiants, the Hesitations, the Spellbinders and the Incredibles, the latter two only having one album, but man, what an album it was!!

Best,

Mark

By RD (63.188.32.173) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 01:09 am:

The Hesitations recorded at least three possibly four albums for Kapp Records.

By Heikki (62.71.79.239) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 06:29 am:

Hi RD, you're right about the Hesitations; four albums: Soul Superman, The New Born Free, Where We're At and Solid Gold.

By RD (63.188.32.162) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 07:30 am:

For some strange reason Chess never issued an album on the Radiants but two good CDs of their stuff can be order from an oldie mail order record company in California. One has all the Maurice & Mac recordings as well as the Radiants' sides featuring Maurice McCallister. The other has the Radiants with Maurice plus the recordings by the various lineups after him.

It's time for a Spellbinders' CD, they did some nice Van McCoy tunes.

By Heikki (62.71.79.239) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 02:34 pm:

About the Hesitations still; I hope we can use this thread to discuss also this group. This Cleveland group is one of my favourites, and it's mainly because of the late lead vocalist, George Scott. You either love him or hate him; at least that's the reaction I've experienced so far.
I'm not a "northern scene" fan, so I don't like Soul Superman that much, but I think one of the most underrated soul albums ever is their Where We're At - with many standard tunes but with a lot of gospelly wailing (A Change Is Gonna Come, That's Where It's At, My World, To Whom May We Turn). By the Hesitations being a "forgotten group" (except nothern scene), I guess there's no chance of getting any of their material (except the first cd) on a cd. There seems to be no
market out there, which I think is a pity.
Best regards
Heikki

By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 02:43 pm:

Heikki,

Don't give up hope - there's one US label that
just might take a chance on issuing the Hesitations' other albums - Collectables - anybody
that would take the Majors' album is obviously
not expecting to sell platinum quantities.
Then again they'd have to deal with the MCA
bureaucracy - just burn your albums onto CD
yourself :-)

By Scratcher (65.134.147.174) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 02:58 pm:

Heikki, George Scott was not the lead singer of the Hesitations. Arthur Blakely (the Wigs) and Leonard Veal (the Metronones) led most of their recordings. Scott being the predominant lead has been printed in many books and the account is wrong on each occassion. Veal accidently shot Scott; shortly thereafter, the Hesitations were history. Incidentally, Blakely (sic) [I'm sure I'm spelling this last name wrong]) says they never saw a dime from any of their singles or the four albums. As he says "they (Kapp Records) took us to the cleaners." When promoting "Soul Superman" Blakely sang the song in a Superman outfit, which was quite comical because he was on the thin side.

By Mark Speck (65.57.20.39) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 12:39 am:

According to an article in Scene magazine, a local weekly free paper here in Cleveland, the Hesitations did reunite a couple of years ago. I know of no gigs or anything they may have done, though.

Best,

Mark

By RD (63.188.32.4) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 01:36 am:

Arthur Blakey, who resembles the late Little Sonny of the Intruders, sometimes does free to the public concerts at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame with a new group whose name I can't recall.

Blakey has a churchy, gospel tenor and Leonard Veal a smooth tenor. The pair swapped leads on their biggest hit "Born Free" and others. Gamble & Huff and Thom Bell later used this style (where a smooth tenor introduces the song and a rougher tenor brings it home)on the O'Jays and the Spinners respectively.

I've also seen Arthur's surname spelled many ways so I spelled it the way its spoken...Bla-key.

By Heikki (62.71.79.239) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 03:28 am:

Hi Scratcher and RD,
and thank you for correcting me on that lead singer matter. As a matter of fact, I knew that already but had forgotten about it. I just dug out an article on the Hesitations by Andrew Hamilton in Soulful Kinda Music, issue 36, from 1998.
Best regards
Heikki