When both The Monarchs and The Percussions - two vocal groups consisting of students of the Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia - broke up in 1968, teachers convinced Russell Thompkins, Jr., James Smith, Airrion Love, James Dunn and Herb Murrell to form a new band: The Stylistics. After succesfully performing on the local club circuit, they outgrew the distribution capacities of the small local Sebring-label and signed to Avco. At Avco, producer and songwriter Thom Bell - known for his work with The Delfonics - took them under his wings. With the material provided by Bell and Linda Creed (a songwriter who was taught the craft by no less than Sly Stone himself), The Stylistics quickly became a huge success, releasing three albums ('The Stylistics', 'Round 2' and 'Rockin' Roll Baby') that are considered soul classics today. When the collaboration with Bell ended in 1974, the band worked with a string of producers and songwriters including Van McCoy, Hugo & Luigi, Teddy Randazzo and Dexter Wansel, but rarely managed to recreate the magic of their first few years. Below you can find a playlist of my favourite Stylistics-songs, enjoy!
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