Brothers William and Wilbert Hart formed the group with Richard Daniels, and Randy (Rudy) Cain in high school in the early 1960s. Richard Daniels one of the founding members would be drafted just before the groups first major success.
Soon, they became known throughout the Philadelphia area, signing with Cameo Records. At Cameo, Stan Watson introduced them to the man who made them famous, producer Thom Bell, then working with Chubby Checker. Bell dreamed of creating a Philadelphia version of Motown and struck gold with the Delfonics, whose first album, released on Watson's own Philly Groove record label, featured the hit "La-La (Means I Love You)", in 1968. Four more Bell-produced albums appeared in the next few years: The Sexy Sound of Soul, The Delfonics Super Hits, The Delfonics and Tell Me This Is a Dream. Among the Delfonics' popular hits were "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)", "For the Love I Give to You", "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)" and "Hey Love". Prior to the release of "La-La (Means I Love You)", they had a hit with "He Don't Really Love You" on the small Moonshot label.
Philadelphia soul was smoother than traditional soul, strongly influenced by Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" production, but solidly based in the doo-wop sounds of the 1950s. Randy Cain left the group in 1971, and in 1973 had a hand in formulating Blue Magic when he brought singer-songwriter Ted Mills in to do some writing for W.M.O.T. (We Men of Talent), and the remaining future members of Blue Magic came in for an audition. The rest, as they say, is history. Cain was replaced by Major Harris; by then, however, Thom Bell had moved on to produce The Stylistics and later, The Spinners. The Delfonics swiftly produced another album, Alive and Kicking, produced by Stan Watson. However, in the absence of Thom Bell, the Delfonics' career declined sharply, and with the exception of the aforementioned Hey Love and the minor hits "When You Get Right Down to It", "I Don't Want to Make You Wait" and "I Told You So", success eluded them after 1975. ("For the Love I Give to You", although popular, was never released as a single.) Most of their songs at this point were written by lead singer William Hart.
Major Harris left and had major success with the song "Love Don't Let Me Wait". Wilbert Hart also left around this time, leaving William Hart as the only original member. New members were brought in, and the group continued for some time. The group then broke up and reformed with William Hart, Randy Cain, and Major Harris. (Wilbert Hart formed his own Delfonics group; the members were Wilbert, Eban Brown (falsetto lead), and Dr. S. Love.) Dr. Salaam Love has performed with both William and Wilbert Hart for the last twenty five plus years. Although often in the background he is more than qualified to take lead when asked. His claim to Fame is his vocal versatility. Randy Cain left for a second time, and was replaced by Frank Washington of The Futures.
Their music enjoyed a mild renaissance in the mid-1990s when New Kids On The Block had a hit with "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)". "La La Means I Love You" and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)" played a pivotal role in the film Jackie Brown. In the film, one of the characters is so struck by the music, he goes out and buys The Delfonics Greatest Hits cassette the following day. Their songs appeared in numerous movies and "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)" served as the basis of two hit hip hop singles: it was the chorus for The Fugees' 1996 hit "Ready or Not", and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Timbaland sampled the string and horn intro for Elliott's hit 1997 "Sock It to Me". The Notorious B.I.G.'s last hit, "Playa Hata" released that same year, was a take-off on "Hey Love." The Delfonics also provided backing vocals on the track "After the Smoke has Cleared" on the 1996 hip hop album Iron Man by Ghostface Killah. In 2004 Ghostface also sampled "La-La Means I Love You" for his song "Holla" from his album The Pretty Toney Album. "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" was also sampled on Cam'ron's hit single "Hey Ma".
The current line-up of the Delfonics is William Hart, Garfield Fleming (baritone lead), and Johnny ("JJ") Johnson. Wilbert also has a group, sometimes called "The Delphonics", "The New Delfonics" or simply billed as "Wilbert Hart". Eban Brown went on to become the lead singer of The Stylistics, and Frank Washington is now the lead singer of The Spinners. The current line-up of the group is featured in concert on the DVD's "The Big Show" and "'70's Soul Jam," whereas Wilbert Hart's group is featured on the DVD "Old School Soul Party Live!," which was part of the PBS "My Music" series. Major Harris is also featured on the recently re-released DVD "Blue Magic/Margie Joseph/Major Harris Live!", which was recorded during their prime in 1975.
