MFSB

Like the Wrecking Crew, the Funk Brothers (Motown Records), The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Booker T & the MGs (Stax Records), and the Salsoul Orchestra (Salsoul Records), MFSB was a collective of studio musicians who worked behind the scenes and helped to create a series of great recordings but went virtually uncredited during their heyday. Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1971, the members of MFSB – which stood for Mother Father Sister Brother – came together under the guidance of producers / songwriters Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff to back up artists signed to the Philadelphia International Records label. MFSB became synonymous with the ‘Philly soul’ sound of the early 1970s under the production of Gamble and Huff and Thom Bell. With over 30 members passing through their ranks between 1971 and 1985, MFSB members included Thom Bell (keyboards), Norman Harris (guitar), Earl Young (drums), Bobby Eli (guitar), Vincent Montana Jr. (vibes), and many others. Various incarnations of MFSB played on international hits by the O’Jays, the Stylistics, the (Detroit) Spinners, Billy Paul, Wilson Pickett, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the Three Degrees, Teddy Pendergrass, and many others. After working in the background, MFSB got to step out on their own in 1973 with their self-titled album. The group came to commercial prominence in 1974 when their Soul Train theme, “T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)” (featuring the Three Degrees), became a worldwide smash. Taken from the number 1 R&B album Love is the Message, the single hit the top of the charts in the US and Canada and was a Top 20 hit in Australia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. While releasing their own records, MFSB continued backing other PIR artists as well as working with artists on other labels. At the height of the group’s success and busy schedule, many of the musicians left the group over financial issues with Gamble and Huff. The defecting musicians eventually became members of the Salsoul Orchestra when disco music began dominating the soul charts. By the mid- ‘80s, a slick and electronic style of soul had taken over the charts and MFSB came to an end in 1985. Various original members have performed under the group’s name over the years, but nothing captured the glory days of the ‘70s.