Biography
Formed during 1961 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the R&B ensemble Harvey Scales And The Seven Sounds placed Harvey Scales at the front on lead vocals and guitar. Born in Arkansas in 1941, Scales shared the lineup with Monny Smith, Bill Purtie, Rudy Jacobs, Al Vance, Bill Stonewall and Ray Armstead. James Brown’s chart dominance in the late 1960s through his emerging hard-soul variant called funk prompted the group, along with many peers, to lay down comparable tracks. Their lone charting single, ‘Get Down’, climbed to number 32 on the R&B list in 1967 and surfaced on Lenny LeCour’s Magic Touch label. The B-side ‘Love-itis’ later received a recording by the rock group J. Geils Band. Following a signing to Chess Records, the LeCour-produced ‘The Yolk’ achieved regional success in 1969. Under Detroit producer Don Davis the band next cut sides for Stax Records that failed to register. In 1976 Scales co-wrote the major hit ‘Disco Lady’ for southern soul artist Johnnie Taylor. That accomplishment earned him a Casablanca contract, which yielded two albums. Scales remained active in the studio into the early 90s.
Albums
Singles