The Moments (US R&B vocal group)

Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American R&B vocal group. The group originated as the Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street", "Sexy Mama", and "Look at Me (I'm in Love)". In 1978, the then-current members changed the group's name to their surnames- Ray, Goodman & Brown and had further hits, including "Special Lady". The original members of the Moments were Eric Olfus Sr., Richard Gross (often incorrectly listed as "Richard Horsley"), and John Morgan. The Moments formed in Washington, D.C. during the mid-1960s. In 1965, at Washington's Howard University, the Mizell Brothers and Freddie Perren (along with schoolmate Toby Jackson) founded Hog Records and signed the harmony group as the Moments. They recorded "Baby I Want You" and "Pray for Me" for Hog. The lineup consisted of Olfus, Gross, and Morgan. Mark Greene joined after the single's release. The group then signed with the newly established Stang Records label, set up by Sylvia Robinson at All Platinum Studios in Englewood, New Jersey with her husband Joe. The group had its first hit almost immediately late in 1968 with "Not on the Outside", which reached No. 13 on the R&B chart and No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 (with Greene on lead vocal). Robinson then hired a management firm headed by radio stars Frankie Crocker, Herb Hamlett, and Eddie O'Jay. The trio began promoting the Moments and booking them for live events in major cities. When Hamlett moved to WCMF in Rochester, New York, he booked the Moments exclusively. In late 1968, Greene, Olfus, and Gross left All Platinum Records. In 1968, Al Goodman (after a couple of performances with the Corvettes and the Vipers) was hired by Joe Robinson as a studio-production creative assistant, singer, and songwriter. On recordings, he played as a substitute for Mickey of Mickey & Sylvia. After one live appearance at the Apollo Theater as a quartet, they quickly scaled down to a trio: Morgan stayed on, with baritone Goodman and new lead singer William "Billy" Brown (who had been a member of the Broadways, on MGM). In 1969, Goodman, Brown, and Morgan released four R&B hit singles with Brown on lead: the first was released in March entitled, "Sunday" (No. 13 R&B and No. 90 Pop); then "I Do", their first top 10 R&B hit, (No. 10 R&B and No. 62 Pop); "I'm So Lost" (No. 43 R&B); and "Lovely Way She Loves" (No. 14 R&B), which was written by Goodman, Brown, and Sylvia. Their debut album was released in 1969: Not on the Outside, But on the Inside, Strong! appeared on Billboard's R&B Album chart for 22 weeks, peaking at No. 8 on July 4, 1970. In 1970, the Moments released three top 10 R&B hits that included their biggest hit to date, "Love on a Two Way Street". The song had originally been recorded by Stang artist Lezli Valentine, but failed to chart. The Moments' song entered Billboard's R&B chart on March 28, 1970, appearing for 17 weeks and hitting No. 1 on May 16. It also became a top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 3 after 15 weeks. After the recording of “Love on a Two Way Street” and before it became a hit, Morgan was briefly replaced by Sylvia Robinson’s brother-in-law Johnny Moore (not to be confused with the Drifters singer) in 1970. He appeared with Goodman and Brown on the cover of the group’s second album, but was absent from their live performances. Goodman and Brown worked as a duo until new arrival Harry Ray rounded out the trio that would become the longest line-up as the Moments. While Brown recovered from vocal overuse, Ray sang lead on the Moments’ subsequent hits including the other two releases of 1970: “If I Didn’t Care” (No. 7 R&B, No. 44 Pop) and “All I Have” (No. 9 R&B, No. 56 Pop). After Brown’s recovery, they released five top 40 R&B hits with Brown and Ray sharing lead vocals, while Goodman served as spokesman for the group. They released their second album in 1970: ‘‘A Moment with the Moments’’ peaked at No. 39 on the R&B ‘‘Billboard’’ Album chart on December 12, 1970. Their album ‘‘On Top’’ was released in 1971; it included the singles “All I Have”, “I Can’t Help It”, “To You with Love” and “Lucky Me”, but didn’t make the album chart. In 1972, the Moments recorded a live album from a women’s prison entitled ‘‘Live at the New York State Women’s Prison’’. It peaked at No. 25 on ‘‘Billboard’’'s R&B Album chart. They also released two top 40 singles: “Just Because He Wants to Make Love (Doesn’t Mean He Loves You)” (No. 25 R&B) and “My Thing” (No. 19 R&B). In 1973, they released “Gotta Find a Way” (No. 16 R&B, No. 68 Pop) and another top 10 R&B hit, “Sexy Mama”, written by Goodman, Ray, and S. Robinson (No. 3 R&B, No. 17 Pop). They also recorded a duet with Sylvia Robinson and Ray on lead: “Sho Nuff Boogie” (credited as Sylvia and the Moments). After a couple more singles, the group hit the top of the R&B chart again in 1975 with the single “Look at Me (I’m in Love)”. The song appeared 19 weeks on ‘‘Billboard’’'s R&B chart, and hit No. 39 on the Hot 100 on August 9 - 16. The Moments were co-credited with labelmates the Whatnauts on their hit “Girls (Part 1)”; it reached No. 25 on the ‘‘Billboard’’ R&B chart and became one of their biggest international successes, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1975. Central to the group’s sound throughout this era was Walter Lee Morris, who served as their musical director, primary guitarist, and principal arranger from 1970 onward. Morris was simultaneously the bandleader of The Rimshots, All Platinum Records’ in-house studio rhythm section, and co-wrote many of the group’s key recordings alongside Ray and Goodman — most notably “Look at Me (I’m in Love)” (No. 1 R&B, 1975) and “Girls (Part 1)”. Goodman later described Morris as “the 4th wheel in our harmonies”, noting that he was their guitarist and writing partner from 1970 through the mid-1980s and was instrumental in shaping the group’s vocal backgrounds. Ray and Goodman were strongly involved in writing and producing much of the Moments’ material from the mid-1970s, as well as producing and writing for the Whatnauts. The Moments had continued success in the UK scoring two further top-ten hits with “Dolly My Love” (No. 10) and “Jack in the Box” (No. 7). By 1978, the group had had a total of 27 R&B chart hits and decided to leave Stang, signing with the larger Polydor Records. A legal dispute arose, barring them from using “The Moments” on their new label, so they renamed the group with their last names: Ray, Goodman & Brown. The first single under their new name, “Special Lady”, became one of their biggest hits, reaching No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 5 on the pop chart in early 1980, earning them a gold record. The song was written by Goodman, Ray, and Lee Walter — the songwriting pseudonym of Walter Lee Morris, the group’s guitarist and musical director from 1970 through the mid-1980s and a core member of All Platinum Records’ in-house studio band, The Rimshots. According to AllMusic, Harry Ray brought a partially finished song into the studio, and it was Morris who developed the chord foundation that became the finished track. The B-side featured “Déjà Vu”, with lyrics by Bob Natiello and music by Lou Toby. Their self-titled debut album, ‘‘Ray, Goodman & Brown’’, also certified gold, yielded further hits including “Inside Of You” (No. 14 R&B, 1980). In 1982, following the release of their fourth (and final) Polydor album, Harry Ray left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Kevin "Ray" Owens, a backing vocalist for Luther Vandross. Harry Ray re-joined Sylvia and Joe Robinson at their new venture (Sugar Hill Records), but after one album and a minor hit, "Sweet Baby", he rejoined Goodman and Brown in the mid-1980s in time for their comeback on EMI with the ballad "Take It to the Limit" (which put them back on the R&B chart at No. 8 in 1987). In 1991, Brown's nephew, Harold "Eban" Brown, former vocalist for the Delfonics, became the lead