Formed in Philadelphia during 1963, the vocal trio the Three Degrees specialized in Philly soul. Producer and songwriter Richard Barrett, whose earlier work shaped the Chantels, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and his own group the Valentines, discovered them. The initial roster consisted of Fayette Pickney, Shirley Porter, and Linda Turner, and Barrett captured this configuration on the debut single “Gee Baby (I’m Sorry).” Later that same year Turner and Porter exited, making room for Helen Scott and Janet Jones. Around the same period Barrett also began guiding the career of Sheila Ferguson, a high-school acquaintance of Scott, securing Swan Records contracts for both the trio and Ferguson as a solo artist. In 1966 Scott stepped away to focus on domestic life, allowing Ferguson to join; she contributed backing vocals to the group’s Swan sides while the Three Degrees supported her own releases. Valerie Holiday entered in 1967 as Janet Jones departed, and over the ensuing four years both Ferguson and the trio issued numerous singles.
In 1970, now on Roulette Records, the Three Degrees achieved their first national chart entry with a revival of the Chantels’ “Maybe,” which climbed to number four R&B that summer. Its successor, “I Do Take You,” reached number seven R&B. Barrett arranged brief associations with Warner Bros., Metromedia, and Gamble & Huff’s Neptune imprint. The group appeared briefly in the 1971 film The French Connection alongside Gene Hackman and joined Engelbert Humperdink on tour. By 1973 Barrett negotiated an agreement with Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia International Records. Their opening PIR release, the disco track “Dirty Ol’ Man,” gained immediate traction. Shortly afterward Don Cornelius sought a fresh theme for Soul Train, and the Three Degrees supplied the closing vocals. Viewer response prompted the release of “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” by MFSB featuring the Three Degrees; the gold single topped the R&B chart and held the pop summit for two weeks in spring 1974. A prior Three Degrees single, “Year of Decision,” had stalled at number 74 R&B, while another MFSB collaboration, “Love Is the Message,” peaked at number 42 R&B that summer. Later in 1974 PIR issued “When Will I See You Again,” which earned platinum certification after selling more than two million copies and settled at number four R&B and number two pop around September. The Three Degrees’ self-titled PIR debut album appeared at year’s end. Written and produced by Bunny Sigler, the follow-up “I Didn’t Know” reached number 18 R&B in early 1975 and received exposure via a guest spot on Sanford and Son. Their sole additional charting PIR single, “Take Good Care of Yourself,” arrived at number 64 R&B in summer 1975.
Near 1976 Pickney departed and Helen Scott rejoined. CBS issued the album Standing up for Love in the United States in 1977. The following year Ariola Records signed the group in Europe, resulting in three LPs. Long popular in Britain, the Three Degrees performed at Buckingham Palace for Prince Charles’s thirtieth birthday and attended his wedding to Princess Diana. During the first half of the 1980s they released the U.K. albums Album of Love and Live in the UK along with the singles “Liar” and “A Sonnet to Love.” Stock/Aitken/Waterman helmed the 1985 Supreme Records single “The Heaven I Need,” a U.K. chart success. Sheila Ferguson exited in 1986. With Scott, Holiday, and Victoria Wallace the trio recorded the Ichiban album …And Holding! They later cut a live album with Billy Paul and Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes during a TSOP tour in summer 1989. Scott, Holiday, and newcomer Cynthia Garrison completed three albums across the 1990s.
