Happy Birthday America

The Soul Survivors, originally from New York City, grew up listening to the R & B groups of the 1950’s. The sounds of groups like the Moonglows, Heartbeats, and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers had a great influence on brothers Charlie and Rich Ingui. With various street corner groups, they developed their vocal skills. While in high school, Charlie joined the vocal group from Queens, N.Y. the Dedications. When, a year later the group’s lead singer decided to leave, brother Rich was recruited. While performing at clubs in the New York area, they found themselves at the mercy of various house bands and decided to find a group of musicians who would become permanent members of the group therefore creating a self contained unit. The group would be renamed THE SOUL SURVIVORS. Shortly thereafter, the group began to build a strong following, playing venues in Atlantic City and Philadelphia. Enjoying great success in Philadelphia, they attracted the attention of record producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Into the recording studio they went, emerging with " Expressway To Your Heart " a song that would climb to #3 on Billboard's R&B chart and #4 on it's Top 100 list. The success of " Expressway " became Gamble and Huff's first "crossover" hit when it began to be played on both black and white stations. It's success enabled Gamble and Huff to reach the large audiences they sought in order to bring their " Sound Of Philadelphia " to the mass Market. In polls taken by both the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia’s City Paper, " Expressway" was voted the number one record ever to come out of Philadelphia. "Expressway " was followed by two other chart records, "Explosion In My Soul" and " Mission Impossible". Their first album, released in 1968, was " When The Whistle Blows ". A second LP, on Atco Records, called "Take Another Look" appeared in 1969. During this time, the group toured extensively throughout the U.S. appearing with many different types of artists...everyone from Jackie Wilson, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles to Janis Joplin, the Beach Boys, Sly and the Family Stone and countless others. In 1974, the Soul Survivors reunited with Gamble and Huff to record their self titled album "The Soul Survivors" on TSOP Records. It was written and performed in a style that would define the unique sound of The Soul Survivors.The album produced "City Of Brotherly Love" which would show up on Billboard’s R&B Top 100 and become the group’s fourth charted outing. The group’s latest CD is called " Heart Full Of Soul ", produced by Grammy nominated producers Jimmy Bralower and Johnny Gale. Through the years, the Soul Survivors have continued to provide audiences with high energy performances and music that is timeless and authentic.