The Trammps

The vocal ensemble widely regarded as disco’s most soulful incarnation first took shape in the 1960s under the name the Volcanos and also performed as the Moods. Gene Faith served as the original lead singer alongside Earl Young, Jimmy Ellis, guitarist Dennis Harris, keyboardist Ron Kersey, organist John Hart, bassist Stanley Wade, and drummer Michael Thomas. After cycling through several names, the act settled on the Trammps by the mid-1970s, when its roster featured lead vocalist Ellis together with Norman Harris, Stanley Wade, Robert Upchurch, and Young. An energetic update of Judy Garland’s 1940s standard “Zing Went the Strings of My Heart” became their initial charting release, climbing to number 17 on the R&B list in 1972. Despite a well-earned reputation for boisterous, jubilant harmonies and an exuberant overall sound, the Trammps never achieved major commercial breakthrough even at the height of the disco era. Between 1972 and 1978 they managed only three R&B Top Ten singles, while outstanding tracks such as “Soul Bones,” “Ninety-Nine and a Half,” and “I Feel Like I’ve Been Livin’ (On the Dark Side of the Moon)” failed to chart yet remained favorites among clubgoers and R&B listeners. Their sole substantial success was “Disco Inferno” in 1977, which reached number nine on the R&B chart that year and appeared on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, although it stopped just short of the pop Top Ten at number 11. The Trammps’ stature cannot be judged by chart metrics alone; Ellis’s powerful, exuberant vocals vividly captured the celebratory spirit and atmosphere that made disco simultaneously adored and reviled by music fans.