R&B group from Washington, D.C., that started out in the 1960s with a line-up of Mark Greene, Richard Gross, John Morgan, and Eric Olfus, Sr.
Their first chart success came in 1963, with the release of “Walk Right In” on the Era label. The song reached #82 on the U.S. pop chart.
They were signed by Hog Records in 1965 and issued the single, “Baby I Want You” b/w “Pray for Me”. Then they label-hopped to Stang Records, which was run by Joe and Sylvia Robinson.
In 1968, they reached #57 on the pop chart and #13 on the R&B chart with “Not on the Outside”/”Understanding”. Its accompanying LP, Not on the Outside, but on the Inside, Strong! managed #8 on the R&B album chart. More hits followed: In 1969, “I Do”, “I’m So Lost”, “Lovely Way She Loves” and “Sunday” all made the R&B rolls, with “I Do” reaching the top ten.
Mark Greene, Richard Gross and Eric Olfus, Sr. left the group and William “Billy” Brown and Al Goodman joined John Morgan on the new roster. “Love on a Two-Way Street” became their first big hit, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the R&B chart, where it stayed for five weeks in 1970.
John Morgan was briefly replaced by Johnny Moore, but when Moore failed to appear at a live engagement, he was replaced by Harry Ray. In the early ‘70s, they released an eclectic pair of concert albums: Live at the Miss Black America Contest and Live at the New York State Women’s Prison.
They teamed up with The O’Jays for 1974’s O’Jays Meet the Moments and The Whatnautson “Girls Parts 1 and 2”, which went to #3 in the U.K. In 1975, they reached the U.S. top 40 and scored their second R&B #1 with “Look at Me (I’m in Love)”. “Jack in the Box” reached #7 on the British charts in 1977.
In 1979, Brown, Goodman and Ray left Stang for Polydor and billed themselves as Ray, Goodman & Brown. There was a legal issue with the use of the name “The Moments” which wasn’t settled until much later. Mark Greene won use of the name and released Unspoken Moments on the FAJR label.
Ray died of a stroke in 1992. Goodman passed away on 27th July 2010. Greene continues to perform, record and tour with Loren Brown and Solomon Cunningham as “The Moments featuring Mark Greene”.
Much of The Moments’ output is available in CD form: their live albums and My Thing and The Other Side of the Moments have been re-released, as well as compilations such as The Best of the Moments: Love on a Two-Way Street.
The Moments recordings
Jack in the Box (Al Goodman/ Harry Ray/Tommy Keith)
All Platinum 6146 318 (UK single)
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray,_Goodman_%26_Brown
- http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Moments.html
- http://www.discogs.com/artist/Moments,+The
- http://www.amazon.com/The-Moments/e/B000APWCWE