My Philly faves

[SandraDee]

It recently struck me that I don't recall us doing a Philly top 10 which is surely a must after the Motown & Casablanca ones! I think this was the hardest one to do! (I had to make it 15 instead of 10)

1. Mysteries of The World - MFSB
2. Nights Over Egypt - Jones Girls
3. Sexy - MFSB
4. Life On Mars - Dexter Wansell
5. Was That All It Was - Jean Carn
6. I'll Never Forget (My Favourite Disco) - Dexter Wansell
7. I Close My Eyes - Jones Girls
8. Ain't No Stopping Us Now - McFadden & Whitehead
9. Backstabbers - O'Jays
10. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls
11. Put Our Heads Together - O'Jays
12. My Love Don't Come Easy - Jean Carn
13. What's On Your Mind - Jean Carn
14.You Can't Have My Love- Jones Girls
15. Message In The Music - O'Jays


What are yours?

[andyy]

Thanks for bringing up this top 10 philly faves, My this was so hard i like so much beautiful philly works from many over the years.
the list below is sort of in position choices depending on my mood.

1. Aint No Stoppin Us Now - Mcfadden & Whitehead
2. Sing A Happy song - O Jays
3. The Sweetest Pain - Dexter Wansell Feat Jones girls
4. Take Good Care Of Yourself - The Three Degrees
5. She used To Be My Girl - O Jays
6. Archie Bell & The Drells - Soul City Walk
7. Nights Over Egypt - The Jones Girls
8. I Love Music - O Jays
9. Ill Never Forget ( my favourite disco) - Dexter wansell Jones Girls on Vocals
10. Strut Your funky Stuff - Frantique

[remicks]

****

Hey, I like this !!
Give me a couple of days to ponder it.

To clarify Dee ... are you meaning Philadelphia International Records label releases specifically ... so we don't wind up including The Trammps on Atlantic and Salsoul Records releases etc, etc. ..... ???

and it appears you aren't limiting the tunes to disco (I'm guessing I CLOSE MY EYES is a ballad) .....



*****

[SandraDee]

To clarify Dee ... are you meaning Philadelphia International Records label releases specifically ... so we don't wind up including The Trammps on Atlantic and Salsoul Records releases etc, etc. ..... ???

and it appears you aren't limiting the tunes to disco

Yes you're right Remmy, I should clarify - it's strictly stuff on the PIR label (so sorry, no Spinners, Stylistics or Salsoul etc.) but any genre goes! (slow stuff very welcome)

[Scientist]

Now you're talking - one of the greatest labels ever.

1. MFSB - Love is the message (Tom Moulton mix)
2. Harold Melvin + Blue Notes - Bad luck (Tom Moulton mix)
3. Billy Paul - Me and Mrs Jones
4. Archie Bell + Drells - Strategy
5. Peoples Choice - Do it anyway you wanna
6. Futures - Aint no time for nothing
7. Lou Rawls - You'll never find
8. Jean Carn - Was that all it was
9. Robert Upchurch - The devil made me do it
10. Anthony White - Never repay your love

[drlove]

here's my list ....great idea, Sandy !

1. The Love I Lost (1973) by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
2. When Will I See You Again (1974) by Three Degrees
3. Trammps' Disco Theme (1975) by Trammps (released on Golden Fleece in 1975, and on the Disco Champs LP by P.I.R. in 1977).
4. Love Train (1973) by O'Jays
5. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (1976) by Lou Rawls
6. I Love Music (1975) by O'Jays
7. Don't Leave Me This Way (1975) by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
8. TSOP (1974) by MFSB
9. Darlin, Darlin Baby (1977) by O'Jays
10. Ain't No Stopping Us Now (1979) by McFadden & Whitehead

[markydefad]

Ha! I just happen to be listening to "THE PIR 12" SINGLES" cd right now as I watch the E coverage of the Golden Globes pre-show!

Most of the best PIR Disco preceded their belated decision to release 12-inch singles and are not on this double cd--although there's some good stuff here.

List-wise, I'm gonna be predictable I think...after jotting a few titles...they are big hits...but the challenge will be how to rank them according to my passion for each.

