Gordy Harmon (June 1, 1943 – January 5, 2023) – You Can't Fight What's Right (1967)

A superb jam co-written by original Whispers members Harmon and Nicholas Caldwell, who in a strange coincidence both passed on this date.

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Gordy Harmon was one of the founding members of the Whispers and sang with them from 1963-73, until a car accident forced him to leave the group. He co-wrote several of their early songs and appeared on their first three albums.

Original members Harmon, Nicholas Caldwell (who in a strange coincidence also died on this date in 2016), Marcus Hutson, and twin brothers Wallace “Scotty” Scott and Walter Scott met in Watts in the early sixties, when several of them lived in the Jordan Downs housing project. They formed the Whispers as a vocal group in 1963. Three years later in 1966, they were invited to the San Francisco Bay Area by Sly Stone, and subsequently moved there.

Harmon co-wrote his first single in 1965, the heartfelt love song “As I Sit Here,” released on Dore Records. Co-written with Bobby Swayne, Frances Lark, and Ronnie Cook, it did not chart.

In 1967, Harmon and Caldwell co-wrote the stellar, upbeat “Needle In A Haystack,” which was arranged by legendary arranger/producer Gene Page. Originally released on Dore, it would be re-issued in 1970 on Soul Clock Records after the group switched labels.

Harmon and Caldwell also co-wrote the superb jam “You Can’t Fight What’s Right,” released as a single on Dore in 1967 b/w “You Got A Man On Your Hands.” Original copies today sell for $200 and up on Discogs.

After switching labels in 1968 to Soul Clock Records, an independent label originally formed in San Francisco but later based in Los Angeles, the Whispers’ debut album was released in 1969. Planets Of Life was produced by label founder Ron Carson and arranged by Art Freeman.

It included “Needle In A Haystack,” and also featured the beautiful slow jam “I’m The One,” co-written by unsung singer/songwriter Alex Brown. Two of its tracks were written by Carson, the poetic love song “Creation of Love,“ and the album’s epic title track.

Later in 1969, Harmon and Caldwell co-wrote the group’s first nationally charting single “The Time Will Come,” a beautiful slow jam that went to #17 R&B. They followed it up by co-writing the stellar slow jam “What Will I Do,” which peaked at #28 R&B. Their debut album’s title track “Planets of Life” made it #13 R&B, and #85 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Needle In A Haystack” was released in 1970 on Soul Clock as the B-side to the socially conscious song “Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong,” which was their first top-ten R&B hit at #6. The group performed it in one of their first appearances on Soul Train.

They released the message song “It Sure Ain't Pretty (Hard Core Unemployed)” as the B-side to their heartfelt jam “There’s a Love for Everyone,” a single that hit #31 R&B in 1970.

The last Whispers album Harmon appeared on was Life and Breath (1972). Its stellar title track was written by George S. Clinton, not to be confused with the P-Funk visionary, but a staff writer at Warner Bros. who wrote many film scores.

In 1973, Harmon injured his larynx in a serious car accident and was forced to leave the group. He was replaced by Leaveil Degree, who still sings with the Whispers today.

See our earlier post on Leaveil Degree for more on the group's later musical history.

Harmon died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home in early 2023, from what his family said were natural causes. Seven years earlier on January 5, 2016, Nicholas Caldwell had died at his home in San Francisco of congestive heart failure.

Rest in Power, Gordy Harmon and Nicholas Caldwell.

Further info:

“The Whispers Continue To Rock Steady,” Los Angeles Sentinel, 2017.

“The Whispers [2022] - The Doré Singles [MTI] (Full Album),” review, SoulStrutter, December 23, 2022.

“R.I.P. - Gordy Harmon (The Whispers) (1943 - 5 Jan 2022),” SoulStrutter, January 6, 2023.

“Gordy Harmon, The Whispers Founding Member, Dies at 79,” obituary, Billboard, January 9, 2023.

#soul #funk #Whispers #NicholasCaldwell #GordyHarmon