The Showstoppers (alternatively the Show Stoppers) was a four-piece African-American vocal

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 ...

group formed in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

about 1967. They are best remembered for their 1967

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty", which was the debut release on three record labels: Showtime Records, Heritage Records, and Beacon Records.Nigel Hunter, "London", ''Billboard'' (May 11, 1968) p.50

History

The Showstoppers was formed about 1967 by brothers, Elec Edward "Alex" Burke and Vladimir H. "Laddie" Burke who were the two oldest of the five younger brothers of

Atlantic Record Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

's star

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1936 or 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been ...

, who joined with fellow Germantown High School students, brothers Earl and Timmy Smith. The Burke brothers had been in show business since at least 1957 as part of a four-member group with two of their two younger brothers.

"Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" (1967)

After rehearsing under the guidance of Solomon Burke, they modeled themselves initially on

the Vibrations The Vibrations were an American soul music, soul vocal group from Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, active from the mid-1950s to 1976. Most notable among the group's chart-topper, hit single (music), singles were "Hang On Sloopy, ...

.Frank W. Hoffmann, ''Rhythm and Blues, Rap, and Hip-Hop'', Vol. 6 (Infobase Publishing, 2006):239. After signing to local Philadelphia label Showtime Records, the Showstoppers had a couple of local hit singles in Philadelphia. Their 1967

"Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty" b/w "What Can a Man Do?" (STR 101), sold well in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and New York City, and sold about 40,000 copies in Philadelphia, and reached No. 118 on the Billboard chart on May 27, 1967. The

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s on the song included Carl Chambers, who was later drummer with

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

, Joe Thomas, who went on to become the guitarist with

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 ...

, and Motown's Mike Terry on baritone sax. By early 1968, the

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

n-born American businessman Milton Samuel, the head of Beacon Records, a small

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

started in January 1968 in the

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

London suburb of

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

,"London", ''Billboard'' (December 16, 1967):50. who was later

Antigua & Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two major ...

's Ambassador to the UK and the founder of the

Bank of Antigua Bank of Antigua was an Antigua-based bank that was owned by the Stanford Financial Group and was central to the Ponzi scheme run by Allen Stanford. It was originally formed on the 10 February 1981 in St. John's. When the Ponzi scheme was expo ...

, purchased the UK leasing rights for "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" for only £30. On February 16, 1968, "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" became the first release on Beacon Records, In March 1968 Samuel and Mike Berry of

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mar ...

had negotiated a deal for "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" to be released through a newly created Milton Apple Music, but the inability to locate one of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

to approve the deal forced Samuel to make alternate arrangements. Initially distributed through the British Independent Record Distributors Network,Graeme Andrews, "London", ''Billboard'' (October 5, 1968):57. "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" caught on with DJs in the UK, and spent 16 weeks in the chart, debuting at No. 57 on March 2, 1968, before entering the Top 40 at No. 38 on March 23, 1968. By the end of March, Samuel organized a British visit for the Showstoppers. The Showstoppers made the first of their three appearances on the British television program ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' on April 18, 1968. According to one British source, "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" "was played to death and back to life at the Twisted Wheel and Blue Note Club in Manchester", and peaked at No. 11 on May 4, 1968, 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 ...

. Later in May 1968 "Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" was released in Germany on

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

and France on

Barclay Records Barclay is a French record company and label founded by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Eddie Barclay was a bandleader, pianist, producer, and nightclub owner. With his wife, Nicole, who was the vocalist in his band, he started Barclay. The catalogue inc ...

, and later released by Beacon in Scandinavia, the

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

countries, Austria, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. Jerry J. Ross, the head of newly created Heritage Records, heard about "Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" and decided to buy the master recording in 1968, and he also signed the Showstoppers to his label, became their manager, and organized MGM to distribute its re-release in the US. Despite rights being acquired for national release by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, it failed to become a national hit, spending 5 weeks in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 87 on June 22, 1968. It was ranked No. 20 on the Soul Brothers Top 20 on August 15, 1968. "Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" was a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

hit (#33) in 1971. Regarded as a Northern soul classic, the song has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

the Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's departu ...

(1968); the Paper Dolls;

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

on his album ''Cliff: Live at the Talk of the Town'' (1970);

the J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, harmonica and saxophone player Richard "Magic ...

, who had a No. 2 AOR US hit with it in 1973; By

Noel McCalla Noel McCalla (born 5 November 1956, in London, England) is a British rock singer. He was the lead vocalist for the rock group Manfred Mann's Earth Band from 1991 until 2009. Early life McCalla was born to Hubert Sylvester McCalla, a minister in ...

in 1979 and

Phil Fearon Phillip Joseph Fearon (born 30 July 1956) is a Jamaican–English record producer. He was the lead singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for the 1980s band Galaxy. Career Fearon was born in the Colony of Jamaica in 1956 and moved to Lon ...

, who recorded a

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

version produced by

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

in 1986 that reached No. 60 in the UK chart. "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" was covered in 1988 by British "supergroup" the Corporation.

"Eeny Meeny" (1968)

All of the Showstoppers subsequent singles were produced by

Indian-British British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...

producer

Biddu Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro d ...

and recorded by Beacon Records in England. The Showstoppers' follow-up single, "Eeny Meeny" b/w "How Easy the Heart Forgets" (Heritage HE 802), was released in September 1968 in the US, but it failed to chart there. On November 7, 1968, the Showstoppers appeared on ''Beat! Beat! Beat!'', a

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

television show, where they

lip synch Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

ed "Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" and their new release, "Eeny Meeny". After Milton Samuel negotiated a deal in October 1968 to distribute Beacon Records recordings through

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, on November 13, 1968 "Eeny Meeny", (MGM 1436), entered the UK chart, where it spent the next seven weeks, peaking at No. 33.

Later releases (1968–1972)

The Showstoppers released several more

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, including "Shake Your Mini" (1968); and 1969's "Just A Little Bit Of Lovin'" b/w "School Prom" (Beacon BEA 130), however none achieved chart success. Chart success in the UK and Europe "created demand not only for the record but for live appearances as well". As the Showstoppers had disbanded, Jerry Ross sent a different group on an entire tour of the UK and Europe as the Show Stoppers, which was a group later known as the Persuaders, who would later score with "

Thin Line Between Love and Hate "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" is the title of a 1971 song by the New York City-based R&B vocal group The Persuaders. The song was written and produced by the Poindexter brothers, Robert and Richard, and was also co-written by Robert's wife, ...

". Eventually the authentic Showstoppers traveled to Europe and were well received. On January 17, 1971, the Showstoppers performed at the

Twisted Wheel Club The Twisted Wheel was a nightclub in Manchester, England, open from 1963 to 1971. It was one of the first clubs to play the music that became known as Northern Soul. History The nightclub was founded by the brothers Jack, Phillip and Ivor ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. The Showstoppers made their third and final appearance on ''

'' on February 28, 1971, singing the disco version of "Aint' Nothing But a House Party". After their own tour of Europe, and in the absence of any other hit records, the Showstoppers disbanded finally about 1972.

Group members

* Alex Burke (born 1948) – vocalist * Laddie Burke (born 1949) – vocalist * Earl Smith (born 1949) – lead vocalist * Fleming Tinsley "Timmy" Smith III – vocalist

References

External links

Interview with Jerry Ross, producer of "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty"

Showstoppers – Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Showstoppers American soul musical groups American vocal groups Musical groups from Philadelphia