01) WAS THAT ALL IT WAS - Jean Carn
02) BAD LUCK - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
03) DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
04) I LOVE MUSIC - The O'Jays
05) LOVE TRAIN - The O'Jays
06) THE LOVE I LOST - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
07) YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE - Lou Rawls
08) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees
09) BACK STABBERS - The O'Jays
10) DO IT ANY WAY YOU WANNA - People's Choice

11) NIGHTS OVER EGYPT - The Jones Girls
12) FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY - The O'Jays
13) LET'S GROOVE - Archie Bell & The Drells
14) {tie} FREE LOVE/DON'T LET IT GO TO YOUR HEAD - Jean Carn
15) AIN'T NO STOPPING US NOW - McFadden & Whitehead
16) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O'Jays
17) LOVE IS THE MESSAGE - MFSB
18) WAKE UP EVERYBODY - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
20) {tie} LOVE TKO/ONLY YOU - Teddy Pendergrass

[boogienights]

10.Everybody Have A Good Time-Archie Bell And The Drells (fast version)
9.Strategy-Archie Bell And The Drells
8.You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine-Lou Rawls
7.Time Will Take Care Of Everything-Lou Rawls
6.Was That All It Was-Jean Carn
5.I'll Never Forget My Favourite Disco-Dexter Wansel
4.Getting Serious-Frantique
3.Come Go With Me-Teddy Pendergrass
2.Tell The World How I Feel Bout Cha Baby-Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes
1.Breaking And Entering-Dee Dee Sharp

Please correct me if I am mistaken and any aren't PIR cuts!

[Jay Negron]

Very hard to do, but here it goes!!!

1 - Bad Luck - Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes (Tom Moulton Mix)
2 - Sexy - MFSB
3 - The More I Get The More I Want - Teddy Pendergrass - Original LP Cut
4 - Love Is The Message - MFSB (Tom Moulton Mix)
5 - Let's Groove - Archie Bell & The Drells
6 - Love Train - O'Jays (Tom Moulton Mix)
7 - Love Epidemic - Trammps (Tom Moulton Mix)
8 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes (Tom Moulton Mix)
9 - Tell The World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby - Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
10 - I'll Always Love My Mama - Intruders (Tom Moulton Mix)
11 - I Love Music - O'Jays (Tom Moulton Mix)
12 - Breaking & Entering - Dee Dee Sharp (David Todd Edit 12")
13 - Party Time Man - Futures
14 - People Power - Billy Paul
15 - Soul City Walk - Archie Bell & The Drells
16 - Year Of Decision - Three Degrees
17 - Time To Get Down - O'Jays
18 - Free Love - Jean Carn
19 - She's A Winner - Intruders
20 - Slow Motion - Johnny Williams (Tom Moulton Mix)

[Scientist]

Hi Jay
I guess the Philadelphia Classics double lp is one of your favourites !! The cd version has an extended version of Do it anyway you wanna. I love the version by Loius Ramirez as well
Could you tell me more about Slow Motion by johnny Williams (Tom moulton Mix) ? Is this a 12" or on an lp ?

[SandraDee]

Great choices people! Thanx andy, Blanche, scientist, Dr Love, boogienights & Jay for your contributions. This was definitely a very hard decision for me & it was tough for me not to include stuff such as the Intruders, Frantique & Archie Bell in my choice but I'm pleased that others have! I shoulda made it a top 50! One observation I've made so far is that most people chose 70s stuff (as one would expect) so I'm glad I picked a few 80s ones as my faves as well to balance things up a bit.

[tmob]

OK....I'll limit mine to 10, with the usual proto-disco slant:

10. Bad Luck/Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
9. Do it Anyway You Wanna/People's Choice
8. Let's Groove/Archie Bell & the Drells
7. Was That All it Was/Jean Carn
6. (I'm Just Thinkin' About) Coolin' Out/Jerry Butler
5. I Didn't Know/The Three Degrees
4. Sexy/MFSB
3. I'll Always Love My Mama/The Intruders
2. Nights Over Egypt/The Jones Girls
1. Love is Everywhere/City Limits

Of course, this list could have been double the size. What a great exercise!

[Jay Negron]

Hi Jay
I guess the Philadelphia Classics double lp is one of your favourites !! The cd version has an extended version of Do it anyway you wanna. I love the version by Loius Ramirez as well
Could you tell me more about Slow Motion by johnny Williams (Tom moulton Mix) ? Is this a 12" or on an lp ?

Originally it was a 3 minute 45 that hit the top 20 of the Billboard R&B charts in 1972.
("Slow Motion-Part 1")
johnny williams.jpg
I'm thinking it was the PIR release just before "Back Stabbers".
(my memory is gettin dull)
Tom Moulton when he was remixing 'Philadelphia Classics' was down to a choice, which song does he submit as the last one for the double LP?
"Slow Motion" or "Love Is The Message"---well we all know which one he chose and we are all glad for it.

