1 of 1- unclefester
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Bobby Eli R.I.P.
A founding member of the Philadelphia studio band MFSB, Mr. Bobby Eli has passed.
Mr. Eli played multiple instruments but was best known for his lead guitar. He was a producer, arranger & song writer and enjoyed working with a stunning array of talent that included Elton John, David Bowie, George Clinton, Patti LaBelle, The Jacksons, Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, The Spinners, The Stylistics & that's just a partial list!!
His song writing credits include Love Won't Let Me Wait along with Side Show & one of my great favourites I Just Don't Want To Be Lonely.
Mr. Eli passed in the city where he was born and that he loved - Philly - on August 17th. He was 77. What a talent!!
- Lorne
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Re: Bobby Eli R.I.P.
Thanks very much for letting us know about Bobby Eli's passing, and for paying tribute to him. Since I knew that some of the musicians responsible for "The Horse" went on to be members of MFSB, I wondered if he might have been part of this great record -- and sure enough, he was. Here's what the Wikipedia article on "The Horse" has about him and the other musicians.
According to Bobby Eli, a guitarist on the session, the instrumental track was the result of his jamming in the studio with guitarist Norman Harris, bassist Ronnie Baker, and drummer Earl Young (later to become the first MFSB rhythm section and the core of the group the Trammps). The jam was then "tweaked" by arranger Bobby Martin and recording studio owner and engineer Frank Virtue. Neither Cliff Nobles nor producer Jesse James were present for the session.
- Roman
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Re: Bobby Eli R.I.P.
I read the Wikipedia entries for both Noble and The Horse and I have two queries. First, "The Horse" is an instrumental version of the 45's A-Side "Love Is All Right", so why didn't the B-Side have the same title? The A-Side is credited to Cliff Nobles, so why isn't the B-Side just credited to The Company since Cliff wasn't on the recording. One other observation, Cliff tried to cash in on the single's success by putting out another song called "Pony The Horse", but that one went directly to the glue factory.
- Lorne
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Re: Bobby Eli R.I.P.
You ask good questions, and although I found out a fair bit about this 45 today I don't really have any answers that are satisfying. However, I will add a personal anecdote that might be of interest involving "The Horse" and "Grazing in the Grass".
I was only eight years old when both records came out, and as I became more familiar with them in subsequent years I thought that one title was probably based on the other -- particularly since both instrumentals sre driven by a combination of horn(s) and guitar(s). And on top of that, within a couple of years of them having been hits my parents purchased an album by Living Brass (a group of studio musicians) which was entitled The Horse/Grazing in the Grass And Other HIts, so that would have further connected them in my mind. But I checked out when "The Horse" and "Grazing in the Grass" were recorded and also when they first made the charts, and it was around the same time in both cases ... if anything, it looks like "The Horse" may have been recorded and released first. So that would definitely preclude the title coming from "Grazing in the Grass".