Hal and Harold Degraffenreid (born May 8, 1944) – Everybody Get Some (Love) (1970)
The final single by the Soul Twins (aka Gas & The Funk Factory) was this funk bomb released on Brunswick, co-written by Johnny Griffith and Don Juan Mancha.
View most updated version of this post on Substack
Search our full archives
Hal and Harold Degraffenreid are twin brothers who released a handful of singles in the late 1960s and early 70s as the Soul Twins.
The twins were born in Burlington, North Carolina, the biggest city in Alamance County, where several generations of Alex Haley’s family likely lived (as documented in his 1976 novel Roots). In 1957, they moved to Detroit where they attended high school. The brothers started out singing gospel in church choirs, and were discovered there by local producer Johnny Griffith.
He helped them land a record deal with Detroit producer and label owner Ollie McLaughlin’s Karen Records. They recorded their first single in April, 1966, the upbeat “Quick Change Artist” (which later became a favorite on the UK’s Northern soul scene). Its B-side was the superb “Give The Man A Chance,” and the single came out the following year. Both sides were produced by McLaughlin, co-written by Griffith and songwriter Richard Pat Green, and arranged by Motown Funk Brother saxophonist Mike Terry.
Their next single on Karen consisted of two covers, Otis Redding’s “Mr. Pitiful” (1967), b/w the heartfelt jam “Searching For My Baby,” originally by New Orleans sax player Bobby Moore. Later that year, they released their third and last single for the label, a superb cover of Doris Troy’s 1963 hit “Just One Look,” with the upbeat “It's Not What You Do, It's The Way That You Do It” on the flip. It was an original co-written by Griffith and Green, with both sides produced by McLaughlin and arranged by Dale Warren.
Two years later in 1969, the Soul Twins switched labels to Back Beat, a subsidiary of Don Robey's Peacock Records, and released another single. Its A-side was the stellar jam “She’s The One,” b/w the deep soul ballad “Mr Independent.” Both sides were co-written by Harry and Mary McNeil and Don Juan Mancha, and produced by Griffith, although credited to “A G & G Production.”
The twins’ final single came out in 1970 on Brunswick. In a sign of funk’s ascendancy at the dawn of the seventies, they dropped their Soul Twins name and were instead billed as Gas & The Funk Factory. The funk bomb message song “Everybody Get Some (Love)” was on the A-side, b/w the heartfelt “last dance” anthem “The Good Night Song.” Both were co-written by Griffith and Mancha, and again produced by Griffith as “A G & G Production.”
Happy 80th Birthday to the great Hal and Harold Degraffenreid.
Further info:
“Soul Twins,” Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven.
#soul #funk #JohnnyGriffith #TheSoulTwins #HalAndHaroldDegraffenreid
That Gas & The Funk Factory is killer. It reminds me of The Eliminators (Brunswick label mates) or even Jimmy Castor. I am amazed it wasn't included on the 2022 Brunswick Funk compilation. Thanks for digging this gem out and highlighting it for us to enjoy!