Biography
The disco ensemble Ecstasy, Passion & Pain centered its sound on the supple, energetic lead voice of Barbara Roy while drawing on dancefloor staples shaped by Philly soul figure Bobby Martin in his capacity as arranger and songwriter. Besides Roy—who sang, played guitar, and wrote the group’s hits “I Wouldn't Give You Up” and “Ask Me”—the lineup featured drummer Althea “Cookie” Smith, bassist Joseph Williams, guitarist Jimmy Clark, percussionists Carl Jordan and later Alan Tizer, organist Billy Gardner, and keyboardist Ronnie Foster, who subsequently enjoyed a career as a contemporary jazz artist and in-demand session player throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Although the collective functioned as a genuine band, Martin enlisted MFSB and the Sweethearts of Sigma for background vocals on its hit recordings.
Born Barbara Gaskins in Kingston, NC, Roy made her first recordings with niece Brenda Gaskins as Barbara and Brenda, issuing “Let's Get Together” on Avanti, “That's When You've Got Soul” on Heidi, and “If I'm Hurt You'll Feel the Pain.” After her niece left the business, Roy took up guitar for Inez and Charlie Foxx on “Mockingbird” and contributed to assorted New York sessions. Ecstasy, Passion & Pain formed in 1973; shortly thereafter manager Phil Braxton secured the group a contract. Signed to Roulette Records, the act released a series of mid-1970s successes including “I Wouldn't Give You Up,” “Good Things Don't Last Forever” (written by Bunny Sigler, Norman Harris, and Allan Felder), the chugging “Ask Me” (written by Roy and opening with an intro that recalls First Choice’s “Armed and Extremely Dangerous”), the jubilant “One Beautiful Day,” “Touch and Go” (another Sigler/Harris/Felder composition), and “Passion.”
Four years afterward the group reappeared on Roy’s own Roy B label with the 12-inch single “If You Want Me,” a dance-club favorite. In 1986 Roy recorded as a solo artist for RCA Records and reached number 83 on the R&B chart with “Gotta See You Tonight” that fall. She later appeared on the 1989 Paul Simpson/Togetherness LP We Are the Ones, released via Simp-House/Cooltempo.
Born Barbara Gaskins in Kingston, NC, Roy made her first recordings with niece Brenda Gaskins as Barbara and Brenda, issuing “Let's Get Together” on Avanti, “That's When You've Got Soul” on Heidi, and “If I'm Hurt You'll Feel the Pain.” After her niece left the business, Roy took up guitar for Inez and Charlie Foxx on “Mockingbird” and contributed to assorted New York sessions. Ecstasy, Passion & Pain formed in 1973; shortly thereafter manager Phil Braxton secured the group a contract. Signed to Roulette Records, the act released a series of mid-1970s successes including “I Wouldn't Give You Up,” “Good Things Don't Last Forever” (written by Bunny Sigler, Norman Harris, and Allan Felder), the chugging “Ask Me” (written by Roy and opening with an intro that recalls First Choice’s “Armed and Extremely Dangerous”), the jubilant “One Beautiful Day,” “Touch and Go” (another Sigler/Harris/Felder composition), and “Passion.”
Four years afterward the group reappeared on Roy’s own Roy B label with the 12-inch single “If You Want Me,” a dance-club favorite. In 1986 Roy recorded as a solo artist for RCA Records and reached number 83 on the R&B chart with “Gotta See You Tonight” that fall. She later appeared on the 1989 Paul Simpson/Togetherness LP We Are the Ones, released via Simp-House/Cooltempo.
Albums