The Philly Devotions

[Giovanni]

Today I found among old 7" inches of mine a wonderful track by the PHILLY DEVOTIONS.

The title is "Hurt so bad" and is from 1976 on Columbia. The song clocks at 5.some. and is produced by John Davis

I was wondering if a 12" release of this exists. By guesswork, it should exists, since Columbia began releasing 12" inchers in 1975 and, by chance, with another Philly Devotions track ("I just can't make it").

Any info about it?

[Mixmachine]

I never saw the 12", I still have my two 7" copies, This is one of my favorite song of those years, beatiful harmonies and great disco beat.

[NickNack]

Hi Giovanni,

I never saw any 12"s either. Like you and Mixmachine, I had 7" copies only. But "Hurt So Bad" and "I Just Can't Say Goodbye" were/are just great freakin' music! :)

[DyscoSouljah]

I just accidently stumbled on this topic, googling for an answer to my question. But perhaps, someone on the board knows.

I might be mistaken, but I recall hearing or reading somewhere that the Philly Devotions, was a sidekick of the Stylistics. Maybe the rumor was based on the fact the both lead singers have a very similar voice. Or is it the same singer as the Stylistics? Russell Thompkins or Airrion Love?

I'm just curious to find out.

I feel "I just can't say goodbye" is a plain masterpiece. At first could I've sworn it was a Thom Bell production. But to found it belongs to John Davis, I was not surprised at all. Check out the arrangements on that one! :icon_lol:

[drlove]

Well, combine "Hurt So Bad" with "I Just Can't Say Goodbye" and add in the excellent Tom Moulton 7" mix of "I Just Can't Make It Without You" (my personal favorite of theirs) . . . . and you'll see that the Philly Devotions REALLY need a brighter outlook on life & love

[DyscoSouljah]

TRUE!!! :icon_razz:

Some of my unsung heroes!

[Disco Funk]

As a huge fan of the philly sound, I am familiar with the Philly Devotions. I believe they were proteges of John Davis. He was producing them back in '73 or '74 when they were first put out on Bry-Wek. They put out 'I Just Can't Say Goodbye' originally on Don De, backed with 'Come On Over To The Lovin Side', then they were picked up by Columbia and put out several singles. But as far as I can tell, they only had the one 12 inch.

A few years ago a CDR was put out of The Philly Devotions Meet The Creations. It sounds like they used vinyl sources, but it's the most comprehensive collection of the philly devotions releases. I'm surprised in all the years that John Davis worked with them, they didn't put out an Album. I guess a lot of artists suffered such fates during the 70s, always getting 45 releases, but no investment in an LP.

Here are a couple of clips of what I think are the Don De mix of 'I Just Can't Say Goodbye', which I prefer because the drums sounded too flat on the Tom Moulton Columbia remix, and the flip side of the Don De single, which is a great song that never got put onto a Columbia single, 'Come On over To The Lovin Side'





And some other great tunes by them





And below is a picture of the Philly Devotions around the piano as John Davis plays




Disco Funk

[remicks]

I'm surprised in all the years that John Davis worked with them, they didn't put out an Album.



Disco Funk

.........hmmm... perhaps their's was a sound judged best allocated in single 45 strength dosages ?? :icon_mrgreen:

........exposure to an entire album of that high ear-splitting voice might have proven downright dangerous (hmmm....although it never stopped Styx :icon_razz:)

BTW ....why The "Philly" Devotions as opposed to just The Devotions :icon_confused: .... some legal mumbo jumbo ....?



*****

[Disco Funk]

.........hmmm... perhaps their's was a sound judged best allocated in single 45 strength dosages ?? :icon_mrgreen:

........exposure to an entire album of that high ear-splitting voice might have proven downright dangerous (hmmm....although it never stopped Styx :icon_razz:)

BTW ....why The "Philly" Devotions as opposed to just The Devotions :icon_confused: .... some legal mumbo jumbo ....?



*****

Ear splitting? Hmmm...I think artists like The Stylistics and Blue Magic would beg to differ! :)

The name might have just been done to give a nod to their hometown, as opposed to avoid confusion with another vocal group. The Spinners did the same thing in the beginning, didn't they? They were The Detroit Spinners, and then went to Philly and changed to just The Spinners.

Disco Funk

[originalbigm]

Ear splitting? Hmmm...I think artists like The Stylistics and Blue Magic would beg to differ! :)

The name might have just been done to give a nod to their hometown, as opposed to avoid confusion with another vocal group. The Spinners did the same thing in the beginning, didn't they? They were The Detroit Spinners, and then went to Philly and changed to just The Spinners.

Disco Funk

Certainly they represented the vocal stylings of that era as far back as the 60's .

The Moments



The Delfonics - from AMG

" The Delfonics were one of the first groups to sing in the sleek, soulful style that became popularized (thanks to producer Thom Bell) as the "Philadelphia sound." A vocal trio made up of brothers William and Wilbert Hart and high school friend Randy Cain, the Delfonics roots go back to doo wop singing at school dances in the early '60s. They were well-known in the Philly area for their supple, airtight harmonies talent that brought them to the attention of record producers, eventually landing them a contract with Cameo-Parkway. While their early records brought them little if any notice, it did bring them to the attention of producer/arranger Thom Bell who signed the band to his soon-to-be influential soul label Philly Groove. Right from the start this was a perfect match as the band released the classic "La La Means I Love You" in 1968, a song that began a string of hits lasting into the mid-'70s.

The sound that Bell created for the Delfonics was the antithesis of the soul sound that came from Stax in Memphis and Muscle Shoals in Alabama. He sandpapered away the grit, lightened up on the backbeat, brought in string sections, and created a smooth, airy sound. Critics enamored of the soul singing of Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding accused Bell and his groups of creating aural wallpaper, but the reality was that Bell and the Delfonics were setting the stage for a different kind of groove where subtlety and nuance reigned."





and of course








And even the white guys popularized those vocal stylings.

Who can forget



or



:icon_razz::icon_razz::icon_razz::icon_razz:

[Disco Funk]

Oh yeah, definitely. I didn't want to get too detailed into the history of that vocal styling (heck, just look at The Temptations or Eddie Kendricks). I think Remicks was just being facetious. :)

Disco Funk

[Disco Funk]

Going back to the original topic of this thread, I was watching the youtube posting I did above for 'We're Gonna Make It'. Keep an eye out for what pops up at 1:50. If it's legit, it'll probably worth a fortune.

Disco Funk

[Disco Funk]

Going back to the original topic of this thread, I was watching the youtube posting I did above for 'We're Gonna Make It'. Keep an eye out for what pops up at 1:50. If it's legit, it'll probably worth a fortune.

Edit: Nevermind. It appears it was an image that was already entered in the vault. It's the 7" pressing, but done with a small centre at 33 1/3 RPM.

Disco Funk

[mistermix]

Just to confirm: there was no 12" mix release of Hurt So Bad by PHILLY DEVOTIONS, simply because Columbia didn't want to release. Tom Moulton had the re-mix in his hands but Columbia said "No Man, Not Yet"....he was able then to release only on his compilation a Tom Moulton Mix.

[DISCODISK]

The name might have just been done to give a nod to their hometown, as opposed to avoid confusion with another vocal group. The Spinners did the same thing in the beginning, didn't they? They were The Detroit Spinners, and then went to Philly and changed to just The Spinners.

Disco Funk

disco funk, they always were the spinners in the u.s, this is an english thing they were the detroit spinners here, the detroit added as not to clash with a liverpool folk group who were very popular in the 60s/70s [though not with me!]

[mrbmarco]

Just to confirm: there was no 12" mix release of Hurt So Bad by PHILLY DEVOTIONS, simply because Columbia didn't want to release. Tom Moulton had the re-mix in his hands but Columbia said "No Man, Not Yet"....he was able then to release only on his compilation a Tom Moulton Mix.

No No No--Hurt So Bad was not on A Tom Moulton Mix it was remixed by Dimitri From Paris on Get Down With The Philly Sound.

[mistermix]

Yes You are right I mixed up these new compilation releases but The Mix comes from Tom.
Thanks