Biography
City Limits traces its roots to the Overbrook Singers, a gospel ensemble launched by Ted Wortham and Raye Walter while both attended Overbrook High School in Philadelphia—the first such organization to form inside the city’s public school system after the end of mandatory Bible reading. The choir expanded to fifty voices and distinguished itself by creating and performing its own material. Among its ranks stood Annette Guest, Rochelle Fleming, and Wardell Piper, later known as First Choice; the group notched a major secular success with the single “Armed and Extremely Dangerous” on Philly Groove Records, yet the members kept performing with the Overbrook Singers until graduation. In the early 1970s Bruce Hawes secured a position at Philadelphia International Records and facilitated the ensemble’s arrival as the label’s inaugural gospel act. Although Hawes had graduated from Olney High School, he became an Overbrook Singer once the group extended membership to students and alumni from other schools.
When the quartet’s lone album, Circle, appeared on TSOP Records in 1976, the once expansive choir had dwindled to four voices and adopted a sound closer to the Fifth Dimension than to its earlier, galvanizing gospel style. The remaining lineup—Terri Wells, Clayton Wortham, Ronald Richardson, and Vicki Lyn Reynolds—now operated as a soul and pop outfit rather than a gospel unit. Among the overlooked album’s stronger tracks is “People We Need a Change,” written by Cynthia Biggs and Hawes; after roughly two minutes the pianist and drummer seize the spotlight, shifting the groove from funk into a frenzied pulse, while the lead vocalist evokes Tammi Terrell. Another selection, “Uncle James,” had already been recorded for the album I’m Doing Fine. Three former Overbrook Singers—Biggs, Hawes, and Theodore Wortham, Jr.—joined non-members Joe Jefferson and Charles Simmons to compose all eight songs on that project; Clayton Wortham is founder Ted Wortham’s brother.
Terri Wells toured alongside Dexter Wansel, Roy Ayers, and Fat Larry’s Band and later released the solo sets Watch Out on WMOT and, under the name Brandi Wells, 21st Century Fox on Omni Records. The late Ronald Richardson built a parallel career in acting, appearing in numerous television and stage roles, including a preacher on the Marla Gibbs sitcom 227 and a Tony-winning performance in the Broadway production of Huck Finn. His sister Vicki Lyn Reynolds also worked in television and theater, co-starring in the series Sugar and Spice and portraying a forest ranger in an episode of 227; her résumé further includes a Sprint commercial opposite Candice Bergen and a featured role in the Broadway musical Bring In da Noise, Bring In da Funk.
When the quartet’s lone album, Circle, appeared on TSOP Records in 1976, the once expansive choir had dwindled to four voices and adopted a sound closer to the Fifth Dimension than to its earlier, galvanizing gospel style. The remaining lineup—Terri Wells, Clayton Wortham, Ronald Richardson, and Vicki Lyn Reynolds—now operated as a soul and pop outfit rather than a gospel unit. Among the overlooked album’s stronger tracks is “People We Need a Change,” written by Cynthia Biggs and Hawes; after roughly two minutes the pianist and drummer seize the spotlight, shifting the groove from funk into a frenzied pulse, while the lead vocalist evokes Tammi Terrell. Another selection, “Uncle James,” had already been recorded for the album I’m Doing Fine. Three former Overbrook Singers—Biggs, Hawes, and Theodore Wortham, Jr.—joined non-members Joe Jefferson and Charles Simmons to compose all eight songs on that project; Clayton Wortham is founder Ted Wortham’s brother.
Terri Wells toured alongside Dexter Wansel, Roy Ayers, and Fat Larry’s Band and later released the solo sets Watch Out on WMOT and, under the name Brandi Wells, 21st Century Fox on Omni Records. The late Ronald Richardson built a parallel career in acting, appearing in numerous television and stage roles, including a preacher on the Marla Gibbs sitcom 227 and a Tony-winning performance in the Broadway production of Huck Finn. His sister Vicki Lyn Reynolds also worked in television and theater, co-starring in the series Sugar and Spice and portraying a forest ranger in an episode of 227; her résumé further includes a Sprint commercial opposite Candice Bergen and a featured role in the Broadway musical Bring In da Noise, Bring In da Funk.
Albums
