The Delfonics

Background

Prior to forming the Delfonics, William "Poogie" Hart sang in a variety of groups including Little Hart and The Everglows, the Veltones, the Four Guys, and the Four Gents. Members of some of these early groups included brothers William and Wilbert Hart, Ritchie Daniels, Randy Cain, Stan Lathan, and Donald Cannon; friends who met at Overbrook High School in the 1960s.

Circa 1964, William "Poogie" Hart formed a group called The Orphonics, consisting of himself, Randy Cain, Donald Cannon, and Stanley Lathan. (Cain soon left the group to attend college, after which William recruited his younger brother Wilbert. Cain later rejoined, Cannon and Lathan left, and the original trio of William Hart, Wilbert Hart, and Randy Cain was at that point born.)

Circa 1965, William Hart was working in a barbershop in Philadelphia. A gentleman named Stan Watson came into the barbershop one day, where William, who had written quite a few songs by this point, would frequently sing while playing his guitar. Stan told William that he knew a young arranger/producer for Cameo-Parkway Records named Thom Bell, who was at the time working with Chubby Checker. Stan thereafter introduced William to Thom Bell, and William recalls that the first song he presented to Bell was an original composition of his entitled "He Don't Really Love You."

The Orphonics were soon renamed "The Delfonics," and their first recording, "He Don't Really Love You" b/w "Without You", which had been arranged and produced by Thom Bell, was actually thereafter released on the small Moon Shot Records in around August of 1966. (The artist on first pressings of the 45 RPM record was actually listed as "The Del Fonics" and Thom Bell was credited as "Tommy Bell." Following the increased popularity of the group, the Moon Shot record was reissued in April 1968, and on this later release it was distributed by Calla Records.) The second Delfonics' recording, "You've Been Untrue" b/w "I Was There," once again arranged/produced by Bell (now credited as "Thom Bell") was released in April 1967 on Cameo Records (an imprint of Cameo-Parkway Records).

By the end of 1967, Cameo-Parkway Records announced that it would soon no longer exist as a record company. In December of that year, Thom Bell took the Delfonics into Cameo-Parkway's recording studio to record a unique William Hart composition, entitled "La-La (Means I Love You)", which featured Hart on falsetto lead. With Cameo-Parkway about to be defunct, Stan Watson started up his own label entitled Philly Groove Records, and in the same month (Dec. 1967) "La-La (Means I Love You)" was first released to the local Philadelphia music market. After gaining national distribution/promotion with New York's Amy-Mala-Bell, the single became a tremendous hit in 1968, selling over one million copies. It reached #4 on the Pop charts, and was awarded a gold disc.

The group's debut album "La La Means I Love You", released on Philly Groove Records in 1968, featured the hit original compositions "La-La (Means I Love You)", "Break Your Promise", "I'm Sorry", and "Can You Remember" along with covers of the Hal David/Burt Bacharach compositions "Alfie" and "The Look of Love", and much more.

Four more Bell-produced albums appeared in the next few years: The Sound of Sexy Soul, The Delfonics Super Hits, The Delfonics and Tell Me This Is a Dream. Among the Delfonics' popular hits were the Grammy-winning "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)", "(For The Love) I Gave To You", "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)", and "Hey Love". The Delfonics and Bell had to work with a basic budget on the first creation as Thom explained "When I took them into the studio we didn't have any money to pay for string players and an orchestra so I played most of the instruments myself!" - a far cry from the full classical productions from 1968 to the beginning of the seventies. "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" also sold a million copies and by March 1970 received a gold disc from the R.I.A.A..

Randy Cain left the group in 1971, and in 1973 had a hand in formulating Blue Magic, best known for their classic "Sideshow," when he brought singer-songwriter Ted Mills in to do some writing for W.M.O.T. (We Men Of Talent), and the remaining future members of Blue Magic came in for an audition. Cain was replaced by Major Harris; by then, however, Thom Bell had moved on to produce The Stylistics and later, The Spinners, all artists in the mold of the Delfonics. The Delfonics swiftly produced another album, Alive & Kicking, produced by Stan Watson. However, in the absence of Thom Bell, the Delfonics' career declined sharply, and with the exception of the aforementioned "Hey Love" and the minor hits "When You Get Right Down to It", "I Don't Want To Make You Wait" and "I Told You So", success eluded them after 1975. ("(For The Love) I Gave To You", although popular, was never released as a single.) Most of their songs at this point were written by lead singer William Hart.