BUT that doesn't mean "Slow Motion" is a slouch; not at all!
A real funky 'Wilson Pickett' type vocal all thru a smokin downbeat MFSB groove,
TM's mix (7 minutes) has remained unreleased all these years.
We are hoping Kenny Gamble will use it for Philly International's 40th Anniversary sometime this year.
"Philadelphia Classics 2" has been on & off, being put on the shelf more times than we know since 1990!!

We are gonna play it on Disco935, when EARL YOUNG comes on the show (Jan. 29th @ 8pm)
I'm so excited!!!

[Ian Dewhirst]

Very hard to do, but here it goes!!!

1 - Bad Luck - Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes (Tom Moulton Mix)
2 - Sexy - MFSB
3 - The More I Get The More I Want - Teddy Pendergrass - Original LP Cut
4 - Love Is The Message - MFSB (Tom Moulton Mix)
5 - Let's Groove - Archie Bell & The Drells
6 - Love Train - O'Jays (Tom Moulton Mix)
7 - Love Epidemic - Trammps (Tom Moulton Mix)
8 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes (Tom Moulton Mix)
9 - Tell The World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby - Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
10 - I'll Always Love My Mama - Intruders (Tom Moulton Mix)
11 - I Love Music - O'Jays (Tom Moulton Mix)
12 - Breaking & Entering - Dee Dee Sharp (David Todd Edit 12")
13 - Party Time Man - Futures
14 - People Power - Billy Paul
15 - Soul City Walk - Archie Bell & The Drells
16 - Year Of Decision - Three Degrees
17 - Time To Get Down - O'Jays
18 - Free Love - Jean Carn
19 - She's A Winner - Intruders
20 - Slow Motion - Johnny Williams (Tom Moulton Mix)

A good time to gen up on Philly International ay Jay?

Ian D :)

[Scientist]

Hi Jay,

So the TM version is sadly unreleased. I think I'll sniff around the net and see what I can find. And lets hope that Philly Classics 2 hits the stores soon.

Also, there must be quite a few unreleased/rare gems in the vaults that us Philly fans would love to hear. If Mr Gamble or Mr Huff are looking for someone to scour the vaults, I volunteer here and now

And thanks for the warning about the show on the 29th. I wont be able to listen live on the 29th. Will the show be uploaded to listen later ?

Finally, I want to mention Billy Paul - False Faces which I think is an under appreciated Philly gem

[Jay Negron]

@Scientist:
All the shows for the past year are archived here:
http://www.discomusic.com/forums/sho...y-Negron/page5
You can d/l them and listen to many mixes not heard anywhere.
Also you can hear a few interviews with Tom Moulton who brought an arsenal of unreleased stuff from his vault!!
The Earl Young Interview will be posted there the day after!!

@Ian: And You KNOW That!!!

[Scientist]

Thanks Jay
Just working my way through your 4 hour show 'What was the first disco record?'
Will definately check out the Earl Young show

[mrbmarco]

In no particular order---

WE'RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER – Kaliedoscope 1975 (TSOP)

HEY BABY - Anthony White 1975 (Phila. Intl.)

Dirty Old Man 1973
The Three Degrees (Phila. Intl.)

I Don’t Want To Cry 1973
Dick Jensen (Phila. Intl.)

The Love I Lost 1973 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
(Phila. Intl.)

WAKE UP EVERYBODY 1975 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Phila. Intl.)

Love Epidemic 1973 The Trammps (Golden Fleece)

Let’s Clean Up The Ghetto
Philadelphia International All Stars 1977 (Phila. Intl.)

I Love Music 1975 The O'Jays (Phila. Intl.)

TSOP MFSB -all versions—1973 (Phila. Intl.)

[Disco Funk]

I can't make a list, because I love them all! Seriously, I love all philly grooves. If it has Sigma Studios or names like Bobby Eli, Earl Young, Bunny Sigler, Norman Harris, etc... in the credits, I love it. Even the Richie Rome/Jacques Morali philly stuff (I'm talking about pre-Gypsy Lane band) I love, and some of that is cheesy. Thom Bell, it depends on the tune, but I like his stuff, even if it sounds like adult contemporary most of the time. :)

Disco Funk

[remicks]

I can't make a list, because I love them all! Seriously, I love all philly grooves.

Disco Funk

*****

Your list especially would be interesting Disco Funk!!

This is such a great exercise . I had no idea LOVE TRAIN would wind up on top until I started the process of pitting it against each of the others .

