I was putting together some gen on this Sixties Bay Area group today and thought it was worth sharing with you all. From Berkeley, California, The Ballads hit big in 1968 with “Bless Our Love” (Venture 615) a Chi-Town classic which was written by Billy Butler (brother of Jerry Butler) and was a hit for Gene Chandler in 1964. The Ballad’s sultry version of “Bless Our Love” stayed on the R&B tracks for 12 weeks, peaking at No. 8. In Los Angeles the Ballads did a little better climbing to No. 4 on the soul chart at radio station KGFJ. Friends since the late fifties John Foster and Stan Harris met while attending Burbank Junior High School – soon after they started singing together as The Holidays. They were joined by Oakland High friends Lesley La Palma and Nathan Robertson and later by Rico Thompson, the lead singer and front-man, who was from Delano, California. The group started recording in 1965 as The Fabulous Ballads. By the time the Venture single hit the streets it had been around for about a year. It was first released as Bay View 1142 in 1967, then on the Soul Trip label. Here are a selection of some of their fine tunes for your enjoyment.
Track List:
Bless Our Love
Confessing A Feeling
I Can't See The Love
I Love You, Yeah
The Gift Of Love
This Is Magic
Treat Me Like Your Woman
(PS I just found out that the track "This Is Magic" is by a different group also called The Ballads out of Philadelphia. Sorry about that. RossyBoy. 6 Sept.)
Posted by RossyBoy
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