Song:When Will I See You Again
Album:The Best Of The Three Degrees: When Will I See You Again
The Three Degrees were around for quite a while before they recorded the top five hit When Will I See You Again with Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff. The guy behind the group was producer Richard Barrett. He was a member of the doo wop group The Valentines and also discovered Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers and The Chantels when he worked for George Goldner. The Three Degrees were formed in Philadelphia in 1963. They had recorded some singles for Swan Records with no success. By the time they recorded a cover of The Chantels' Maybe in 1970 for Roulette Records, the group members were original member Fayette Pinkney along with Valerie Holiday and Sheila Ferguson. Maybe reached #4 on the R & B charts. When their Roulette contract ran out in 1973, they signed with the Gamble/Huff label Philadelphia International. Their big break came when they did the vocals on the #1 hit TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) by MFSB. This led to When Will I See You Again topping the R & B charts and reaching #4 on rhe Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. It was a Gamble/Huff song and Sheila Ferguson sang lead. Sheila says that when Gamble played the song for her on the piano, she didn't like it because she thought it was too simple. Sometimes simple is good. Fayette Pinkney was replaced by former group member Helen Scott in 1976 and The Three Degrees left for the European label Ariola in 1978. They continued to have success on the R & B charts and in England but never crossed over to the pop charts again. They even performed at Buckingham Palace at Prince Charles' 30th birthday. Supposedly they were his favourite group. Well, they have sex appeal. This Sony/Legacy comp covers their Philadelphia International recordings. Valerie Holiday continues to lead a version of The Three Degrees today. Fayette Pinkney died June 27, 2009 at age 61. Here's The Three Degrees performing When Will I See You Again on German TV 1974.
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