Philadelphia International Top 20:


1) - LOVE TRAIN --- O'Jays
2) - DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY --- Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
3) - I LOVE MUSIC--- O'Jays
4) - WAKE UP EVERYBODY --- Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
5) - AIN'T NO STOPPIN' US NOW --- McFadden & Whitehead
6) - WAS THAT ALL IT WAS --- Jean Carn
7) - IF ONLY YOU KNEW --- Patti Labelle
8) - LET EM IN --- Billy Paul (and I hate this song as performed by Paul McCartney!)
9) - TSOP --- MFSB
10) - YOU GONNA MAKE ME LOVE SOMEBODY ELSE ---Jones Girls
11) - PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM --- MFSB
12) - WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN --- Three Degrees
13) - LET’S GROOVE --- Archie Bell & The Drells (what are "drells"????)
14) - USED TA BE MY GIRL --- O'Jays
15) - YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE --- Lou Rawls
16) - THE MORE I GET (IT) THE MORE I WANT (IT) --- Teddy Pendergrass
17) - TIME TO GET DOWN --- O'Jays
18) - I'LL ALWAYS LOVE MY MAMA --- The Intruders
19) {tie} - SEXY/LOVE IS THE MESSSAGE --- MFSB
20) - THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF GOOD MEN--- Jean Carn



*****

LET EM IN


get ready to cry-

when life is beautiful:

[Jay Negron]

19) {tie} - SEXY/LOVE IS THE MESSSAGE --- [/B] MFSB[B]

Never thought I would run into someone that thought "Sexy" was just as good as "Love Is The Message";
I feel the SAME way!!!!
In fact, I know I'm in the minority here, I dig "Sexy" better than I do "LITM".

I only came to that conclusion while making up my Top 50 of all time; pitting each song vs each other and how important they were for me.

[SandraDee]

I dig "Sexy" better than I do "LITM".

Me too! Personally I find 'Love Is The Message' a bit over-rated, it's good but not as good as alot of people make out IMO.

[SandraDee]

OK guyz, I've made a note of how frequently tracks appeared on your charts & given them scores using the 'inverse points' method (no.1 gets 20 points, no.20 gets 1 point etc.) & come up with the ultimate discomusic.com PIR Top 20 (it keeps me off the streets I guess!):


1. Was That All It Was - Jean Carn
2. Bad Luck - Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes
3. Love Train - O'Jays
4. Nights Over Egypt - Jones Girls
5=You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls
5=I Love Music - O'Jays
7. Sexy - MFSB
8. Ain't No Stopping Us Now - McFadden & Whitehead
9. Don't Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes
10. Let's Groove - Archie Bell & the Drells
11. I'll Never Forget My Favourite Disco - Dexter Wansell
12=Love Is The Message - MFSB
12=When Will I See You Again - 3 Degrees
14. Do It Anyway You Wanna - People's Choice
15. The Love I Lost - Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes
16. I'll Always Love My Mama - The Intruders
17. Tell The World How I Feel Bout Cha Baby - Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes
18. Strategy - Archie Bell & the Drells
19. Breaking & Entering - Dee Dee Sharp
20. Backstabbers - O'Jays


(Unfortunately my fave (Mysteries of the World) came 23rd overall but you can't have it all ways as I think this overall 20 is fabulous folks!)

[DJ-Pir]

Tough to filter out 10 fav's from a label that gave us so many beautiful tracks . .
But in more or less random order:

1 - Philadelphia International All-Stars - Let's clean up the ghetto
2 - McFadden & Whitehead - I heard it in a lovesong (TSOP label, hope that counts also :-)
3 - Peoples Choice - Do it anyway you wanna (the long version by Tom Moulton)
4 - Jocko - Rhythm talk (makes me smile, good memories from the time it was a new record)
5 - O-Jays - I love music / The love i lost / Backstabbers / Love train (just can't choose )
6 - MFSB - The Zip (underrated track imho)
7 - Lou Rawls - See you when I git there (Amazing how this track still fills a (small) dancefloor)
8 - Dexter Wansell - Life on Mars (only recently discoverd this on the Loft CD, love it . . . .)
9 - The Trammps - Love epidemic
10 - O-Jays - Put our heads together (one of my most played tracks in '83 probably, still has a special place)

Final thought, just play anything on the PIR label and you'll make me happy, this could easily be a top 80 list. . .

[SandraDee]

5 - O-Jays - I love music / The love i lost.

I wasn't aware that the O'Jays did a version of The Love I Lost, I'm only familiar with the Harold Melvin/Blue Notes' version.