You know, one group that we don't hear much about today, but whose sound made such a beautiful contribution to 70's music is The Stylistics. I heard some tracks today that reminded me of this. The Stylistics - You Make Me Feel Brand New (Official Lyric Video) - YouTube The Stylistics - Betcha By Golly, Wow - YouTube The Stylistics - Rockin' Roll Baby (Official Lyric Video) - YouTube The Stylistics - People Make The World Go Round (Official Lyric Video) - YouTube
The Stylistics take me back - they had some pretty big hits, You Make Me Feel Brand New being my own personal favourite. Were they RnB or disco, though? Or a combination? Either way, this is better than Elvis's version.
I'd hardly call them ground-breaking, which is probably why they get lost among the many groups that sound somewhat similar. I will say they had some decent tunes. "Betcha By Golly, Wow" is a terrific song (but with a terrible title).
Their GH is one fine compilation. Saw what was left of them just over 10 years ago in Maui, and boy was that ever good.
Their earliest recordings made between 1970-1974 with Them Bell are magnificent examples of 70s Philly Soul. The saw a shift in producer to Hugo & Luigi with Van McCoy which resulted in a more Pop sound. This was their downfall in the US but saw them become the most successful US soul group in the UK between 74-76. The Stylistics Greatest Hits was the biggest selling UK album of 1975 and "I Can't Give You Anything" was a massive No1on the UK singles chart the same year. No other African American artist came close to their level of success and chart making consistency during that mid 70s period in the UK. The sweet sugary pop sound did not go down well with soul fans who mostly abandoned the group by this point. Of course the Stylistics was mainly Russell Tompkins Jnr- the man with that instantly recognisable falsetto. The guys who toured along with Russell and made the TV appearances were not the voices who featured on the recordings, they were hired back up on a fixed salary. Thom Bell, Bunny Sigler, Phil Hurtt and Kenny Gamble amongst others provided the backing vocals for many of the Philly groups- including Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes. This was very common during the 60s and 70s. Often the bands busy concert date schedule meant they were not readily available to record and the producers would lay down the tracks while the group was out on the road. They only then required studio time to record the lead vocal of Russel Tompkins or Teddy Pendergrass. This saved a lot of time and a lot of money. It has been well documented and all those mentioned have confirmed the facts publicly both in print and radio interviews. This practice was not only used for Soul/R&B artists but many other pop/rock bands used studio session musicians on their recordings. The Beach Boys being just one example.
And the one notable singer no longer in the group is Russell A. Thompkins Junior. RATJR now tours as part of Russell Thompkins Junior And The New Stylistics.
The first two albums are fantastic falsetto soul. Absolute classics of the genre. Thom Bell at the top of his game. The third one is a mixed bag. The rest aren't so hot. Thom Bell left and they turned into a pretty mediocre pop/soul group. US rights are held by Amherst Records, who bought them from the bankrupt Avco. They are impossible to deal with, which is why the Stylistics catalog in the US has been so badly represented. In the EU, it appears Polygram (Universal) owns the rights, so you have some generous and cheap collections that pretty much most of the material of the first three albums plus some other stuff. That said, I'd imagine the original masters are probably held by Amherst (if they still exist) and weren't used for the Polygram titles.
Great mellow soul group, and Russell Thompkins, Jr. is one of the all time great falsettos. Thom Bell and Linda Creed were brilliant songwriters. "Betcha By Golly Wow" and their other hits have very inventive melodies and intricate chord progressions. Perfect combination of singers, writers, musicians, and producers.
I like them……and most all 70s Philly soul on a greatest hits level. I was 5 in 1972 and started recognizing music and was listening constantly to top 40 radio……of course, the Stylistics, Blue Notes etc. we’re all over the radio. I loved the sound, even if I didn’t know what the words meant at the time. On different soul tours the last 5+ years, I saw both the Thompkins Jr and non-Thompkins versions of the group.
I believe the tracks were licensed by Polygram for several excellent reissue packages in recent years.
