The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hit "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but reached their greatest level of success once the producers Gamble & Huff signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with Back Stabbers (1972), and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 the following year with "Love Train". Several other US R&B hits followed, and the O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn and Edwin Miller. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O'Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul.
Gerald Edward Levert was an American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the R&B vocal group, LeVert. Levert was also a member of LSG, a supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and himself. Levert was the son of Eddie Levert, lead singer of the R&B/soul vocal group the O'Jays. He released nine solo albums, six as a member of LeVert, two with his father Eddie Levert, and two as a member of LSG. Levert was also credited with the discovery of R&B groups the Rude Boys, Men at Large and 1 of the Girls. Levert was also part of the R&B group Black Men United.
Thomas Randolph Bell was an American record producer, arranger and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer and songwriter for the Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
Back Stabbers is a studio album by Philadelphia soul group the O'Jays, released in August 1972 on Philadelphia International Records and the iTunes version was released and reissued under Epic Records via Legacy Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972.
Paul Williams, known professionally as Billy Paul, was a Grammy Award-winning American soul singer, known for his 1972 No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones", as well as the 1973 album and single War of the Gods, which blends his more conventional pop, soul, and funk styles with electronic and psychedelic influences.
The Jacksons is the eleventh studio album by the Jacksons, the band's first album for Epic Records and under the name "the Jacksons," following their seven-year tenure at Motown as "the Jackson 5". Jackson 5 member Jermaine Jackson stayed with Motown when his brothers broke their contracts and left for Epic, and he was replaced by youngest Jackson brother Randy. The album was released in 1976 for Epic Records and Philadelphia International Records as a joint venture.
Alicia Michelle "Miki" Howard is an American R&B singer who had a string of top 10 hit songs in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, including "Baby, Be Mine" (1987), "Come Share My Love" (1986) and "Love Under New Management" (1990). "Ain't Nobody Like You" (1992) and "Ain't Nuthin' in the World" (1989) both peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B Singles chart.
The Stylistics is the debut album by American R&B group the Stylistics, released in November 1971 on the Avco record label. It was produced by Thom Bell and recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. The album has been called "a sweet soul landmark."
"For the Love of Money" is a soul, funk song that was written and composed by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Anthony Jackson; it was recorded by Philadelphia soul group The O'Jays for the album Ship Ahoy. Produced by Gamble and Huff for Philadelphia International Records, "For the Love of Money" was issued as a single in late 1973, with "People Keep Tellin' Me" as its B-side. The single peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart, and at No. 9 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart in spring 1974. Though the album version of the song was over seven minutes long, it received substantial radio airplay. The song's title comes from a well-known Bible verse, 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." The song was also used as the opening theme song for NBC’s The Apprentice.
So Full Of Love is a 1978 album by The O'Jays. The album contains the #1 R&B hit "Use ta Be My Girl", and was awarded RIAA Platinum Certification for sales of 1,000,000 copies.
Ship Ahoy is an album by Philadelphia soul group The O'Jays, released in 1973 on Philadelphia International Records. The album was a critical and commercial success, entering Billboard on November 10, and reaching No. 11. It reached No. 1 on the "Black Albums" chart and launched two hit singles, "For the Love of Money" and "Put Your Hands Together." Conceived as a theme album built around the title track, Ship Ahoy includes socially relevant tracks and love songs under a cover that is itself notable for its serious subject matter. The album, which achieved RIAA platinum certification in 1992 for over 1 million copies sold, has been reissued multiple times, including in a 2003 edition with a bonus track. Ship Ahoy was the highest selling R&B album on the Billboard Year-End chart for 1974.
MFSB is the debut album by Philadelphia International Records houseband MFSB, released in 1973.
Teddy is the third album by R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass, released in 1979. It included more "bedroom ballads" than his prior releases, and was compared to Marvin Gaye's I Want You album.
Travelin' at the Speed of Thought is an album by the American R&B group the O'Jays, released in 1977 on Philadelphia International Records. Unusual for the time, there had been no advance single release from the album; the only single subsequently issued, "Work on Me", became a #7 R&B hit but failed to reach the pop listings, making this the first O'Jays PIR album without a top 100 pop single. Travelin' at the Speed of Thought peaked at #6 on the R&B chart and reached #27 on the pop chart. The album achieved a gold certification.
Let Me Be Good to You is an album by the American R&B singer Lou Rawls, released in 1979 on Philadelphia International Records.
Love Is The Message is the second album by Philadelphia International Records houseband MFSB. The album includes the number one pop, R&B, and adult contemporary hit and winner of the 1974 Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance, "TSOP ". The song was the theme song for the television show Soul Train.
The Big Throwdown is the third album by Cleveland, Ohio-based R&B group LeVert.
Reddy is the eleventh studio album release by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy. Between 1971 and 1978, Reddy had ten studio albums released by Capitol Records, the label also having issued her Greatest Hits album and a concert album: Live in London, the latter issued in December 1978 - which same month Reddy filed suit claiming Capitol Records had shortchanged her $1,793,000, the suit being an apparent bid to win release from the label. However Reddy, issued in June 1979, would be released by Capitol Records, Reddy's tenure with the label extending to include her twelfth studio album: Take What You Find, issued in 1980.
