Allan Felder (May 26, 1943 – November 7, 1999) – My Love Is Free (1976)

The unsung Philly songwriter co-wrote Double Exposure's dancefloor anthem, arranged by Ron "Have Mercy" Kersey and produced by Baker-Harris-Young.

Watch full video on YouTube.

View most updated version of this post on Substack.

Allan Felder was a genius songwriter and producer who co-wrote several hundred Philly soul and disco classics that helped provide the soundtrack to the 1970s.

Allan Wayne Felder was born and raised in Philadelphia. He was one of nine children, and his sister Nadine Felder was a member of the all-female early Philly soul vocal group Honey and the Bees. They were managed by the legendary Jimmy Bishop of Arctic Records and WDAS-FM and in 1969 released the single “Love Addict” (1969), co-written by Bishop, Bernard Broomer, and genius songwriters/producers Norman Harris and Thom Bell.

Its B-side was the first of Felder’s songs to be recorded, the heartfelt love song “I’ll Be There,” which he co-wrote with his neighbor Tommy Keith. Original copies of the single today sell for $400 on Discogs, with promo copies at $700.

Felder began frequently collaborating with Harris, an exceptionally talented guitarist and one of the core original members of MFSB, the house band for Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records (PIR). Harris later formed Baker-Harris-Young (B-H-Y) Productions with MFSB bassist Ron Baker and drummer Earl Young.  Felder and Harris co-wrote “Walk Right Up To The Sun” (1971) for the Delfonics, which Harris arranged and produced for Stan Watson’s Philly Groove Records. It was the first Delfonics single recorded after original member Randy Cain left the group and was replaced by Harris’ cousin Major Harris, formerly of Nat Turner Rebellion, who sang lead on the track.

Felder, Harris, and Baker co-wrote the upbeat jam “This Is The House Where Love Died” for the Philly female vocal trio First Choice, arranged by Baker, produced by Harris, and released as their first single in 1972. He and Harris co-wrote several more singles for the group, including “Armed And Extremely Dangerous,” which became the title track to their 1973 debut LP on Philly Groove and hit #11 R&B and #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. They also co-wrote the stellar title track to the group’s second album The Player (1974), which reached #7 R&B, and the LP’s superb jam “You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth,” co-written with Bunny Sigler.

Harris began producing the Philly soul group Blue Magic, and he and Felder co-wrote their second single, the upbeat early disco jam “Look Me Up” (1973) which hit #36 R&B. Felder and songwriter Jimmy Grant co-wrote their third single, the classic slow jam “Stop To Start” (1973), a #14 R&B hit. Felder produced Love Committee’s first single, the inspirational message song “One Day Of Peace” (1974), which he co-wrote with Ron Tyson and T.G. Conway.  It was arranged by Bobby Martin and released on PIR’s Golden Fleece sub-label.

Along with Harris and Jerome Gasper, Felder co-produced Revelation's phenomenal theme song for a better world “Get Ready For This” (1975). It became an underground disco anthem at influential clubs like Nicky Siano’s Gallery, Frankie Knuckles’ Warehouse, and the Music Box where DJ Ron Hardy created a legendary re-edit that reliably took the dancefloor to church.

For Double Exposure’s classic debut album Ten Percent, released on Salsoul in the spring of 1976, Felder co-wrote over half of its tracks. They included all three of its singles, starting with the title track which he co-wrote with T.G. Conway, arranged and produced by Harris for B-H-Y Productions.

Remixed by Walter Gibbons (credited as “Disco Blending by”), it went to #2 on disco charts after making history as the very first commercially available 12” vinyl single. This new record format revolutionized dance music. It made remixes an integral part of dancefloor culture, inspired countless new DJ’s to get behind the turntables, and stoked the fires helping the disco movement go mainstream in the mid-seventies.

Felder and Conway co-wrote the album’s second single, the beautiful disco anthem “My Love Is Free,” arranged by the unsung keyboardist Ron “Have Mercy” Kersey and produced by Baker-Harris-Young.  It was remixed by Tom Moulton for its 12” release, which peaked at #15 disco but reached #44 R&B, becoming the group’s biggest R&B hit. There was an instrumental acetate version, and Gibbons created an almost entirely instrumental remix, It would be remixed by other DJ greats in later years including Frankie Knuckles’ gospel-flavored version, John Morales’ percussion-heavy mix, and David Morales’ dub remix.

The all-star Philly soul lineup on “My Love Is Free” featured Baker on bass, Young on drums, Vincent Montana, Jr. on vibes, Larry Washington on congas, Bunnie “The Tambourine Machine” (aka Eugenia) Harris on tambourine, Larry Gold, Patricia Weimer, and Romeo Di Stefano on cellos, and violins by Don Renaldo, Americus Mungiole, Charles Apollonia, Christine Reeves, Lance Elbeck, Richard Jones, and Rudolph Malizia.

Along with Bunny Sigler, Felder co-wrote the phenomenal self-empowerment anthem that closed the LP’s first side, “Everyman (Has to Carry His Own Weight),” which was again arranged and produced by Harris. The album cut was actually an extended mix by Gibbons of Harris’ original version with instrumental breaks edited in. Notable recent remixes include Dave Lee’s disco-house mix and Joe Claussell’s epic 14 and a half-minute dancefloor odyssey.

Also in 1976, Felder and Harris co-wrote the Philly disco masterpiece “Starvin’” from the Trammps’ most successful album, the Disco Inferno LP, which was another B-H-Y production.

Felder co-wrote over half of the songs on both Eddie Kendricks albums produced by Harris, including the #2 R&B title track to He’s A Friend (1975) and the #11 disco hit title track from Goin’ Up In Smoke (1976).  They were two of the few LPs featuring Felder on backing vocals and percussion.

Rest in Power, Allan Felder.

Further info:

“Allan Felder Biography,” Reservoir Media.

“Widow of Allan Felder explains why she trusts Reservoir with his legacy,” Reservoir Media, December 18, 2015.

#soul #funk #disco #PIR #Salsoul #NormanHarris #AllanFelder