Earl Young

Earl Young was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and raised in two foster homes with very little to get by.Without the luxury of a pampered life or close friends, none of those things got in the way of his dream. Earl retain the ambitions of a young man longing to be an entertainer in spite of his surroundings. With sticks in hand Earl would beat on anything that made sound. Starting off at very young age he manage to play for a small marching band at his school. He took the sticks to a snare and beat away. He knew at right then he had a rhythmic sound that would become his SIGNATURE sound, and an ear for melodies with impeccable timing! In 1975 Earl Young, Ronnie Baker and Norman Harris went on to perform and record under the title "H-B-Y" (Harris-Baker-Young) and became the central rhythm section of the super hot "Sal-Soul Orchestra"! The H-B-Y team were the owners of the Golden Fleece record label. They were featured prominently on many Gamble, Huff and Bell recordings before moving on to Salsoul Records as part of the house band for the label. They recorded extensively at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. Now cemented in music history, Earl Young is the inventor of the disco sound. That famous TISSS-OOP,,, sound you here from thehat-hat was the official disco emblem ! At age 19 Earl was playing the cocktail drum, This was his very first drum kit and he made good use of it! He played in small venues around Philly and develop a beat thatwould be lighting fast and people took notice. He had to lug this kit around on the buses of Philly to get to his gigs. People on the bus wondered if he was going to play for them. That went on for quite some time until 1964. He met a young producer by the name of Weldon A. McDougal. One day Weldon's main drummer didn't show up for a gig and Earl spoke up and told him he could play. Weldon use him the landmark recording that became mother of all love songs. Yes I'm ready by Barbra Mason. MFSB- 1967 through 1974, The golden years! MFSB menbers from 1967 through 1974 were, Drums, Carl Chambers and of course the master of the sticks himself, EARL YOUNG! Lead and rhythm guitars, Norman Harris, Roland Chambers, Bobby Eli, & TJ Tindall. Bass Guitars, Winnie Wilford and Ronnie Baker. Vibes and Percussion, Vince Montana Jr. Keyboards & Piano, Leon Huff, Thom Bell, Ron Kersey, Bruce Hawes, Victor Carstarphen, Bongo, Congas and Percussion, Larry Washington. Organ, Lenny Pakula. For the "sugar on the top" that sweeten the sound to perfection, it was "Don Renaldo's strings section" and the mighty MFSB horns featuring Zach Zachary, Jack Faith, and Rocco Bene. Raw Soul & R&B from the hottest musicians of Philly. From the start these guy's were there to create MUSIC! Many others played in this historic orchestra, to see them & more on MFSB, Click here! In 1989, new comers Ten City would seek out Young to work on their debut album for the House Music scene, They commissioned Earl for remixing of some of the material as well as session drumming. The main drive of house / Techno music is the 4/4 beat with that frantic hi hat sound. This sound can also be associated with Electronica! Because of Earl the youth of today people enjoy this pulsating sound. By the way Earl's not done yet, The best is yet to come! He's working on some new recordings that's sure to blow some minds as well as speakers. Yes the Philly days were good to him but he knows you have keep up with the times and stay current on the music scene. The young people need him so we'll all stay focus. Heck, they already sample all the good stuff from back in the day, why not show them the where it came from. All while drumming for both MFSB and the Sal Soul Orchestra, Earl took time to form and perform in the explosive disco group "The Trammps"! His very own group that had a major smash hit record with "Disco Inferno" and "Zing went the strings of my heart"! They were known as the first band to become KINGS OF DISCO! Earl played the drums and sang in a bass voice on all the sessions from 1972 to 1979. Yes Earl was the founder of the legendary Trammps! to the loudest POP! & the latter hitting a semi closed HI-Hat cymbal to get that famous Disco" sound. His drumming and his group "The Trammps" shot Earl into orbit!