The Look Of Love
The Delfonics Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is in your eyes
A look your smile can't
disguise
The look of love
Is saying so much more than
Just words could every say
Well it takes my breath away
[Chorus]
I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you
You've got the look of love
It's on your face
A look that time can't erase
Baby be mine, tonight
Let this be just the start of
So many nights like this
Let's take a lovers vow
And seal it with a kiss
[Chorus]
Don't ever go
Don't ever go
I love you so
The look of love
Let this be just the start of
So many nights like this
Let's take a lover's vow
And baby we'll seal it with a kiss
[Chorus]
The Delfonics' song, The Look Of Love, is a romantic ballad that describes the powerful emotions associated with falling in love. The song begins with the singer's reference to the "look of love" he sees in his beloved's eyes, which he asserts that hides nothing from him, except what her smile can't. He further explains that this "look" conveys more than words ever could, as what his heart feels is far beyond verbal expression. The "look of love" described here is a nonverbal communication or language of the eyes, a symbol of affection, love and care.
In the chorus, the singer exclaims his desire to hold his beloved in his arms, stating, "I can hardly wait to hold you / Feel my arms around you / How long I have waited / Waited just to love you / Now that I have found you." It is only by holding her, he feels complete and utterly overwhelmed by his love for her. The song concludes with an appeal, asking his lover never to leave him because he loves her beyond measure, and he wants to love her forever.
Overall, The Look of Love is a beautiful, soulful track that showcases the depth of love between two individuals. The lyrics of the song evoke an intense longing and desire for companionship and love, which is a common human emotion that transcends time and culture.
Line by Line Meaning
The look of love
The expression of affectionate feelings towards someone or something.
Is in your eyes
Your eyes reflect the emotion of love you have for me.
A look your smile can't disguise
Even with a smile on your face, the love in your eyes is still visible.
Is saying so much more than
The look of love reveals feelings that go beyond words alone.
Just words could ever say
Words alone cannot express the depth of the love that is conveyed by the look of love.
And what my heart has heard
My heart can sense the love that your eyes are expressing.
Well it takes my breath away
The intensity of the love I feel when I see the look of love takes my breath away.
You've got the look of love
You are expressing your love for me through your eyes.
It's on your face
The love you have for me is visible on your face.
A look that time can't erase
The look of love will remain forever, unaffected by the passage of time.
Baby be mine, tonight
Let us be together tonight and enjoy the love we share.
Let this be just the start of
This is just the beginning of the beautiful love story we will have together.
So many nights like this
We will have many more romantic nights together like this.
Let's take a lovers vow
Let us commit to each other and take a vow of love.
And seal it with a kiss
We will seal our love with a kiss, a symbol of our commitment to each other.
Don't ever go
Please stay with me forever.
I love you so
I am deeply in love with you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mario Downing Mr fitness fitness
I never knew a band with so many great hits!
Katrina Houston
Blue Magic And The Stylistics! They had a lot of hits too. The Smooth sound of Philly Honey!
SoundAddicts
Beautiful song! One of my favorite Delfonics songs.
davidruffin1969
the delfonics set a trend of sweet soul music with a little bit elegance with this song which was made in 1968, issac hayes made a remake of this song a year later which i think are both masterpieces
Larry Taylor
Supreme Sophisticated Soul.
Anthony Austin
wow! love the way the delfonics did this version...sooooo smooth!
dscot
Many people are asleeep to the work of Burt Bacharach. before you do anymore thankin and appreciatin' we need to give a big up to Mr. Bacharach - the writer of this and many, many other classics sampled and re-used by many of the greats! Recognize the true origins of good music!
Barron Ingram
i call some of them standards
Roxanne Gorena
The best!! The guys do it perfect!!
msant00
Amazing, brings back such good memories!!!