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Sunday, December 9, 2012

THE O'JAYS - STAND IN FOR LOVE

While the O'Jays became one of the star acts of the Philadelphia soul scene of the '70's, their roots and beginnings in Canton, Ohio stretch far deeper. The group was formed in the late '50's, and cut their first record as The O'Jays in 1961, with a previous release as the Mascots the previous year.

The O'Jays released many singles on several labels throughout the '60's, practically all of which are fantastic. While the group never had the massive hit they deserved through the period, they soldiered on- one amazing performance at a time

This type of career longevity before success is practically unheard of in today's music scene.

On this track, Eddie Levert (who also wrote the song) delivers a heartfelt, powerful performance that is the epitome of soul. His fellow O'Jays harmonize so beautifully behind him, and the drummer powers along in a way that takes this ballad into territory that a ballad typically does not go.

GLORIOUS stuff.

from 1966...

THE O'JAYS - STAND IN FOR LOVE
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2 comments:

Will said...

Being from Canton got to see them back in the late 60's at Leo's Casino in Cleveland and many other clubs. and they always delivered. Their Imperial/Minit recordings are my personal faves and they did some nice stuff on Bell before hitting it big in the 70's. They opened for Smokey and the Miracles at the Canton Auditorium in the late 60's and almost stole the show.

December 10, 2012 at 7:17 PM
Derek See said...

thanks for sharing those amazing memories, Will!

December 11, 2012 at 6:47 AM

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