Faith Hope and Charity was the name of a vocal group from

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. They are best known for their 1975

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, " To Each His Own". They were also an in-demand group of session singers in New York studios during the 1970s.

Career

The founding members of the group were

Zulema Cusseaux Zulema Cusseaux (January 3, 1947 – September 30, 2013),Biography)))">Allmusic (((Zulema>Biography)))Accessed May 25, 2010 and attended Howard W. Blake High School. She and her school friend Brenda Hilliard joined a local group called The ...

, Brenda Hilliard and Al Bailey. They were originally a trio called the Lovelles, when they met

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...

, who signed them to a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

at Maxwell Records. At this time, the group's name was changed to Faith, Hope and Charity. Their song "So Much Love" hit #14 on the ''

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'' R&B chart and #51 on the

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in 1970. The subsequent release "Baby Don't Take Your Love" reached #36 R&B and #96 in the Hot 100. Cusseaux left Faith, Hope and Charity in 1971, shortly after a

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

switch to

Sussex Records Sussex Records, Inc. was a Los Angeles-based record label, founded by music executive and businessman Clarence Avant, that existed from 1969 through 1975. History Sussex Records was launched in December 1969 by Avant, who had previously set up a ...

, and started a

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career. She was eventually replaced by Diane Destry in 1974. Their biggest hit came with a switch to RCA Records in the mid-1970s. With Van McCoy still writing and producing for the group, they hit the top of the R&B charts with " To Each His Own" (1975; #1 R&B, #15 Dance, #50 Hot 100). They then scored another hit in January 1976, reaching #38 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

with "Just One Look" (from their

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Faith, Hope & Charity''). It was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of a

Doris Troy Doris Troy (born Doris Elaine Higginsen; January 6, 1937 – February 16, 2004) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, known to her many fans as "Mama Soul". Her biggest hit was " Just One Look", a top 10 hit in 1963. Life and career She ...

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. Their single "Don't Pity Me" reached #20 on the R&B chart in 1978. After a second album with RCA, which produced a couple of minor hits, Destry left, but Hilliard and Bailey carried on for another album in 1978, with 20th Century, before splitting up. It seemed that there was another member of Faith Hope & Charity in 1977. Priscilla Baskerville has been credited as being a member of the group on some recordings.

Post FH&C

Brend Hilliard and Albert Bailey released a single "Talking About Loving You" bw "This Has Happened Before" that was released on Clarama Records CL-1200, credited to Brenda & Albert. Zulema Cusseaux died on September 30, 2013, at age 66. Bailey died on May 27, 2020.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Note

There was a girl band of the 1990s called Faith Hope & Charity that had no connection to this group.

References

External links

* Faith Hope & Charityat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Faith Hope & Charity
at

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{{Authority control African-American musical groups American dance music groups American soul musical groups American disco groups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1979 Musical groups from Florida