233 Hello Stylistics* - Betcha By Golly Wow

(* ...featuring  Russell  Thompkins  Junior )

Chart  entered : 24  June  1972

Chart  peak : 13

Number  of  hits : 16

Here's  a  band  who  were  very  popular  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  but  seem  to  have  been  erased  from  memory as  far  as  radio's  concerned. Perhaps  the  "Philly"  sound's  mutation  into  "disco"  has  made  it  seem  merely  a  precursor  genre,  somewhat  akin  to  ska's  relationship  to  reggae.

The  group  came  about  from  a  merger  of  two  vocal  groups  based  in  Philadelphia. From  The  Monarchs  came  Airrion  Love, Russell  Thompkins  Junior  and  James  Smith  and  The  Percussions  supplied  James  Dunn  and  Herbie  Murrell. In  1970  they  put  out  "You're  A  Big  Boy  Now"  written  by  their  manager  Marty  Bryant  and  Robert  Douglas who  played  in their  backing  band, on  the  small  Sebring  label. Avco  signed  them  and  put  out  the  song  themselves  in  December 1970. It's  a  slow soul  ballad  with  Stax-like  organ  and guitar  and  a  rough  drum  sound  over  which  Thompkins'  demonstrates  his  distinctive  falsetto  before  a  hokey  spoken  section. Personally  I  think  it's  a  bit  dreary  but  it  got  them  off  the  mark  in  the  US  peaking  at  number  73.

For  their  next  release  Avco  paired  them  with  producer  Thom  Bell  who  was  doing  a  lot  of  work  in  Philadelphia  with  Gamble  and  Huff.  Bell  only  rated  Thompkins  ,viewing  the  others  as  disposable  backing  vocalists,  but  he  saw  the  potential  in  matching  Thompkins' voice  to  his  own  penchant  for  lush  arrangements. He  wrote  their  next  single  "Stop, Look , Listen  ( To  Your  Heart )"  with  lyricist  partner  Linda  Creed. It's  a  quantum  leap  forward  with  a  lovely  melody  and  impeccable  arrangement  with  oboes, harps  and  glockenspiels  framing  Thompkins'  honeyed  vocals. Despite  the  exhortations   there's  an  undertow  of  sadness  suggesting  that  she  won't  listen  and  they'll  both  be  alone. It  reached  number  39  in  the  US  and  the  song  would  become  a  UK  hit  in  the  hands  of  Diana  Ross  and  Marvin  Gaye  three  years  later.

The  next  single  in  October  1971  was  the  original  version  of  "You  Are  Everything", an  overtly  sad  song  where  a   lookalike  evokes  all  the  pain  of  a  lost  love.  The  other  guys  have  a  little  more  to  do  on  this  one  and  Bell  uses  more  synths  than  strings. I'm  much  more  familiar  with  the  Diana  and  Marvin  version  ( which  was  a  big  UK  hit  despite  their  being  beaten  to  the  song  by  Liverpool's  The  Pearls  a  few  months  earlier )   and  probably  prefer  that  for  its  both  sides  of  the  story  re-interpretation   although  the  boys' version  is  fine. It  reached  number  9  in  the  US.

While  they  were  having  hits  in  the  US, Bell's  previous  clients  The  Delfonics  enjoyed  three  belated  hits  in  the  UK  all  produced  and  co-written  by him  and  that  probably  prepared  the  way  for  his  new  proteges  to  break  through. For  "Betcha  By  Golly  Wow"  Bell  put  Thompkins's  name  out  front  ( possibly  because  the  others  aren't  on  it ). Though  it  was  their  breakthrough  hit  in  the  UK  I  think  it's  the  weakest  of  the  first  three  Bell/Creed  songs  they  did  because  the  lyrics  are  too  chocolate  box   and  upbeat   making  Thompkins   sound  rather  silly  when  singing  them  glumly.