Trammps
| The Trammps | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Disco, soul |
| Years active | 1972–1992 |
| Labels | Golden Fleece Records Atlantic Records Buddah Records Philadelphia International Records |
| Website | Official website |
| Past members | Jimmy Ellis (deceased) Gene "Faith" Jones Dennis Harris John Hart Steve Kelly Ron Kersey (deceased) Michael Thompson Stanley Wade Earl Young Robert Upchurch Harold Doc Wade Dave Dixon Ronnie Baker (deceased) |
The Trammps were an American disco and soul band, who were based in Philadelphia and were one of the first disco bands.
The band's first major success was with their 1972 cover version of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart". The first disco track they released was "Love Epidemic" in 1973. However, they are best known for their Grammy winning song, "Disco Inferno", originally released in 1976, becoming a UK pop hit and US R&B hit. After inclusion in the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the song was re-released in 1978 and became a US pop hit.
The history of the Trammps grew from the 1960s group the Volcanos, who later became the Moods. With a number of line-up changes by the early 1970s, the band membership included gospel-influenced lead singer Jimmy Ellis, drummer and singer (bass voice) Earl Young, with brothers Stanley and Harold 'Doc' Wade. Members of the Philadelphia recording band MFSB played with the group on records and on tour in the 1970s with singer Robert Upchurch joining later. The group was produced by the Philadelphia team of Ronnie Baker, Norman Harris and Young, all MFSB mainstays who played on the recording sessions and contributed songs.
Their debut chart entry came via an upbeat cover version of the standard "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", featuring Young's bass voice, which became a Top 20 US R&B chart hit in 1972.
Their first few recordings were released on Buddah Records, including "Hold Back The Night" which was a hit in the UK and on the Billboard R&B chart in 1973, before a re-release saw it climb the U.S. Hot 100 two years later. Several R&B hits followed during a stay with Philadelphia International subsidiary, Golden Fleece (run by Baker-Harris-Young) before they signed to Atlantic Records.
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