Biography
Formed in Baltimore during 1964, the blue-eyed soul ensemble Bob Brady & the Con Chords achieved lasting recognition through the irresistible Northern soul staple “Everybody’s Going to the Love-In.” Its earliest roster did not include Brady; instead, George Layfield handled lead vocals while guitarist Dennis Zwirlein, bassist Vince Sansone, keyboardist Jim Samuel, trumpeter Lou Patti, saxophonist Dave Wladkowski, and drummer John Drexler supplied instrumental support. In early 1965 a former regular on the famed Baltimore teen-dance program The Buddy Deane Show who possessed a striking vocal resemblance to Smokey Robinson, Brady joined the lineup, allowing Layfield to shift primarily to harmony vocals. The following year the group enlisted trombonist Larry Sprigg and swapped Patti for multi-instrumentalist Tony Constantino before issuing its first single, the Chariot release “Goodbye Baby,” which registered modest regional success around Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
In 1967 “More, More, More of Your Love” appeared, by which point Bob Brady & the Con Chords ranked among the area’s premier live attractions and had opened for the Beach Boys, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Martha & the Vandellas. After releasing a third 45, “I Love You Baby,” the band dismissed Sansone and Drexler, recruiting bassist Tommy Thompson and drummer Marty Fisher to record the 1968 single “Everybody’s Going to the Love-In,” a track later embraced by DJs and dancers on Britain’s Northern soul circuit. Decades afterward the song surfaced in a British television advertisement for the fast-food chain KFC. More than a year passed before the group returned to the studio with “It’s Love.” “Savin’ All My Love for You” marked their final original release, though an earlier recording of “More, More, More of Your Love” unexpectedly resurfaced on A&M in 1972. By then the ensemble had already disbanded following its last performance on December 29, 1970. Several alumni later reconvened in PennLucy, while Brady subsequently took a position with the music-consulting firm A.I.R.
In 1967 “More, More, More of Your Love” appeared, by which point Bob Brady & the Con Chords ranked among the area’s premier live attractions and had opened for the Beach Boys, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Martha & the Vandellas. After releasing a third 45, “I Love You Baby,” the band dismissed Sansone and Drexler, recruiting bassist Tommy Thompson and drummer Marty Fisher to record the 1968 single “Everybody’s Going to the Love-In,” a track later embraced by DJs and dancers on Britain’s Northern soul circuit. Decades afterward the song surfaced in a British television advertisement for the fast-food chain KFC. More than a year passed before the group returned to the studio with “It’s Love.” “Savin’ All My Love for You” marked their final original release, though an earlier recording of “More, More, More of Your Love” unexpectedly resurfaced on A&M in 1972. By then the ensemble had already disbanded following its last performance on December 29, 1970. Several alumni later reconvened in PennLucy, while Brady subsequently took a position with the music-consulting firm A.I.R.