Bob & Earl

about

Bob & Earl were an American soul music singing duo in the 1960s, best known for writing and recording the original version of "Harlem Shuffle". The original duo were Bobby Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990) and Earl Nelson (born 8 September 1928, Lake Charles, Louisiana - July 2008, Los Angeles). They had both been members of The Hollywood Flames, a prolific doo-wop group in Los Angeles, California whose major hit was "Buzz Buzz Buzz" in 1958, on which Nelson sang lead. By 1957, Byrd had started a parallel solo career, writing and recording for contractual reasons as Bobby Day. He wrote and recorded the original version of "Little Bitty Pretty One", and had a hit of his own with "Rockin’ Robin" (1958). In 1960, Day/Byrd and Nelson began recording together as Bob & Earl, on the Class record label. However, these releases had relatively little success, and Day/Byrd restarted his solo career. Nelson then recruited a second “Bob”, Bobby Relf, who also used the stage names of Bobby Garrett and Bobby Valentino. Relf had already led several Los Angeles based acts in his career, including the Laurels, the Upfronts, and Valentino and the Lovers. The latter two groups also featured the then pianist and bass singer, Barry White. This duo of Relf and Nelson recorded several singles for different labels, before recording "Harlem Shuffle" in 1963. The song was written by Relf and Nelson, arranged by Barry White, and produced by Fred Smith, and when released on the Marc label became a

top songs

albums

Harlem Shuffle

Baby Driver (Music from the Motion Picture)

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Great Soul Classics

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Best of Am Radio Gold (Remastered)

Dancin' Everywhere

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Island Life: 50 Years of Island Records

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Sunshine Reggae Hits

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Good Morning Vietnam

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World's Greatest R&B Rarities

Everybody Jerk

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The Great Soul Classics

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Saturday Night Party Hits

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