The Natural Four was an American R&B group from

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

that played from 1967-1976.

History

Formed in 1967, the Natural Four approached Fred Ivey about becoming their manager. Ivey owned a local record store called Tape Town and eventually made a deal with a local

label,

Boola Boola Records ''For the hip hop artist, see Alrad Lewis.'' Boola is a town and sub-prefecture in the forest region in the Beyla Prefecture in the Republic of Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, ...

. Their first release, "I Thought You Were Mine" sold 30,000 copies locally, after being regularly played on San Francisco soul/R&B radio station KSOL and on Oakland's KDIA where it rose to #7 on the chart. ABC Records saw the group's potential and picked them up. Their second release on Boola Boola, "Why Should We Stop Now" was re-released and, ABC then released "The Same Thing in Mind", a remake of their first hit "I Thought You Were Mine", and a cover of

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

' "Message From a Black Man", but none repeated the success of their initial recording.

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

released the single, "Give a Little Love" in 1971 without success and, following this, Chris James replaced the rest of the band. The new group, with Delmos Whitley generally taking lead, signed with

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

's label,

Curtom Records Curtom Records was a record label started in 1968 by Curtis Mayfield and Impressions manager Eddie Thomas. The label's name was a combination of Mayfield's first name and Thomas' last name. Mayfield had previously made attempts at a record lab ...

, in 1972 and proceeded to release a string of US R&B hits, including one Top 40 breakthrough, 1973's "Can This Be Real". Their three Curtom LPs were mainly produced by

Leroy Hutson Leroy Hutson (born June 4, 1945) is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of R&B vocal group The Impressions. His music concerns '70s soul, as noted in the June 29 ...

, formerly of

The Impressions The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, doo-wop, R&B, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthur Bro ...

, but after their third album failed to chart, the group called it quits. The Curtom releases were re-issued in 1999 as a two-CD package by

Sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

Members

;1967-1972 *Chris James *Allen Richardson *John January *Al Bowden ;1972-1976 *Chris James *Darryl Cannady *Steve Striplin *Delmos Whitley

Discography

*'' Good Vibes'' (

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

, 1970) *''

The Natural Four The Natural Four was an American R&B group from Oakland, California that played from 1967-1976. History Formed in 1967, the Natural Four approached Fred Ivey about becoming their manager. Ivey owned a local record store called Tape Town and eve ...

'' (

, 1974) US Black Albums #36 *'' Heaven Right Here On Earth'' (Curtom, 1974) US #182, US Black Albums #49 *'' Nightchaser'' (Curtom, 1976) *''Can This Be Real?'' (re-release of the three Curtom LPs on 2 CD,

Sequel Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

, 1999)

Singles

References

at Allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Natural Four Musical groups from San Francisco