Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes is an American group which was born under the name 'The Charlemagnes' before taking the name 'The Blue Notes' from 1954. Group then composed of Franklin Peaker, Bernard Wilson, Roosevelt Brodie, Jesse Gillis Jr. and Harold Melvin.
Group which produced a first major Single “Get out (And let me cry)” in 1965, a title which allowed them to become known on both sides of the Atlantic.
But it was above all the arrival of Teddy Pendergrass in 1970 that allowed the group to move up a gear, starting with the successful release in 1972 of their first album “I miss you”, an album which produced the enormous Single “If you don’t know me by name.”
Success confirmed but not amplified the following year with the release of the album “Black and blue”, an album which mainly produced the flagship Single “The love I lost”.
But it is above all the year 1975 which will consecrate the group in a spectacular way to say the least with the release of 2 albums that year : “To be true” and “Wake up everybody”. The first will mainly produce the Single “Bad luck” and the second “Wake up everybody”.
New album “Reaching the world” two years later in 1977, an album with less success but which still produced the high-caliber Single which bears the name of the album.
Major success which will be the last despite the release of other albums and other Singles subsequently.
To discover or rediscover...
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Discography (among others...) :
60s Decade :
My hero 1960
Get out (And let me cry) 1965
Go away 1965
70s Decade :
This time will be different 1970
Never gonna leave you 1972
I miss you 1972
If you don’t know me by now 1972
Yesterday I had the blues 1973
The love I lost (Part 1) 1973
Satisfaction guaranteed (Or take your love back) 1974
I'm weak for you 1974
Where are all my friends 1974
Bad luck 1975
Hope that we can be together soon 1975
Wake up everybody 1975
Tell te world how I feel about 'cha baby' 1976
Don’t leave me this way 1977
Reaching for the world 1977
After you love me, why do you leave me 1977
Hostage 1977
Baby, you got my nose open 1978
Now is the time 1978
Prayin’ 1979
80s Decade :
Tonight’s the night 1980
I should be your lover 1980
Hang on in there 1981
Time be my lover 1983
Don’t give me up 1984
Today’s your lucky day 1984
I really love you 1984
Tracks :
1960...a first title which is not going to make people talk about it more than that but you have to start well one day as they say. It's done now...
1965...it will take them 5 more years to finally find the good door, the one which will above all offer them a first classified title...
1967...a success that they will not be able to repeat with this new title but it doesn't matter, the main thing is that the group is on the right track this time...
1970...no notable improvement at the very beginning of the 70s. As a result, we begin to wonder if the success achieved in 1965 was not just a stroke of luck...
1972...same for this one. Clearly, the group is really struggling and cannot find the solution that could bring them back to the forefront...
1972...business finally picks up again with this new title, which means you just had to be a little patient. Phew...
1972...then comes THIS title ! It took them a while to find the solution but this time it was the right one with the biggest success of their entire discography. A huge title which will also delight another group and not the least with Simply Red in 1989...
1973...difficult, if not almost impossible, to match the previous title as the bar was set so high. They will have at least tried...
1973...but that was without counting on this title. Certainly it will not equal 'If you don't know me by now' but will come very close...
1974...the great adventure continues with this new success which confirms the status of the group as a sure bet of the moment. Let's hope it lasts...
1974...this title will go a little more unnoticed but there is no need to worry about them at this stage. Everything is going as planned...
1974...all the titles that come out in any case are classified. Certainly to varying degrees but the fact that they are is the most important...
1975...a huge year 1975 which begins with this new top hit. A prize list that grows from year to year and which is really starting to impress...
1975...the group decides to share the bill on this title with Sharon Paige and this introduces a little femininity into a very masculine group all the same...
1975...another huge title which allows the group to maintain its position at the head of the race without too much difficulty...
1976...only one title for this year 1976 but still one classified title. It must be said that equaling the year 1975 in terms of quantity and quality would have been a real achievement...
1977...a mid-70s particularly favorable to the group with a succession of very high caliber successes. All is well in the best of all possible worlds...
1977...new top hit, one more ! Everything smiles on the group as if by magic and can only encourage them to continue the adventure a little more...
1977...a slight drop in speed with this 3rd title of the year but the essentials are preserved as they say. For how much longer, good question...
1977...in the end 4 Singles were released during this year 1977 which is not nothing all the same. The group still has reservations at first glance...
1978...reserves which are unfortunately starting to run out. The level of success will drop in a brutal way to say the least from this year 1978...
1978...they will only be classified in the R&B Charts and then again. We would have liked the high-level adventure to last a little longer but unfortunately that will not be the case...
1979...another single-title year but this time with very limited success. Drop in the level of production, drop in the level of success, all the lights are turning orange...
1980...they will still try to move into the 80s and once again by sharing the bill with Sharon Paige...
1980...they manage to resist a minimum which is already not bad at this stage. Even if the competition is far ahead, they do everything they can to avoid losing out permanently...
1981...small year 1981 with only one title on the clock once again. An end to the adventure that is starting to get closer and closer...
1983...the year 1983 will not do much better which confirms the fears about a more or less planned disappearance of the group...
1984...they will still manage to bounce back during this year 1984 in an unexpected way to say the least. It goes to show that nothing is ever finished in music...
1984...return of quantity but also of quality which allows us to hope for a favorable continuation of all this. At least we hope so...
1984...one last title to close a great adventure which still allowed them to produce several titles that have now become legendary...
Wiki :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :