The Intruders (band)

Biography

The Intruders came together in 1960 with four original members: Sam "Little Sonny" Brown, Eugene "Bird" Daughtry, Phillip "Phil" Terry, and Robert "Big Sonny" Edwards. By 1969, Brown had stepped down as lead singer, replaced by Bobby Starr, though he returned to the group in 1973. As early as 1965, songwriters and producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff were considering leaving the Cameo-Parkway label to start their own venture. The vocal group they bet on with their hopes and money was The Intruders.

Like later acts Gamble and Huff worked with, such as Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and The O'Jays, The Intruders had already crafted a vocal style that was distinctly their own and unmistakably from Philadelphia. Starting in 1961, Brown, Daughtry, Terry, and Edwards had been recording and performing individual singles, mixing the city’s street corner doo-wop tradition with the intensity of black gospel. The resulting sound was neither as pop-influenced as Motown nor as funky and blues-heavy as Stax.

The style they developed for labels like Excel, Gamble, and Philadelphia International reflected a different approach from either of those famous labels. The success Gamble and Huff found with The Intruders helped persuade Columbia Records to fund the launch of Philadelphia International. The duo later said their work with the group was the basis for what they called "The Sound of Philadelphia." Meanwhile, the group faced internal changes.

When they reappeared on the 1970 Gamble album "When We Get Married," Bobby Starr had taken over as lead singer. The title track, a cover of a Dreamlovers song, became a hit, reaching number 8 on the R&B charts and number 45 on the pop charts. The follow-up, "Win, Place or Show (She's a Winner)," also charted, reaching number 14 in the UK. During Starr's time with the group, they appeared on Soul Train and released the rare single "I'm Girl Scoutin."

Brown came back in 1973 for the album "Save the Children," which produced the group's final two major hits: "I Wanna Know Your Name" (R&B number 9, pop number 60) and "I'll Always Love My Mama" (R&B number 6, pop number 36). The song "I'll Always Love My Mama" was inspired by Kenny Gamble's mother, Ruby, who passed away on March 10, 2012, in Philadelphia at the age of 96.

Legacy

The Intruders' biggest hit, "Cowboys to Girls," reached number one on the R&B chart and number six on the pop chart, earning a gold record for selling a million copies by May 1968. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, their music found a strong audience among Chicano and other Latino youth on the West Coast, with groups like the Hacienda Brothers and Tierra covering their songs.

Original member Daughtry died of cancer on Christmas Day 1994 at age 55, and lead singer Sam "Little Sonny" Brown took his own life the following April at age 54. In 1975, the other two founding members, Robert Edwards and Phil Terry, left the music business after becoming Jehovah's Witnesses. Edwards passed away from a heart attack on October 15, 2016, at 74, leaving Phil Terry as the sole surviving original Intruder.