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 Best known for recording the hit theme to Soul Train,
MFSB were the pre-eminent instrumental outfit of Philadelphia soul, backing
numerous
Kenny Gamble/Leon
Huff productions while recording regularly on their own throughout the
'70s. The group's name stood for Mother Father Sister Brother, and prior to
their formation in 1971 as the house band at
Gamble and
Huff's Sigma Sound studios, some of the core personnel had been working
together as early as 1968. Guitarists
Norman Harris and
Bobby Eli, bassist
Ronnie Baker, and drummer
Earl Young had an unaccredited dance hit with "The Horse," the
instrumental flip side of singer
Cliff Nobles' "Love Is All Right." As the Horse dance craze swept
Philadelphia, the group also backed singers
the Fantastic Johnny C and (as
the James Boys)
Jesse James, while also issuing singles as
the Music Makers and
Family.
With the rise of the lush, orchestrated Philly soul sound at the dawn of
the '70s, business was booming at
Gamble and
Huff's Philadelphia International, and there was plenty of session work
to be had.
Harris,
Eli,
Baker, and
Young formed an important part of the label's regular studio group;
other prominent musicians included guitarists
Roland Chambers and
James Herb Smith, bassist
Larry Moore, drummers/percussionists
Karl Chambers,
Miguel Fuentes,
Quinton Joseph, and
Larry Washington, saxophonist
Zach Zachary, organist/keyboardist
Lenny Pakula, and vibraphonist
Vince Montana, plus a rotating cast of strings, horns, and other
personnel that depended on availability and were often directed by
Don Renaldo. MFSB provided backing on a bevy of Philadelphia
International hits, most prominently for
the O'Jays and
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, as well as other Philly soulsters like
the Stylistics and
the Spinners. They began cutting their own sessions in 1973, releasing a
self-titled debut full of extended, sometimes jazzy soul grooves.
 Later in 1973, TV host
Don Cornelius approached
Gamble about writing an original theme for his newly nationally
syndicated dance show Soul Train.
Gamble convened MFSB in the studio with arranger
Bobby Martin and supporting vocal group
the Three Degrees, and the theme song that grew out of the session
proved hugely popular when it debuted on the show.
Gamble pushed
Cornelius to release it as a single, and when it finally appeared in
early 1974 under the title "T.S.O.P." ("The Sound of Philadelphia"), it
rocketed to the top of both the pop and R&B charts; it also won a Grammy for
Best R&B Instrumental. The accompanying MFSB album,
Love Is the Message, was a gold-selling Top Ten hit (and a number
one R&B album); moreover, the title track became an underground hit on the
New York disco scene several years later. The group's next album, 1975's
Universal Love, produced another R&B hit in "T.L.C. (Tender Lovin'
Care)," and moved MFSB further into the emerging disco movement with tracks
like "Sexy" and "Let's Go Disco."
MFSB recorded five more albums for Philadelphia International over the
remainder of the '70s, becoming a full-fledged disco group when they began
working heavily with arranger/producer
Dexter Wansel in 1978. The previous year, they contributed a cover of
the Nite-Liters' "K-Jee" to the mammoth-selling
Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, but the late '70s brought mostly
diminished commercial returns. The title track of MFSB's final album, 1980's
Mysteries of the World, was a hit in the U.K., but with the
heyday of both Philly soul and disco slipping away, the group disbanded in
1981. |
Soul Train producer
Don Cornelius was looking for a new theme for his syndicated
TV dance show. With sponsorship from hair products manufacturer
Soft Sheen, former part-time WVON DJ/insurance salesman
Cornelius had recently moved his dance show from its Chicago
base where it premiered on WCIU-TV in August 1970 to a Los Angeles
soundstage. He'd been using
Dave Cortez's "Rinky Dink" as the theme and was interested in
King Curtis' "Hot Potatoes" but was unable to secure the
rights. While in New York, he ran into songwriter/producer
Kenny Gamble, co-founder of Philadelphia International Records
and told him that he was looking for a new theme song. 
arranger
Bobby Martin at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. "TSOP (The
Sound of Philadelphia)" sold more than a million copies, going to
number one R&B and staying at number one pop for two weeks in the
spring of 1974. It was included on the gold LP
Love Is the Message which topped the R&B charts for six
weeks and made it to number four pop. MFSB didn't tour to support
the record because the band's 30-member lineup was too large and
also because the huge demand for Philly soul kept them in the
recording studio and made Sigma Sound a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week
operation. MFSB did make a few appearances, including a
mesmerizing performance for attendees of a CBS Records convention.