1975 disbanding

The group split around 1975; one group featured Major and Wilbert, with new member Frank Washington, formerly of the Futures. (Major Harris also had major success with the solo recording "Love Won't Let Me Wait"). The other group featured William with new members. Lineups would become confusing as members shifted between groups and multiple groups toured. Major Harris moved to William's group around 1980, with their third member being the returning Randy Cain. Frank Washington also switched from Wilbert's group, joining in 1985. While the main recording lineup of the group was William Hart, Major Harris, and Frank Washington, they would tour as two separate trios with additional members added. One group featured William, Randy Cain, and Garfield Fleming, and the other consisted of Frank, Major, and Freddy Ingleton. William also toured with another line up consisting of himself, Johnny ("JJ") Johnson and Pat Palmer, and toured in Japan at least one time with Ingleton and Dr. Salaam Love.

Later career: 1980–99

Through the 1980s and the 1990s, the Delfonics groups continued to perform. The William Hart/Major Harris/Frank Washington group made several recordings, including backing vocals on the track "After the Smoke is Clear", on the 1996 hip hop album Ironman by Ghostface Killah. Their works continued to be sampled. Rapper The Notorious B.I.G. sampled "Hey Love" in his song "Playa Hata", released in 1997, and in 1996 rapper Nas sampled their "Walk Right Up To the Sun" for his hit "If I Ruled the World." Rapper Missy Elliott sampled "Ready Or Not Here I Come" in her hit "Sock it 2 Me." Rapper Ghostface Killa sampled "La La Means I Love You" in his hit "Holla". Eazy-E, Gang Starr, and Ed OG have sampled "Trying To Make a Fool of Me."

In 1996, Freddy Ingleton, born in St. Louis, MO and raised in NYC, first auditioned for Wilbert Hart's group but thereafter officially joined William Hart and The Delfonics in the summer of that year. This particular aggregation consisted of William Hart, Dr. Salaam Love, and Freddy Ingleton, and they performed at shows including one in St. Louis along with Ron Banks and the Dramatics as well as at the Fox Theatre. Over the next few years, two additional touring groups also existed: the first consisted of Major Harris, Frank Washington, and Freddy Ingleton — and the second consisted of William Hart, Garfield Fleming, and Freddy Ingleton. (Freddy eventually left William's Delfonics in 2008 when he left to perform with Blue Magic, but rejoined William and Garfield in 2012 for a few additional shows including on the West Coast, Philadelphia, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.)

The groups reorganized again in the late–1990s. William Hart began touring with Johnnie Johnson and Garfield Fleming; this group recorded as the Delfonics. Major Harris toured with Frank Washington and Pat Palmer. Wilbert also led a Delfonics group; members in the 1990s included Salaam Love (formerly in William's group) and Eban Brown (falsetto). They were replaced by Greg Hill (former bassist for Teddy Riley & New Edition) and Van Fields. Van left the Delfonics to sing with The Stylistics. Greg Hill brought Joe Branch down to one of the rehearsals and Joe was hired as the new lead vocalist. The William/Johnny/Garfield lineup of the group was featured in concert on the DVD's The Big Show and '70's Soul Jam, whereas Wilbert Hart's line-up featuring Greg Hill and Joe Branch is featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series. Harris is also featured on the re-released DVD Blue Magic/Margie Joseph/Major Harris Live!, which was recorded in 1975.

Recent years

Major Harris passed away on November 9, 2012. The Delfonics were featured on the Unsung TV series on TV One in 2013.

Greg Hill departed from Wilbert Hart's group and formed The Delfonics Revue. Greg was replaced by Dr. Salaam Love. Wilbert Hart continues to tour and his group released a CD in 2005 called Fonic Zone featuring himself, Greg Hill & Joe Branch . Along with touring, the trio recorded a single with Rick Ross entitled "Here For U". Greg Hill is currently touring as "Greg Hill & The Delfonics Revue". Greg Hill's Delfonics Revue Official Site

William "Poogie" Hart and The Delfonics are featured actors and performers in Harlem's Paradise in episode nine, entitled "DWYCK", of the Netflix original series Luke Cage, which premiered on Netflix on September 30, 2016.

As of 2017, William "Poogie" Hart & The Delfonics, Wilbert Hart formerly of The Delfonics, and Greg Hill's Delfonics Revue OFFICIAL WEBSITE are actively touring with their own Delfonic group.

Original members

Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1965 and originally known as the Four Gents, the Delfonics classic lineup featured: