The Softones

The Softonesare an American male singing group from the city ofBaltimore,Maryland,best known for their 'sweet'soulrecordings of the 1970s.

History

They recorded for the New York-basedAvco Recordslabel (later renamedH&L Records) from the early 1970s, releasing three albums and about a dozen singles. The most popular tracks were "My Dream", "Can't Help Falling In Love", "I'm Gonna Prove It", and "That Old Black Magic"(#29 Billboard R&B, #2 Disco; 1976). Their first single," Any Street ", was picked up from tiny Baltimore label Thereway, along with a few other early recordings including" My Dream ". They were initially known as" The Soft Tones "until the release of their first album in late 1973.

Like later recordings for Avco byThe Stylistics,The Softones were produced by label owners,Hugo Peretti,Luigi Creatore,and arranger/producerVan McCoy,whose orchestra, comprising some of the top New York session players of the time, served as the house band for many of their Avco records.

Since then, the group has released several further recordings, including a joint album in 1979 on Park-Way International with another Baltimore group, First Class, calledTogether,which included the popular "Carla My Love".

Although not as successful as some of their peers, such as The Stylistics andThe Moments,most of their recorded output has gained in reputation among collectors over the years.

The group is notable for lead singer J. Marvin Brown's high falsetto, similar to that ofThe Stylistics' lead singerRussell Thompkins Jr.andEarth, Wind & Fire'sPhilip Bailey,and derived fromEddie Kendricks' falsetto style with The Temptations. Also in the group are Steven Jackson, Elton Lynch and Byron Summerville.

Byron Summerville died in 2012 at the age of 60.J. Marvin Brown died in July 2020 at the age of 66.

External links

• The Softonesdiscography atDiscogs