Ponderosa Twins Plus One was an American

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 ...

vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in se ...

formed in 1970 in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The group featured two sets of identical twins, Alfred and Alvin Pelham, and Keith and Kirk Gardner, along with Ricky Spicer. The group released one studio album, '' 2 + 2 + 1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One'', in 1971, before disbanding in 1975. The group came into prominence after their track, "Bound" was sampled by rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

in his 2013 song, "

Bound 2 "Bound 2" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, featured as the final track from his sixth studio album, ''Yeezus'' (2013). It was produced by West and Che Pope, with additional production being handled by Eric Danchick, Noah Goldstein, No I ...

". This was followed by a copyright lawsuit by Ricky Spicer. "Bound" was also sampled by rapper

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape Bast ...

in his 2019 song " A Boy Is a Gun".

History

The group was founded in 1969 while the original members attended the Patrick Henry Jr. High School on the east side of Cleveland. The group was managed by Tony Wilson, who brought them to the attention of Bobby Massey of

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

. Through Massey, the group eventually signed to

Chuck Brown Charles Louis Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer known as "The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the mid-197 ...

's Astroscope record label. Accompanied by Massey, the group recorded three singles in a studio.

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with ...

, the owner of

All Platinum Records All Platinum Records was a record company started in 1967 by singer/writer/producer Sylvia Robinson and her husband, businessman Joe Robinson, who had previously worked in the recording industry. All Platinum and its subsidiary labels, includin ...

, agreed to distribute singles. The group's first single, "You Send Me" became their best-selling single, peaking at number 23 at ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Best Selling Soul Singles. Following the success of the single, the group toured with artists such as the Moments,

the Whatnauts The Whatnauts were an American soul group from Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (U ...

Linda Jones Linda Jones (December 14, 1944 – March 14, 1972) was an American soul singer with a strong gospel-influenced style who had the 1967 top 10 R&B hit single, "Hypnotized". Biography Jones was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States. She starte ...

and

Lonnie Youngblood Lonnie Thomas (born August 3, 1941 in Augusta, Georgia), known as Lonnie Youngblood, is an American saxophonist and bandleader best remembered for playing with Jimi Hendrix. Biography Youngblood's main influence is King Curtis, although his ear ...

. In 1971, the group released their debut album, '' 2 + 2 + 1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One''. "Bound" became their second single and peaked at number 47 on Best Selling Soul Singles chart. The second single off the album, a cover of

Frankie Lymon Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group Th ...

's " Why Do Fools Fall in Love", was also released in 1971. It was produced by

Calvin Simon Calvin Eugene Simon (May 22, 1942 – January 6, 2022) was an American singer who was a member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 along with fifteen other members of Parliame ...

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

. Due to the lack of royalties and earnings from live shows, the group disbanded in 1975. Following the disestablishment of the act, The Pelham Twins have since died and Kirk Gardner has been incarcerated at Belmont Correctional Institution since 6/9/1980 for receiving stolen property, felony assault, rape, kidnapping and aggravated murder. He is doing 28 years to life. Spicer has also alleged that Keith Gardner is also incarcerated. Ricky Spicer became a construction worker in the greater Cleveland area and maintained a friendship with Kirk and Keith Gardner.

Lawsuits

In 2013, Ricky Spicer filed a lawsuit against rapper

, as well as

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

The Island Def Jam Music Group The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was original ...

and

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, citing

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

in West's track, "

", from his 2013 album, ''

Yeezus ''Yeezus'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on June 18, 2013, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, ...

''. Spicer alleged that West didn't ask his permission to use the sample and it was audible in the record, seeking an injunction and damages for alleged violations. In 2014, Spicer sued ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' magazine and its publisher

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's media ...

, after "Bound 2" was used in the promotional behind the scenes video for the magazine's April edition cover, which featured Kanye West and

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...

. In 2015, court documents revealed that the lawsuit against Kanye West was settled. Ricky Spicer's attorney, Brittany Weiner, from the law firm Imbesi Law P.C., released a statement that the parties entered into a confidential settlement agreement.

Discography

;Studio albums * '' 2 + 2 + 1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One'' (1971) ;Singles * "You Send Me" (1971) * "Bound" (1971) * " Why Do Fools Fall in Love/Bitter with the Sweet" (1971)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Vocal quintets African-American musical groups American soul musical groups American rhythm and blues musical groups American funk musical groups Identical twins American vocal groups Musical groups established in 1970 Musical groups disestablished in 1975 Musical groups from Cleveland