Thursday, April 28, 2016

Some Philly Soul

oh man the music of so many summers especially in my neck of the woods.

You couldn't be a teenager in the 70s in a city like Reading, Pa. and NOT hear this music coming from passing cars, kitchen windows while supper was cooking, transistor radios on the front porch (that is until The Phillies game time), swimming pools and basketball courts, neighborhood street parties and cookouts...
 
REST IN PEACE BILLY PAUL
 


Teddy Pendergrass



The O'Jays



The Spinners



The Delfonics



So where does your head go when you hear something like Me and Mrs. Jones?

10 comments:

Epaminondas said...

Spinners ... tears faster than Glenn Beck

Redneck Texan said...

Diamond in the back, sunroof top

Anonymous said...

But were the Spinners Philly or Motown? I remember from a guy I knew in the Navy that there was some controversy over the Spinners in Philly.

Pastorius said...

Billy Paul's Me and Mrs. Jones is one of my favorite songs of all time.

midnight rider said...

The Spinners started out on the Motown label in the 60s but pretty much got nowhere. In the early 70s they switched to Atlantic, joined with Thom Bell and his Philly Soul sound and the hits started coming.

midnight rider said...

Pasto -- I hadn't listened to it in a long time but then a coworker (my age and musical sensibilities not one of these unintelligible rap kids) today told me Paul had died and, well, here we are.

Actually I'm much sadder about Paul's passing than Prince's. This is the era of music I (and you) grew up fumbling in backseats to.

Dashboard lights, radio playing, the glow of the Pagoda...

... the occasional knock on the window move along kids...

Anonymous said...

MR: Thanks for the info. My Navy buddy was Philly born and bred, African American, and was always kind of dismissive of the Spinners. I thought they were great. They were at the peak of their success at the time (Rubber Band man, etc). I always wondered why he had that attitude toward them. Guess they just weren't "Philly" enough.

midnight rider said...

Love Rubber Band Man! Alot of Philly people are like that. Don't get them started on real cheesesteaks...

Epaminondas said...

"working my way.." just listen to the original 4 seasons (66?) perform that song, and you have a nominee for the best cover of all time

Pastorius said...

Yes, I am also more sad about Bill Paul than Prince. I loved his music. I loved the Spinners. I saw the Spinners once in concert at Disneyland, which sounds hokie, but my parents would not let me go to concerts, and so DIsneyland was a real treat. And it was 1977, so practically right at the height of their fame. I also saw the Hues Corporation in 74. Another band I really liked was The Main Ingedient.