The
soulful sounds of Brenda & the Tabulations evolved
around the
summer of 1966 when Maurice Coates and
Brenda
Payton worked at a children’s playground in
downtown
Philadelphia. Maurice and Brenda sang
together
for a show they put together for the children.
Gilda
Woods wife of the late legendary Philadelphia
WDAS
deejay Georgie Woods (‘the man with the goods’)
happened
to drive by and catch their exhibition and
inquire if
they had any original material. Coates said
‘yes’ (in
reality he didn't) and in the course of two days
he and
Payton composed ‘Dry Your Eyes’. Gilda went
to
Maurice’s house and listened to the song. She was
very
impressed and became their manager.
With
Brenda as lead singer, Maurice along with guitarist
Eddie
Jackson and James Rucker (who also worked at
The 2nd
and Lehigh playground), together they formed
Brenda &
the Tabulations.
The
group’s name was inaugurated by Gilda Woods as
she opened
a dictionary and stumbled upon the first
word
‘tabulation’. In an interview with writer Jacquelyn
Brahen she
associated the word with tabulating money
so they
decided to keep it as a namesake.
The group
signed with Jamie / Guyden Records where
in-house
producer Bob Finiz and Gilda produced their
first
release on her distributed label Dionn entitled
‘Dry Your
Eyes’ b/w ‘The Wash’ at 1618 North Broad
Street.
The single hit (No. 8 on Billboard’s R&B singles
chart on
April 1, 1967 and No.20 Pop). A self-titled LP
‘Dry Your
Eyes’ charted (No.19 on the R&B LP charts
on July
22, 1967).
Brenda &
the Tabulations charted six more masterpieces
on Dionn.
‘Who’s Lovin’ You’ (the classic B side Miracles
smash on
Tamla) (No.19 R&B July 8, 1967) the B-side
‘Stay
Together Young Lovers’ charted (No.44 R&B
July 1,
1967). ‘Just Once In A Lifetime’ b/w ‘Hey Boy’
(No.41 R&B
Sept 23, 1967) ‘When You're Gone’ b/w
‘Hey Boy’
(No.27 R&B Jan 6, 1968), ‘To The One I Love’
b/w ‘Baby
You're So Right’ (No.45 R&B April 28, 1968)
two
uncharted masterpieces, ‘That’s In The Past’ b/w
‘I Can’t
Get Over You’ (released Aug 1968) ‘(You Gave
Me) A
Reason To Live’ b/w ‘Hey Boy’ and ‘That’s The
Price You
Have To Pay’ b/w ‘I Wish I Hadn’t Done What
I Did’
(No.43 R&B June 28, 1969) The latter was produced
by Gamble
& Huff.
The group
played various theaters across the country
including
their first appearance at the world famous Apollo
Theater in
NY on Friday March 3, 1967, sharing the bill
with Jerry
Butler, Junior Walker & the All Stars, Freddie
Scott and
Linda Carr. King Coleman served as the
M.C. that
evening. In 1969, as the Dionn label folded,
the
Tabulations added Bernard Murphy in the line-up
and signed
on the Jamie / Guyden distribution label
Top &
Bottom. Gilda Woods chose legendary songwriter/
producer
Van McCoy and his partner Joe Cobb to compose
new
material for the group, although most of their tunes
were
written by Payton and Coates.
The
breathtaking ‘The Touch of You’ composed by
guitarist
Eddie Jackson and drummer Jerry Jones
became the
group’s first release on the label,
charting
(No.12 R&B on Jan 17, 1970) along with
‘And My
Hearts Sang (Tra La La)’ b/w ‘ Lies, Lies
Lies’
(No.12 R&B June 6, 1970) the first composition
by McCoy
and Cobb, the Dionne Warwick 62’ classic
‘Don't
Make Me Over’ b/w ‘You've Changed’ (No.15
R&B Sept
5, 1970) and ‘A Child No One Wanted’
(inspired
by the Supremes’ classic 68’ hit ‘Love Child’)
b/w ‘Scuze
Us Y’all’ (a remark made by Brenda) hit
(No.42 R&B
Jan 14, 1971). An LP entitled ‘Brenda &
The
Tabulations’ was released in 1970.
Top And
Bottom Records reorganized a new female
line-up of
Tabulations, Pat Mercer and Deborah Martin,
as
back-up. The new band members consisted of Dennis
Doizer as
lead guitarist, drummer Ken Wright, bass guitarist
Lee Smith
and Don Ford on keyboards.
The
collaboration of McCoy & Cobb yielded yet another
Tabulations masterpiece entitled, ‘Right On The Tip Of
My Tongue’
b/w ‘Always And Forever’. This beautiful
haunting
melodic apologetic ballad, reached (No.10
on the R&B
singles chart May 25, 1971) and (No.14
on the Pop
singles). Brenda’s vocal shines through
true
sincerity as she expresses the one she loves her
absent-mindedness of her true sub-hidden feelings.
The
Tabulations released two more singles on Top &
Bottom,
the angelic ‘A Part Of You’ b/w ‘Where There’s
A Will’
(No. 14 R&B Sept 18, 1971) and ‘Why Didn’t I Think
Of That’
b/w ‘A Love You Can Depend On’ (No.34 R&B
Jan 14,
1972).
The group
signed with Epic Records in 1972 and released
4 singles,
‘Little Bit Of Love’ b/w ‘Let Me Be Happy’, my
favorite
‘One Girl Too Late’ b/w ‘Magic Of Your Love’
(No.48 R&B
April 14, 1973), ‘Key To My Heart’ b/w
‘Love Is
Just A Carnival’ and ‘I’m In Love’ b/w ‘Walk
On In’
under Van McCoy productions.
With lack
of promotion and consistent material, the group
left Epic
Records and signed with the Casablanca subsidiary
Chocolate
City label in 1976. Making the musical transition
to the
up-coming disco craze, they charted three dance singles,
‘Home To
Myself’ b/w ‘Leave Me Alone (No.61 R&B Oct 1976)
‘I’m A
Superstar’ b/w ‘Take It Or Leave It’, their last entry
on the
charts (No.31 R&B June 25, 1977) and ‘Let’s Go All
The Way
(Down)’ b/w ‘I Keep Coming Back For More’ a
underground club cult hit produced by MFSB guitarist,
Bobby Eli
and Gilda Woods.
The
Chocolate City 1977 LP ‘I Keep Coming Back For More’
with music
supervision provided by John Davis and his
Monster
Orchestra, the Tabulations continued to tribute
to the
traditional up-tempo sounds of Philadelphia.
Brenda
Payton would enter gates of soul heaven at the
age of 46
on June 14, 1992.
Brenda &
The Tabulations contribution to genesis of Philly
soul
should not go underrated in music history. Their music
help put
on the musical map the elegance of soft silky soul
enjoyed by
a legion of fans worldwide.
Brenda…..just once in a lifetime….the touch of your sweet
sultry
voice…. pulsates my heart to sing tra la la and makes
my soul
continues… to be a part of you…always and forever.
