レイ, グッドマン&ブラウン (Ray, Goodman & Brown)

Ray, Goodman & Brown
Ray, Goodman & Brown, originally known as The Moments, are an American R&B vocal group.

The Moments formed in the late 1960s, and their greatest successes came in the early 1970s with hits including "Love On A Two Way Street", "Girls", and "Look At Me (I’m In Love)". In 1979, for contractual reasons, they changed their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown, and had further hits including "Special Lady".

[The Moments]
The original members of the Moments were Mark Greene, Ritchie Horsley, and John Morgan. They formed in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1968, and were signed to the newly established Stang Records label set up by Sylvia Robinson. They had their first hit almost immediately with "Not On The Outside", which reached #13 on the R&B chart and #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

Greene and Horsley left soon afterwards, and were replaced by baritone Al Goodman (born 31 March 1947, Jackson, Mississippi) and tenor William "Billy" Brown (born 30 June 1946, Perth Amboy, New Jersey). Brown had previously been a member of The Broadways, who had recorded on the MGM label.

With Morgan, the trio continued to record with some success, their big breakthrough coming with "Love On A Two Way Street", which reached #1 on the R&B chart and #3 on the pop chart in the spring of 1970. The song had originally been recorded by Stang artist Lezli Valentine, and the Moments' version, produced by Sylvia Robinson, was originally included as a filler on their second LP The Other Side Of The Moments before being issued as a single.

Following their big hit, Morgan was replaced in the group by Harry Ray (15 December 1946, Long Branch - 1 October 1992). Ray was the lead singer on most of their subsequent hits, including the follow-up "If I Didn’t Care" (#7 R&B, #44 pop, 1970), "Sexy Mama" (#3 R&B, #17 pop, 1973), and "Look At Me (I'm In Love)" (#1 R&B, #39 pop, 1975). Ray also recorded a duet with Sylvia Robinson, "Sho Nuff Boogie" (billed as Sylvia and the Moments) in 1973. The Moments were also co-credited with labelmates The Whatnauts on their hit "Girls (Part 1)", which only made #25 on the U.S. R&B charts, but became one of their biggest international successes, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1975.

By 1979 the Moments had had a total of 27 R&B chart hits, and decided to leave Stang to join Polydor Records. However, a legal dispute meant that they could not use the name The Moments on their new label, and so they renamed themselves after their last names, Ray, Goodman & Brown.

[Ray, Goodman & Brown]
Their first single under their new name, "Special Lady", became one of their biggest hits, reaching #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the pop chart in early 1980. They followed it up with a succession of further hits, including "Inside Of You" (#14 R&B, 1980). In 1982, Ray left the group for a solo career, but returned by the mid 1980s. The group made a comeback on EMI with the ballad "Take It To the Limit" (#8 R&B, 1987).

Ray died suddenly from a stroke in 1992. He was replaced in the group by Kevin "Ray" Owens, who had previously been a backing vocalist for Luther Vandross. The group continue to perform and tour as Ray, Goodman & Brown...
(Wikipedia: Ray, Goodman & Brown)