Like most, we would guess, The Controllers entered our
consciousness with their superb, and epic 8 minute, deep soul ballad
"Somebody's Gotta Win, Somebody's Gotta Lose" which rose to #8 on the R&B chart in 1976. It was their biggest
hit which just missed out on Billboard's Hot 100 at #102.
The closest they came to that position again was with the title track
of their 1986 album "Stay" which peaked at #12. The album has been digitally reissued and also
contains their modern soul (album only) favourite "My Secret Fantasy" along with their version of Marvin Gaye's "Distant Lover" which opens the album and was released as the lead single.
The group was originally an eight piece gospel group reducing to
four, brothers Reginald and Larry McArthur and their cousins Ricky
Lewis and Lenard Brown from Fairfield near Birmingham, AL. Their first
single, the funky "Right on Brother, Right On" / "I Ain't Lyin'", was
as The Soul Controllers (written by Ramsey Lewis' bassist Cleveland
Eaton) whilst they were still at high school in the late 60s, possibly
1970. One source states that they were originally formed in 1965 as
The Epics when they would have been 11/12 years old.
They signed to Frederick Knight's Juana label in 1975 where they
released around a dozen singles and three albums before moving to MCA
in the early 80s where they released a further three albums, "Stay"
being their second for the label. The group released just two more
albums, in 1989 on Capitol and a comeback album in 1997 for
Malaco.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
| Rating: | 8 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | 80s Soul |
| Format: | Album |
| Media: | Digital |
| Label: | UMG |
| Cat No: | None |
| Date: | 09/02/2024 |
| Price: | £6.99 |
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1 comment:
An excellent group not recognized for its true value.
Yves
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