Showing posts with label soul survivors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soul survivors. Show all posts

Friday, September 19, 2008

The Soul Survivors


I wonder whether Joe Bruno has some stories about these guys. Here Joey Dee joins the Inqui brothers
"Expressway" was followed by two other chart records, "Explosion In My Soul" and "Mission Impossible". At this time they also released their first album,"When The Whistle Blows". A second LP, "Take Another Look" for Atco Records, was recorded at Atlantic Records' New York studios and in the legendary Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with producer Rick Hall and his famous session musicians which included guitarist Duane Allman, as well as keyboardist Barry Beckett, guitarist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Roger Hawkins, bassist David Hood and, of course, The Memphis Horns. From these sessions came "Mama Soul",a regional hit in many markets including Memphis, Georgia, Connecticut, and Europe

My Baby, She Wrote Me A Letter 2


An email from Susan Gold (Miller) with a Seward Park High School link to the song.
MY BABY WROTE ME A LETTER WAS WRITTEN BY RICHIE INQUI AND RECORDED BY HIS GROUP THE SOUL SURVIVORS. HE WAS A SEWARD PARK HIGH SCHOOL GUY. I REMEMBER HIM SINGING ON THE ROOF OF THE SCHOOL.

Above is a video clip of Richie and his brother Charlie talking about their association with TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) and Kenny Gamble and Loen Huff.
More about the Soul Survivors
The Soul Survivors began their singing career in New York City as a street corner vocal group known as The Dedications. The early days were spent trying to audition and be heard by record companies and music publishers located in Broadway's famous Brill Building. Eventually, they found their way into the recording studios,landing their own record deal with Bell Records. Their first recording "I Ain't A Bit Sorry" reached the top ten list on New York's popular rhythm and blues radio station WWRL.
After several years of playing various venues in the New York area, they teamed up with a group of instrumentalists and became the band known as The Soul Survivors. As their popularity grew, especially in the Atlantic City - Philadelphia area, they attracted the attention of record producers Kenny Gamble and Loen Huff. Their meeting resulted in the recording of "Expressway To Your Heart". The record was a smash reaching one on all regional charts and number four on Billboard's national chart. Written and produced by Gamble and Huff, it would be that duo's first "crossover" hit and would serve as a cornerstone of what would later become known as "The Sound Of Philadelphia". In polls taken by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia's City Paper, "Expressway" was voted the number one record ever to come out of Philadelphia.