Genre: soul
Rating: ***** (4 stars)
Title: The Intruders Are Together
Company: Gamble
Catalog: SG-5001
Year: 1967
Country/State: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: --
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5151
Price: $80.00
Most people don't realize it, but The Intruders are the guys who made Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff rich.
Sam (Little Sonny) Brown, Eugene 'Bird' Daughtry and Robert (Big Sonny) Edwards started their musical collaboration singing in a Gospel group. B the late 1950's they'd abandoned secular sounds for doo-wop, and in 1960 the trio crossed paths with fellow doo-wop singer Phillip Terry. When Terry's group called it quits he was invited to join the other three. Originally known as The Four Intruders, the group's debut came via the small Philly-based Gowan label:
- 1961's 'I'm Sold' b/w Come Home Soon' (Gowan catalog number 1401 A/B)
- 1962's 'This Is My Song' b/w 'My Baby' (Gowan catalog number 1404 A/B)
Neither song did much commercially, leaving the group to spend the next two years working Philly clubs while expanding their repertoire to include R&B and soul moves.
Finding a mentor in the form of manager Leroy Lovett, 1964 saw the group record a series of demos for Frank Bendinelli and Lovett. Two of the tracks were subsequently released by the small Music Voice label - 'Gonne Be Strong' b/w 'Jack Be Nimble' (Music Voice catalog number 504), though the 45 again disappeared without a trace. Ironically, the single paved the way for future successes in that it brought the group together with producers/managers/record label owners Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. As active participants on the Philly music scene, Gamble and Huff had actually opened for and backed The Intruders. As such they were aware of the group's talent and started to work with the quartet. Having finally started their own record label with an investment from Philly DJ Soloman Rudman, two years later the Gamble-Huff-Intruders partnership debuted with the single 'Gonna Be Strong' b/w 'All the Time' (Excel catalog number 101). While it failed to break nationally, the single proved a local hit, providing enough cash flow to allow Gamble and Huff to drop the Excel nameplate (they were apparently threatened with a lawsuit by another company with the same name), in favor of Gamble Records. Gamble and The Intruders quickly scored a top-20 R&B hit with '(We'll Be) United' b/w 'Up and Down the Ladder' (Gamble catalog number G-105). Released as a follow-on single 1966's 'A Book for the Broken Hearted' b/w 'A Devil with An Angels Smile' (Gamble catalog number G-203) also did well locally.
As was standard marketing procedure, on the heels of the group's commercial successes, Gamble and Huff pushed The Intruders into the studio to record a supporting LP. Produced by Gamble and Huff, (the pair also wrote most of the twelve tracks) 1967's "The Intruders Are Together" could be seen as served as a proving ground for the duo's forthcoming Philly International sound. In spite occasional strings, horns, female backing choruses and other sweetening production effects, material like '(You'd Better) Check Yourself', 'Gonna Be Strong' and 'Up and Down the Ladder' was far more rugged and R&B oriented than much of the Philly competition. Perhaps a reflection of the group's street and club roots, it made for an interesting match with Brown's weird, always flat sounding voice. Instantly recognizable, his hoarse and barely in-tune performances on tracks like 'A Love That's Real', 'Good for My Girl' and the earlier single 'United' left you wondering whether he'd be able to get through the song without running out of air, or having an aneurisms). Anyone looking for something as smooth and sophisticated as forthcoming releases by the likes if Harold Melvin and the Bluejays, or The O'Jays was probably going to be disappointed by this one, though that rawness makes for much of the album's unique appeal.
Gamble also tapped the album for a couple of singles:
- 1967's 'It Must be Love' b/w 'Check Yourself' (Gamble catalog number G-204)
- 1967's 'Together' b/w 'Up and Down the Ladder of Love' (Gamble catalog number G-205)
- 1967's 'A Love That's Real' b/w 'Baby I'm Lonely' (Gamble catalog number G-209)
"The Intruders Are Together" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Together (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:47
2.) A Devil with An Angels Smile (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:58
3.) (You'd Better) Check Yourself (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:33
4.) A Love That's Real (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:35
5.) It Must Be Love (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:33
6.) Baby I'm Lonely (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:51
(side 2)
1.) United (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:43
2.) Gonna Be Strong (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:50
3.) But You Belong To Me (Frank Benedinelli - Lee) - 2:20
4.) Good for My Girl (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:47
5.) A Book for the Broken Hearted (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:25
6.) Up and Down the Ladder (Kenny Gamble - Leon Huff) - 2:56
Not to sound morbid, but these guys have suffered from a rather high mortality rate. Daugherty died of cancer in December 1994. After years of drug abuse and mounting mental problems, Brown committed suicide in April 1995 by jumping off a bridge into Philadelphia's Schuykill River.
