Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
Encyclopedia
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, although they performed and recorded until Melvin's death in 1997. 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 successful years at Philadelphia International.
In 1970, the group recruited Teddy Pendergrass as the drummer for their backing band. Pendergrass had been a former member of The Cadillacs
, and was promoted to lead singer when John Atkins quit the group the same year.
, were signed to Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1972, and scored several major R&B hits over the next four years. 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; her version is one of the defining recordings of the disco
era.
Despite success, the Blue Notes' lineup continued to change regularly. In 1974, Melvin brought in Jerry Cummings to replace Lloyd Parks, and female singer Sharon Paige was added to the lineup. While at the top of their success in 1976, Pendergrass quit after an argument over money and unsuccessfully lobbying to have Melvin rename the act "Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass". Pendergrass went on to a successful solo career, cut short by a paralyzing 1982 car accident, although he made a brief comeback at the Live Aid
concert in 1985.
in 1977. "Reaching for the World" became the group's final major single. Harold Melvin, Jerry Cummings, and new members Dwight Johnson, David Ebo and William Spratelly moved to MCA Records
. In 1980 they recorded two commercially successful albums. Jeremiah (Jerry)Cummings is currently working on his first recording in many years with legendary producer Bobby Eli, to be released in late November 2011.
Gil Saunders
took the lead position in 1982, replacing David Ebo. With Gil Saunders, the group had success in the United Kingdom
with the album Talk It Up (Tell Everybody), and singles such as "Today's Your Lucky Day" and "Don't Give Me Up". Several of the Pendergrass-era hits were re-recorded in England with Gil Saunders on lead. Saunders left the act in 1992, and Harold Melvin continued to tour with various lineups of Blue Notes until suffering a stroke
in 1996. Melvin died on March 24, 1997 at the age of fifty-seven. Brown died on April 6, 2008 at the age of sixty-three of a respiratory condition. In addition, three former members of the group would die during the year 2010. First Teddy Pendergrass died on January 13, 2010 at the age of fifty-nine from complications of colon cancer. Six months later, original member Roosevelt Brodie, who was the second tenor for the original Blue Notes, died July 13, 2010 at the age of seventy-five due to complications of diabetes. And just five months later in that year, Bernard Wilson died on December 26, 2010 at the age of sixty-four from complications of a stroke and a heart attack. Pendergrass' predecessor, John Atkins, and successor David Ebo, are also deceased.
, David Ruffin
, Jimmy Somerville
Sybil
, and John Legend
, while dance music DJ Danny Rampling
cites "Wake Up Everybody" as his favorite song of all time. Today, Gil Saunders continues to perform as a solo artist, and still performs all the hits of the past as well as his own material. Several members of various incarnations of the Blue Notes continue to tour as "Harold Melvin's Blue Notes". Melvin's widow currently manages Harold Melvin's Blue Notes featuring lead singer, Donnell "Big Daddy" Gillespie, Anthony Brooks, Rufus
Thorne, John Morris and Sharon Paige.
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.
The band is mentioned on Snoop Dogg
's 1993 album Doggystyle
. In the intro for "Doggy Dogg World
" Snoop says "Bitch, you without me is like Harold Melvin without the Blue Notes, you'll never go platinum!"
Former member, Jerry Cummings, is an ordained minister and has been asked to form Jerry Cummings Blue Notes but has turned down the offer. He is a major conference speaker.
Rapper Big Boi
uses a sample of "I Miss You" on his song "Shine Blockas" feat. Gucci Mane. "I Miss You" was also sampled by Kanye West
on Jay-Z
's song "This Can't Be Life", featuring Beanie Sigel
and Scarface
.
Philadelphia soul
Philadelphia soul, sometimes called the Philadelphia Sound or Sweet Philly, is a style of soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featuring sweeping strings and piercing horns. The subtle sound of a glockenspiel can often be heard in the background of...
groups of the 1970s. The group's repertoire included soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, R&B, doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
, and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
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, although they performed and recorded until Melvin's death in 1997. Despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing, the Blue Notes' most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...
, their lead singer during the successful years at Philadelphia International.
Early years
The group formerly known as The Charlemagnes took on the name "The Blue Notes" in 1954, with a lineup consisting of lead singer Harold Melvin (born June 25, 1939 in Philadelphia, died March 24, 1997), Bernard Williams, Roosevelt Brodie, Jesse Gillis, Jr., and Franklin Peaker. The group recorded for a number of labels without success from its inception into the 1960s. The 1960 single "My Hero" was a minor hit for Val-ue Records, and 1965's "Get Out (and Let Me Cry)" was an R&B hit for Landa Records. During this period, the group's lineup changed frequently, with Bernard Williams leaving the act to start a group called "The Original Blue Notes", and Harold Melvin bringing in new lead singer John Atkins.In 1970, the group recruited Teddy Pendergrass as the drummer for their backing band. Pendergrass had been a former member of The Cadillacs
The Cadillacs
The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York; active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit "Speedoo", which was instrumental in attracting White audiences to Black rock and roll performers.-History:...
, and was promoted to lead singer when John Atkins quit the group the same year.
Philadelphia International success
This incarnation of the group, including Melvin, Pendergrass, Bernard Wilson, Lawrence Brown, and Lloyd ParksLloyd Parks (R&B singer)
Lloyd Parks is an American R&B/soul singer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is an original member of the Grammy-Nominated Philadelphia International Records group Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. Lloyd is noted for his high tenor and falsetto vocal leads and harmonies...
, were signed to Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1972, and scored several major R&B hits over the next four years. Among the Blue Notes' most important and successful recordings are love songs such as "If You Don't Know Me By Now
If You Don't Know Me By Now
"If You Don't Know Me by Now" is a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and recorded by the jersey soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which became their first hit after being released as a single in 1972 topping the R&B chart and peaking at number three on the Pop chart.The...
" (1972, their breakout single), "I Miss You" (1972), "The Love I Lost
The Love I Lost
"The Love I Lost" is a soul/disco song by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Originally written as a ballad by Philly soul songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, the song was transformed into a disco song. It was released from the Black & Blue album in late 1973...
" (1973), and "Don't Leave Me This Way
Don't Leave Me This Way
"Don't Leave Me This Way" is an R&B/soul/disco song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. First charting as a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an act on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1975, "Don't Leave Me This Way" was later a hit single for both...
" (1975), and socially conscious songs such as "Wake Up Everybody
Wake Up Everybody (song)
"Wake Up Everybody" was covered in 1995 by British singer Sonia. It was produced by Steve Levine for fourth studio album Love Train - The Philly Album . The song was released as the album's first and final single. This single has two B-sides - "Show You the Way to Go" and "Nowhere Left to Hide"....
" and "Bad Luck
Bad Luck (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes song)
"Bad Luck" is a 1975 disco/R&B/pop single by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. The single was a number one Disco/Dance hit for eleven weeks, a feat that would be matched eight years later when all cuts of Michael Jackson's album Thriller would hit the top spot on the dance chart for the same number...
" (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
Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She scored a number-one hit in 1976 with her cover version of the song "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.-Early life & career:Houston is the daughter of a cotton picking mother...
was a number-one hit on the US pop chart; her version is one of the defining recordings of the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
era.
Despite success, the Blue Notes' lineup continued to change regularly. In 1974, Melvin brought in Jerry Cummings to replace Lloyd Parks, and female singer Sharon Paige was added to the lineup. While at the top of their success in 1976, Pendergrass quit after an argument over money and unsuccessfully lobbying to have Melvin rename the act "Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass". Pendergrass went on to a successful solo career, cut short by a paralyzing 1982 car accident, although he made a brief comeback at the Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert in 1985.
Later years
Melvin replaced Pendergrass with David Ebo, Cummings and Wilson left, and the Blue Notes departed Philadelphia International for ABC RecordsABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
in 1977. "Reaching for the World" became the group's final major single. Harold Melvin, Jerry Cummings, and new members Dwight Johnson, David Ebo and William Spratelly moved to MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
. In 1980 they recorded two commercially successful albums. Jeremiah (Jerry)Cummings is currently working on his first recording in many years with legendary producer Bobby Eli, to be released in late November 2011.
Gil Saunders
Gil Saunders
Philadelphia native Gil Saunders grew up singing in the church at an early age. He patterned his style after David Ruffin of The Temptations and Marvin Junior of The Dells. Encouraged by family and friends, Saunders pursued a career in music. He formed his first group as a teenager which...
took the lead position in 1982, replacing David Ebo. With Gil Saunders, the group had success in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with the album Talk It Up (Tell Everybody), and singles such as "Today's Your Lucky Day" and "Don't Give Me Up". Several of the Pendergrass-era hits were re-recorded in England with Gil Saunders on lead. Saunders left the act in 1992, and Harold Melvin continued to tour with various lineups of Blue Notes until suffering a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1996. Melvin died on March 24, 1997 at the age of fifty-seven. Brown died on April 6, 2008 at the age of sixty-three of a respiratory condition. In addition, three former members of the group would die during the year 2010. First Teddy Pendergrass died on January 13, 2010 at the age of fifty-nine from complications of colon cancer. Six months later, original member Roosevelt Brodie, who was the second tenor for the original Blue Notes, died July 13, 2010 at the age of seventy-five due to complications of diabetes. And just five months later in that year, Bernard Wilson died on December 26, 2010 at the age of sixty-four from complications of a stroke and a heart attack. Pendergrass' predecessor, John Atkins, and successor David Ebo, are also deceased.
Legacy
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 RedSimply Red
Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
, David Ruffin
David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...
, Jimmy Somerville
Jimmy Somerville
James William Somerville is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He had considerable success in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a successful solo career. He is known in particular for his falsetto singing voice...
Sybil
Sybil
In antiquity, the oracular seeresses of the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean were referred to by the Greek term "sibyls". In modern times, when "Sibyl" is adopted for a woman's name, the conventional spelling is "Sybil".-People:...
, and John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
, while dance music DJ Danny Rampling
Danny Rampling
Danny Rampling is a British House Music DJ and is widely credited as one of the original founders of the UK's rave/club scene. His long career began in the early 1980s playing hip-hop, soul and funk around numerous bars and clubs in London.-Ibiza:...
cites "Wake Up Everybody" as his favorite song of all time. Today, Gil Saunders continues to perform as a solo artist, and still performs all the hits of the past as well as his own material. Several members of various incarnations of the Blue Notes continue to tour as "Harold Melvin's Blue Notes". Melvin's widow currently manages Harold Melvin's Blue Notes featuring lead singer, Donnell "Big Daddy" Gillespie, Anthony Brooks, Rufus
Thorne, John Morris and Sharon Paige.
For his album This Note's for You
This Note's for You
This Note's for You is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released in 1988. It was originally credited to Young and the Bluenotes. Most of the album's concept centered around the commercialism of rock and roll, and tours in particular...
, singer Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
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.
The band is mentioned on Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
's 1993 album Doggystyle
Doggystyle
Doggystyle is the debut album from American rapper Snoop Dogg; released by Death Row Records on November 23, 1993. The album was recorded soon following the release of Dr. Dre's landmark debut album The Chronic , to which Snoop Dogg contributed significantly. His musical stylizations for the album...
. In the intro for "Doggy Dogg World
Doggy Dogg World
"Doggy Dogg World" is the third single from Snoop Doggy Dogg's debut album Doggystyle. It is the first European-only release with an American video TV-play. It features '70s funk band The Dramatics, with guest rap verses from Kurupt and Daz Dillinger , and chorus singing by background vocalist...
" Snoop says "Bitch, you without me is like Harold Melvin without the Blue Notes, you'll never go platinum!"
Former member, Jerry Cummings, is an ordained minister and has been asked to form Jerry Cummings Blue Notes but has turned down the offer. He is a major conference speaker.
Rapper Big Boi
Big Boi
Antwan André Patton , better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, song-writer, record producer and actor, best known for being a member of American hip hop duo OutKast alongside André 3000. His work in the duo has produced six studio albums. During the duo's hiatus, he and André...
uses a sample of "I Miss You" on his song "Shine Blockas" feat. Gucci Mane. "I Miss You" was also sampled by Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
on Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
's song "This Can't Be Life", featuring Beanie Sigel
Beanie Sigel
Dwight Grant , also known as Beanie Sigel, is a American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,most recently he was in talks with 50 Cent to sign with G-Unit Records and is a former member/artist of Dame Dash Music Group and Roc-A-Fella Records where he had formed a close association with rappers...
and Scarface
Scarface (rapper)
Brad Terrence Jordan , better known by his stage name Scarface, is an American rapper, and recording artist from Houston, Texas and a member of the Geto Boys. He is originally from South Park, Houston.-Life and career:...
.
Discography
External links
- Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes at Legacy Recordings
- Gil Saunders' official website
- Harold Melvin & Blue Notes at Soul Tracks
- Listen To A Rare Remix of Prayin'
- Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes at WhoSampled
- Interview with Jerry Cummings on WGBH series Say Brother
- Harold Melvin Tribute