Groups In The 1970s The Manhattan Transfer

This U.S. vocal group were named after a 1925 novel of the same name by John Dos Passos. The group actually formed in 1969 and had a lot of people come and go during the lifetime of the group. Tim Hauser was right there from the very start, although he launched the group twice once in 1969 and then revamped again in 1972. There first album in 1971 called Junkin' managed to reach No. 202 in the U.S. The next album in 1975 called The Manhattan Transfer did far better, and was a very well acclaimed jazz album getting to No. 49 on the UK album chart in 1977 and No. 33 in the U.S. in 1975.

The album spurred a hit in the UK in 1976 with a single release of the track Tuxedo Junction getting to No. 24. The song had been a hit many times before, including being a big hit for Glen Miller Orchestra. The song is all about a club in Birmingham Alabama.

. 

Alan Paul was a member of the group who actually appeared on Broadway as a child actor in Oliver. Another member was Janis Siegal and during her time with the band the band has won ten Grammy Awards. Other members of the group included Cheryl Bentyne, Laurel Masse and Larry Heard who in the 1980s had hits with house music tracks.

In 1977 The Manhattan Transfer scored their biggest hit with Chandson D'Amour which is French for Love Song and was written by Wayne Shanklin who also wrote Jezebel that Herman Hermits had a hit with. Wayne died in 1970 so never saw this become a big UK number one single in the UK. Although it had already been a top ten hit back in 1958 for Art and Dotty Todd. Laurel Masse was the lead vocal on this song.

The follow up single called Dont Let Go in 1977 only got to No. 32.

In 1978 they had a better charting single success with  Walk In Love getting into the UK top twenty

In the 1970s there really could be anything in the charts, but the special sound of Manhattan Transfer was beginning to fade in the UK just like it already had chart-wise in the U.S. The last top twenty hit for the group in the 1970s was On Little Street In Singapore which was a huge band sound from the 1930s and 1940s.