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By TOM SCHMIDT
[email protected]
GENE MCFADDEN, part of a song-writing team that authored the smash hit "Ain
t No Stoppin' Us Now" in 1979, died yesterday after a battle with cancer. He
was 56.
McFadden died at his home in the city's Mount Airy section about 3:45 a.m.,
his family said.
"My dad was laid-back and cool," said Casandra McFadden, one of his
daughters. "He was a really private man and really about his family."
Casandra McFadden said her father had been suffering from liver and lung
cancer since being diagnosed with the disease in October 2004.
McFadden teamed with Philadelphian John Whitehead in their youth to form a
singing group and later wrote and/or produced such classics as "Backstabbers
for the O'Jays and "Wake up Everybody" for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
Whitehead, 55, was shot to death in May 2004, as he watched a mechanic
repair his car behind his West Oak Lane home. Police believe that the bullet
was meant for someone else. The killing still is unsolved.
As teens, McFadden - who graduated from Edison High School in North
Philadelphia - and Whitehead were members of a band, the Epsilons, which
they formed. They toured with and were managed by Otis Redding until his
death in 1967.
They later signed with the label Stax and had a moderate hit in 1970 with
The Echo."
When fellow Epsilon member Lloyd Parkes left, McFadden and Whitehead changed
their name to Talk of the Town and began working with record producers Kenny
Gamble and Leon Huff. Gamble and Huff discovered their song-writing talents
and decided to employ them in that capacity at their label, Philadelphia
International. They stayed there for 16 years.
Their first big hit for the label was the O'Jays' "Back Stabbers," a major
1972 R&B hit. They wrote for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and penned the
Intruders' "I'll Always Love My Mama." Then also wrote "Let's Groove," "Soul
City Walk," "Strategy" and "Don't Let Love Get You Down" for Archie Bell and
the Drells.
Their own album, "McFadden and Whitehead," came out in 1979, and the
following year they wrote songs for Gamble and Huff's subsidiary TSOP (the
Sound of Philadelphia). Later, they worked for Capitol Records.
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" - which was a top-20 pop hit and went to No. 1 on
the R&B charts - became a favorite of Eagles fans, and during the 1980-81
season McFadden and Whitehead performed the song at the Vet before the start
of the Eagles-Cowboys NFC Championship game, which the Birds won,
catapulting them into the Super Bowl.
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" wasn't the first message song they wrote. They
also authored "Wake Up Everybody," which topped the R&B chart for two weeks
in 1976. It was recorded by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes with vocals by
Teddy Pendergrass.
McFadden once said the inspiration for "Wake Up Everybody" wasn't political.
"We were just thinking the world needs to get better," he said.
He said he and Whitehead came up with the song while thinking about "Puff,
the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul and Mary. "The lyrics flowed out of my
mouth as if God was telegraphing what he wanted me to say," Whitehead once
said in a Billboard interview.
The duo influenced mainly United Kingdom groups such as Simply Red, Lisa
Stansfield and Boy George and the Culture Club, although they did have some
affect over Philadelphia's Hall & Oates.
Besides daughter Casandra, McFadden is survived by his wife, Barbara,
another daughter and two sons.
Funeral services were scheduled for Thursday at Triumph Baptist Church in
North Philadelphia. <P ID="signature">______________
AOL IM: wnjoldies
HyLitRadio.com
Oldies Board co-moderator</P>
[email protected]
GENE MCFADDEN, part of a song-writing team that authored the smash hit "Ain
t No Stoppin' Us Now" in 1979, died yesterday after a battle with cancer. He
was 56.
McFadden died at his home in the city's Mount Airy section about 3:45 a.m.,
his family said.
"My dad was laid-back and cool," said Casandra McFadden, one of his
daughters. "He was a really private man and really about his family."
Casandra McFadden said her father had been suffering from liver and lung
cancer since being diagnosed with the disease in October 2004.
McFadden teamed with Philadelphian John Whitehead in their youth to form a
singing group and later wrote and/or produced such classics as "Backstabbers
for the O'Jays and "Wake up Everybody" for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
Whitehead, 55, was shot to death in May 2004, as he watched a mechanic
repair his car behind his West Oak Lane home. Police believe that the bullet
was meant for someone else. The killing still is unsolved.
As teens, McFadden - who graduated from Edison High School in North
Philadelphia - and Whitehead were members of a band, the Epsilons, which
they formed. They toured with and were managed by Otis Redding until his
death in 1967.
They later signed with the label Stax and had a moderate hit in 1970 with
The Echo."
When fellow Epsilon member Lloyd Parkes left, McFadden and Whitehead changed
their name to Talk of the Town and began working with record producers Kenny
Gamble and Leon Huff. Gamble and Huff discovered their song-writing talents
and decided to employ them in that capacity at their label, Philadelphia
International. They stayed there for 16 years.
Their first big hit for the label was the O'Jays' "Back Stabbers," a major
1972 R&B hit. They wrote for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and penned the
Intruders' "I'll Always Love My Mama." Then also wrote "Let's Groove," "Soul
City Walk," "Strategy" and "Don't Let Love Get You Down" for Archie Bell and
the Drells.
Their own album, "McFadden and Whitehead," came out in 1979, and the
following year they wrote songs for Gamble and Huff's subsidiary TSOP (the
Sound of Philadelphia). Later, they worked for Capitol Records.
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" - which was a top-20 pop hit and went to No. 1 on
the R&B charts - became a favorite of Eagles fans, and during the 1980-81
season McFadden and Whitehead performed the song at the Vet before the start
of the Eagles-Cowboys NFC Championship game, which the Birds won,
catapulting them into the Super Bowl.
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" wasn't the first message song they wrote. They
also authored "Wake Up Everybody," which topped the R&B chart for two weeks
in 1976. It was recorded by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes with vocals by
Teddy Pendergrass.
McFadden once said the inspiration for "Wake Up Everybody" wasn't political.
"We were just thinking the world needs to get better," he said.
He said he and Whitehead came up with the song while thinking about "Puff,
the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul and Mary. "The lyrics flowed out of my
mouth as if God was telegraphing what he wanted me to say," Whitehead once
said in a Billboard interview.
The duo influenced mainly United Kingdom groups such as Simply Red, Lisa
Stansfield and Boy George and the Culture Club, although they did have some
affect over Philadelphia's Hall & Oates.
Besides daughter Casandra, McFadden is survived by his wife, Barbara,
another daughter and two sons.
Funeral services were scheduled for Thursday at Triumph Baptist Church in
North Philadelphia. <P ID="signature">______________
AOL IM: wnjoldies
HyLitRadio.com
Oldies Board co-moderator</P>