IF YOU DON'T KNOW ME BY NOW: THE BEST OF - Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes

YEAR: 1995

LABEL: Epic/Legacy

TRACK LISTING: Cabaret, The Love I Lost, If You Don't Know Me By Now, Don't Leave Me This Way, I'm Weak For You, Everybody's Talkin', Hope That We Can Be Together Soon, Bad Luck, Where Are All My Friends, Wake Up Everybody, Yesterday I Had the Blues, Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back), I Miss You, Tell the World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby, Keep On Lovin' You

IMPRESSIONS: Growing up in South Jersey, I heard a lot of "the Sound of Philadelphia" in my childhood during the seventies. One of the premiere groups to emerge from Philadelphia International was Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring the spectacular voice of Teddy Pendergrass. Hearing these sounds usually makes me think of my second-ever girlfriend when I was ten years old: Kelly Ann L.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Love I Lost, If You Don't Know Me By Now, Don't Leave Me This Way, I'm Weak For You, Bad Luck, Wake Up Everybody, I Miss You, Tell the World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby, Keep On Lovin' You

FACT SHEET: Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes started life as the Charlemagnes. They took the name "The Blue Notes" in 1954 without much chart success. The band added drummer Teddy Pendergrass (formerly of the Cadillacs) in 1970. At the time they signed to Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1972, the group consisted of Harold Melvin, Teddy Pendergrass, Bernard Wilson, Lawrence Brown and Lloyd Parks. They scored a number of big hits in the next four years until Teddy Pendergrass quit the group at the height of their success in 1976 to start a solo career. Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes are one of the most successfully covered Philly soul groups with hit versions of their songs including Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way" and Simply Red's "If You Don't Know Me By Now".