Illegal Foreign Object

For most recording artists, stumbling upon a hit is akin to the “finding a needle in a haystack” idiom. Even rarer is a vocalist hitting the top of the charts with a song recorded without their participation. Such was the case with singer Cliff Nobles in 1968 when at the age of 26, he scored a massive, chart-topping hit with “The Horse”.

Cliff Nobles was born in Grove Hill, Alabama in 1941. He began singing during high school in a group called the Delroys. After school, he moved to Philadelphia, where he continued singing (leading to the recording of three songs with Atlantic Records). After none of the songs made a dent on the charts, Nobles put together a group with a few guys with whom he lived in the same commune in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Nobles, guitarist Bobby Tucker, bassist Benny Williams, and drummer Robert Marshall called themselves Cliff Nobles & Co. With the help of songwriter/producer Jesse James, the band recorded several demos, ultimately signing a record contract with Phil-L.A. of Soul Records.

The label, which had scored a hit the previous year with The Fantastic Johnny C and his Jesse James-written song “Boogaloo Down Broadway”, released Cliff Nobles & Co.’s single “Love Is Alright” in June of ’68. The song, a little up-tempo number about, you guessed it, being in love, didn’t make much of a mark on the radio. The B-side to the single, however, “The Horse”, caught fire. Funnily enough, “The Horse” was just the instrumental version of “Love Is Alright”, but something about it snagged the attention of the listening public. According to session guitarist Bobby Eli, the song was little more than a studio jam between takes. Still, it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts, staying in those spots for three weeks. Eli said neither Jesse James nor Cliff Nobles were in the studio when they recorded the song. Seeing an opportunity, Phil-L.A. of Soul Records released two other instrumentals, “Horse Fever” and “Switch It On”, under the Cliff Nobles & Co. band name — in both instances, the band didn’t play on the song.

The most successful members of those “Horse” sessions, at least musically, proved to be Bobby Eli and his fellow studio players. He, along with guitarist Norman Harris, bassist Ronnie Baker, and drummer Earl Young would go on to comprise the first rhythm section of MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother), a collection of more than 30 session musicians based out of Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios. Besides backing the likes of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the Spinner, the O’Jays, the Stylistics, and Blue Magic, MFSB also recorded their own music, releasing the smash hit “TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)”, also known as the Soul Train theme. MFSB has been called the entire backbone on which the “Philly sound” was built. Additionally, it was largely responsible for introducing a disco element into R&B in the ’70s.

Though “The Horse” would be Cliff Nobles & Co.’s lone hit, the band released several more singles before calling it a day. “The More I Do For You Baby” and “Burning Desire”, in particular, show off Nobles’ soulful David Ruffin-esque vocal abilities. After leaving Phil-L.A. of Soul Records, Cliff Nobles recorded for a short time longer for Roulette Records before leaving the music industry.

In 2008, Philadelphia’s Jamie Records released a compilation of Cliff Nobles & Co.’s singles called The Phil-L.A. Of Soul Singles Collection 1968-1972.

Track List:

1. The More I Do For You Baby 10/10
2. This Love Will Last 7/10
3. The Horse 7/10
4. Love Is Alright 7/10
5. Judge Baby, I’m Back 7/10
6. Horse Fever 7/10
7. Switch It On 7/10
8. Burning Desire 9/10
9. Getting Away 7/10
10. The Camel 7/10
11. The Horse (Stereo) 7/10
12. If You Don’t 7/10

Grade: 74