Phil Hurtt is a musician, singer, songwriter and arranger who has written hits for The Detroit Spinners,

The Ritchie Family The Ritchie Family are an American vocal group based in Philadelphia that achieved several hits during the disco era. They have reunited and continue to perform. Their latest single "Whatcha Got" was released in 2021. Background The three orig ...

and many others. His compositions have been recorded by many artists and he has worked as an arranger on recordings by well-known artists in the

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

genre.

Background

Phil Hurtt started out singing in church. At the age of 10, he and his oldest brother Al were singing on street corners. By the age of 12, he and his brother had formed a group with their cousin Sarah. They were known as Sarah & the Dreams. They got a steady gig performing in Gold Room of the Theresa Hotel in Harlem. After cousin Sarah left the group in 1957, they became The Swinging Phillies. Philadelphia DJ named Jocko Henderson had something to do with the name change. That year, they signed a recording contract with Deluxe Records. By the time Hurtt was 15, they had released a single, "Frankenstein's Party" b/w "L-O-V-E". Both tunes were written by his brother Al with Phil Hurtt writing the lyrics for "L-O-V-E". He continued performing throughout his youth and kept working on his song-writing skills. There was a demand for him to work contributing background vocals in New York and Philadelphia sessions. He knew for him that songwriting was what he wanted to do. With his former high school mate

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...

he wrote " I'll Be Around for The Detroit Spinners which turned out to be their first no 1 hit. He also co-wrote the song, "

The Best Disco in Town "The Best Disco in Town" is a 1976 crossover disco single by Philadelphia-based group, The Ritchie Family. In the United States, the single was a top 20 hit on both the soul and pop charts. "The Best Disco in Town" went to number one for one week ...

" with

Jacques Morali Jacques Morali (4 July 1947 – 15 November 1991) was a French disco and dance music record producer and songwriter, known for creating acts like The Ritchie Family and Village People. Early life Morali was born in Casablanca, Morocco ...

Richie Rome Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name *Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame *Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Austr ...

and

Henri Belolo Henri Belolo (; 27 November 1936 – 3 August 2019) was a French music producer and songwriter active during the disco era. Born in Morocco, he started his career as a club DJ and A&R man. In the 1970s, with his friend, composer Jacques Moral ...

. This was the second single for

. The song became a worldwide smash hit. In diversity he also write the music for the ''Nutricize'' exercise record which was released in 1982. Other artists he has produced recordings for include Willis Jackson with his 1975 ''The Way We Were'' album.

Career

By August 11, 1973, the song he had co-written with

Bunny Sigler Walter "Bunny" Sigler (March 27, 1941 – October 6, 2017) was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating th ...

, "Sweet Charlie Babe" had been in the charts for two weeks and was moving in a positive direction for singer Jackie Moore. By July 1978, his ''Giving it Back'' album was released on

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

F9552. The material was co-written with

. By August 1979, his album ''PH Factor'' was out on Fantasy F9572. In the Billboard Recommended LPs section, the songs singled out were "I Think It's About Time" and "I'm In Love Again". Also that month, his disco hit, " Boogie City (Rock And Boogie Down)" peaked at No. 61.Top40weekly.com
Disco Singles 1974-1980
/ref> Hurtt co-wrote the 1982 hit You'll Never Know for Hi-Gloss.

External links

* https://sie920.wixsite.com/philhurtt * https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2033268/ * https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/30741 * https://www.facebook.com/philhurttmusic/ * http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/41/phil_hurtt_philly_cream * https://www.soultracks.com/phil-hurtt

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurtt, Phil Record producers from Pennsylvania American music arrangers 20th-century American keyboardists Musicians from Philadelphia American male singer-songwriters Living people Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 1942 births