Artists

The Whispers

As the musical industry goes on, you hear folks that talk about "old school" music from "back in the day," a reference to solid R&B, funk and soul of the Seventies. While many of that golden era have come and gone, there's a select group of seasoned performers and recording artists who have lived through the trends, fads and changes of the last decade, continuing to make music that is real.

The Whispers are among the few that remain at the very forefront of the "soul survivors," in this decade. These four men have been singing together as The Whispers for over three decades and they also are among the precious few stand-up vocal groups still actively recording and performing in the 90's.

The key to The Whispers ability to survive is Togetherness, with their ever-changing times. The Whispers are as bad as ever, dazzling the audience and leaving them speechless. This group began with twin brothers Walter and Wallace Scott, Nicholas Caldwell, Marcus Hutson and Gordy Harmon in 1964. They would dream of being big stars, "we'd be outside singing till four a.m.," recalls Walter, "we'd be out there doowooping."

Shortly after high school, The Whispers recorded their first single, "It Only Hurts For Awhile," for a local L.A. label, Dore Records. It was with the 1969 release of Planet Of Life , their first album for Chess/Janus Records, that the groups' recording career began to take off. Early R&B hits included 1970's "Seem Like I Gotta Do Wrong," 1972's "I Only Meant To Wet My Feet," and 1974's "Mother For My Children." In 1971, Leaveil Degree replaced Gordy Harmon and The Whispers became the first artists on the newly formed Soul Train label (co-owned by the famed TV show's creator and host Don Cornelius and entrepreneur Dick Griffey) and immediately scored hits with "One For The Money" and a soulful cover of the pop group Bread's classic "Make It With You." In the beginning of the 80's, The Whispers had a major career breakthrough with their first gold single, "And The Beat Goes On," a #1 black and Top 20 pop smash. Also in the 80's The Whispers maintained their hot streak with "Lady," "It's A Love Thang" (1981), "In The Raw" (1982), "Keep On Loving Me" (1983), and "Contagious" (1985) collecting three gold albums; The Christmas Album, Love Is Where You Find It and Love For Love, and two platinum albums, The Whispers and Imagination. The Whispers returned to chart heights in 1987 with "Rocksteady," another R&B #1 and Top 10 pop single, giving future hit making producers L.A. and Babyface their first taste of chart success in the process. An international smash for the group, "Rocksteady" helped propel the album Just Gets Better With Time to almost double platinum status. Still constantly in demand as a performing act both in the U.S. and in Europe, The Whispers took a couple years off from recording, signing in 1990 with Capital Records and making an immediate return to the charts with the gold album More Of The Night.

Their 17th studio album spawned two hit songs with "Innocent" and "My Heart, Your Heart," both top 5 R&B chartmakers. Expanding their creative horizons, brothers Walter and Scotty cut My Brothers Keeper, a critically acclaimed duet album in 1993, scoring another R&B hit with a cover of the Intruders' "I Wanna Know Your Name." That year, The Whispers also made their first, highly successful visit to Japan, where longtime fans had been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see their soulful musical heroes in action. The Whispers , still touring and showing off their elegant style, are still a great success. 1994 was a particularly busy year for The Whispers ; aside from the standard six months that the group spent on tour, they completed two full albums. After finishing work on their new album Toast To The Ladies, the group stayed in the studio to record a 14-year follow-up to their 1980 best-selling Christmas LP entitled Christmas Moments. Capital Records released the project in time for Christmas 1994, and smiles Scott, "We're shocked it did so well in such a short time!" Now comes Toast To The Ladies, a testament to The Whispers' staying power and an album that continues to showcase their vocal versatility. The Whispers offer a musical blend that's traditional yet highly contemporary. Accept No Substitutes... Toast To The Ladies is the real thing. Music that's honest, heart and soul. And as the song goes The Whispers Just Gets Better With Time!!!