Song:Gloria
Album:If You're Ready...: The Best Of Enchantment
The smooth soul group Enchantment had success in the late 70s mostly on the R & B charts. Gloria was their only pop top 30 hit in 1977. The members of Enchantment all attended Pershing High School in Detroit. The lead singer and main songwriter was Emanuel "EJ" Johnson. Other members were Bobby Green, Mickey Clanton, Joe Thomas and Dave Banks. They won a talent contest in 1969 and worked on their act for the next few years. They are obviously Motown influenced but Johnson's falsetto will remind you of Philly Soul groups like The Stylistics. Enchantment was discovered by producer Bobby Stokes. He produced Bill Withers and Creative Source when he was house producer at Sussex Records. When Sussex went bankrupt in 1975, Stokes moved to Roadshow Records and produced Enchantment, Brass Construction and BT Express. Roadshow was owned by famed pop artist Sid Maurer and veteran producer Tash Howard. They were distributed by United Artists Records. Enchantment's 1976 debut album did OK but their second album Once Upon A Dream did even better. Gloria reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the R & B Singles chart. It's You That I Need topped the R & B Singles chart and reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Enchantment faded and their 1979 album Journey To The Land Of...Enchantment did not sell. Then Roadshow closed in 1980 when EMI bought United Artists. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Bobby Stokes went on to A & M Records. Enchantment recorded for RCA and Columbia with little success. They last recorded in 1983 but they still tour with only one personnel change over the years. Here's Enchantment performing Gloria on Soul Train 1977.
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