小简介
来自费城的Harold Melvin从小热爱灵魂音乐,15岁就组成了"蓝音符"合唱团,由他亲自担任主唱,并在1960年以后以一首"MY Hero"首度打进排行榜,其后陆续有其他R&B的畅销曲,虽然拥有不少支持者,不过始终不上不下,不能算是十分的走红,团员的阵容也几度变更.1970年,他们吸收了一名新的鼓手Teddy Pendergrass ,同时开始跟制作拍当Kenny GAMBLE与Leon Huff合作,才开始出现转机.
   同样来自费城的Kenny Gamble是"费城之声"的主要功臣,本身擅长作曲的他,也是玩乐队出身的,但是逐渐转向幕后,跟同样是作曲高手的Leon Huff成为拍当,陆续捧红了几个艺人和团体.1970年,他们得到哥伦比亚唱片公司的支持,成立了比照MOTOWN唱片,专门发行灵魂音乐的子公司"费城国际唱片",虽然公司给他们的预算很有限,只预支了七万五千元让他们制作十五首单曲,更限定他们每张专辑制作费用不地超过两万五千元,但是他们凭着过人的才华和制作能力,让这个公司很快崛起.
   "蓝音符"乐队是他们最早网罗的团体之一.Gamble与Huff先是把"蓝音符"改名为"Harold Melvin&The blue notes",接着更发觉Teddy Pendergrass的歌喉比鼓技更出色,于是安排他担任主唱,先是以"I Miss You"引起了注意,接着更因为"If You Don't Know Me By Now"而造成轰动.可惜的是,Teddy Pendergrass 在1975年决定独立,"Harold Melvin&The Blue Notes"的风光岁月也随之结束.
by Steve Huey
Harold Melvin was one of the driving forces behind Philadelphia soul, leading his group the Blue Notes to the top of the charts during their stint on Kenny Gamble and Leon Huffs Philadelphia International label. Despite Melvins billing out front, the Blue Notes focal point was lead singer and onetime drummer Teddy Pendergrass, whose surging baritone graced the Blue Notes recordings during their glory years of 1972-1975 and gave them a truly distinctive sound. Their output ranged from sweeping, extended proto-disco dance tracks to silky, smoldering ballads, all wrapped up in Gamble and Huffs lushly orchestrated production. When Pendergrass left for a solo career, Melvin & the Blue Notes commercial fortunes largely reverted to the pre-Pendergrass days (of which there were quite a few), although they did continue to record for a time. They never really disbanded, and by the time Melvin passed away in 1997, hed been leading the Blue Notes for over four decades.
Melvin was born June 25, 1939, in Philadelphia. A self-taught pianist, he began singing doo wop as a teenager with a group called the Charlemagnes, and put together the very first edition of the Blue Notes in 1954. The original lineup was a quintet featuring Melvin as the lead singer (for a time), songwriter, arranger, and choreographer; ironically, he would mostly relinquish those duties by the time the group achieved its greatest success. The Blue Notes cut their first single, If You Love Me, for Josie in 1956, and scored R&B chart hits in 1960 with My Hero and again in 1965 with Get Out (And Let Me Cry). Numerous personnel shifts kept the group in flux despite steady recording activity, and Melvin kept assembling new versions of the Blue Notes. During the late 60s, the group toured often with the Cadillacs, whose young drummer Teddy Pendergrass would prove to be Melvins greatest discovery.
Pendergrass first joined the Blue Notes backing band, but demonstrated so much vocal talent that Melvin soon elevated him to the post of lead singer. This move helped them land a deal with Gamble and Huffs Philadelphia International label in 1972, just as the company was taking its place as soul musics new epicenter. With Gamble and Huff now supplying top-quality material and production, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes would become one of the most popular groups in R&B over the next few years. They ran off a string of hits and topped the R&B charts with the classic ballad If You Dont Know Me By Now (1972), the string-laden dance track The Love I Lost (1973), a duet with Melvin discovery Sharon Paige called Hope That We Can Be Together Soon (1975), and Wake Up Everybody (also 1975). By that time, tension was building within the group. The heavily spotlighted Pendergrass was hungry for separate billing, but Melvin, still the groups chief organizing force, turned him down. In 1976, Pendergrass left the Blue Notes for a solo career, which signaled the end of Melvins relationship with Philadelphia International. Melvin soldiered on, helming several more albums of new material for several labels up through 1984, although his group only managed one more significant hit, 1977s Reaching for the World. Melvin continued to tour with versions of the Blue Notes steadily into the 90s. Sadly, he suffered a stroke and never fully recovered; he passed away on March 24, 1997, in his beloved hometown of Philadelphia.