Norman Harris (October 14, 1947 - March 21, 1987) – We're On The Right Track (1973)

The late great original MFSB member and hugely influential producer co-wrote, arranged, and co-produced this early disco anthem for Ultra High Frequency.

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Norman Harris was a hugely talented guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and producer who greatly influenced Philly soul as one of the original members of MFSB, the house band for Philadelphia International Records.

See our earlier post on Harris for background on his life, times and musical career.

After the O’Jays’ 1972 album Backstabbers on Philadelphia International Records exploded on the R&B charts and put the label on the map, its 30+ piece backing band MFSB began releasing their own records. Success brought Harris the freedom to do more production work, both on his own and in partnership with his fellow core original MFSB members Ronnie Baker and Earl Young, who together formed the Baker-Harris-Young (B-H-Y) production team.

Harris created many of his unique horn and string arrangements by first composing them on his guitar.

In 1973 he and unsung Philly songwriter Allan Felder co-wrote the early disco anthem “We’re On The Right Track"“ for Ultra High Frequency.

Harris arranged the single and co-produced it with Stan Watson. It was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia and released on Scepter Records’ Wand Subsidiary, where future West End Records co-owner and Paradise Garage financial backer Mel Cheren was working as an executive. Cheren convinced the label to include the track’s instrumental on its B-side. It was the first disco 45 to include an instrumental, making it possible for DJ’s with two copies of the record to seamlessly mix extended versions. As a result, Cheren won Billboard’s Trendsetter of the Year award in 1974.

With disco beginning to take off across the country and on the charts by 1975, it was covered by both South Shore Commission and Blue Magic. The latter’s lush Philly soul disco version was itself produced by Harris for WMOT Productions.

The same year, Harris co-produced Revelation's anthem for a better world “Get Ready For This” (1975) along with Felder and Jerome Gasper. It became an underground dancefloor classic at legendary early New York City discos like Nicky Siano's Gallery and was famously remixed by Ron Hardy of Chicago’s Music Box.

In 1976, Harris, Baker, Young, and keyboardist/arranger Ron “Have Mercy” Kersey co-produced the Trammps’ fourth studio album. Disco Inferno would become the group’s best-selling LP, reaching #16 on the R&B albums chart and #46 on the Billboard 200.

Advance promo copies of the album were distributed to disco DJ’s with plain white jackets stamped “Spend New Year’s Eve with the Trammps.” Partly as a result, for six weeks during early 1977, “Disco Inferno” along with two other cuts from the album, “Starvin'” and “Body Contact Contract” stayed at #1 on the disco charts. “Disco Inferno” also hit #9 R&B during this period, but only reached #53 on the Billboard Hot 100. But after being included on the multi-platinum Saturday Night Fever soundtrack the next year (which was the best-selling album in music history before Michael Jackson’s Thriller came along, with 40 million copies sold worldwide), “Disco Inferno” was re-released in early 1978 and shot to #11 on the Hot 100.

The other two tracks from the LP that spent six weeks atop the disco charts were both co-written by Harris. He co-wrote the superb opening cut “Body Contact Contract” with Bruce Gray and Jimmy Hendricks, and co-wrote the disco masterpiece “Starvin’” (remixed by Tom Moulton and recently improved upon in a stellar re-edit by J*Ski aka Juan Negron) with Felder, Young, and songwriter Ron Tyson.

Together with Ron Kersey, Tyson made up another production team with Harris dubbed The Harris Machine, which later became the title to his only solo album, released in 1980 on Philadelphia International Records.

Sadly, Harris died of heart disease in 1987, gone much too soon at age 39.

Further info:

“Norman Harris Biography,” by Ed Hogan, AllMusic.com

“TSONYC: The Mutiny That Relocated the Philly Sound,” by Nate Patrin, Red Bull Music Academy Daily, January 6, 2015.

#soul #funk #disco #MFSB #BakerHarrisYoung #NormanHarris