Get into these outfits:
I’m sorry, but if I was Sheila Ferguson (the tallest one) in the 60s and 70s, I would have been such a problem. But let’s go back — who are The Three Degrees and why am I talking about them on a random Saturday?
Skip down to The Three Degrees History if you don’t need all this background.
I go to the grocery store every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning around 5:30 or 6:00am to buy whatever I need for the next couple of days with no lines. I do realize that seems like a bonkers schedule to a lot of people, especially if you are deep in suburbia pulling twice a month grocery trips 7 miles away in a station wagon for a few hundred dollars a pop. My grocery store is a 3 minute walk and it’s a nice, peaceful way to start my morning with a coffee and a trip to the market. Look how empty it is:
No interactions with people! We love an anti-social moment!
I was picking up some ingredients to cook during my lunch break (ended up making ribs, potato salad, and green beans), and while I was in the frozen vegetable section, this tiny little white lady comes up out of absolutely nowhere singing “when will I see you…againnn…” Not only was I shocked that a person was interacting with me at 6am, but actually, I hadn’t consciously realized I’d paused my own music to sing along to the grocery store bops.
So I sang back to her, and there we were in the frozen food section of a Manhattan SuperFoodtown duetting to a largely-forgotten girl group of yesteryear.
“aaahhh”
“oooohhh”
“precious moooomeeennnnnnts”
When the song went off, Martha Louise (her name in my mind) asked me what I knew about the Three Degrees, and I told her my dad was a big music fan. That’s a much easier answer than the truth, which is that I spend about 80% of my waking hours with headphones on so I don’t have to talk to people, and this gives you a lot of opportunity to stumble across new music, old and new.
Martha Louise said, “they were my absolute favorites when I was young.”
Me: “They’re definitely a vibe. There’s a performance of ‘If & When’ online that I watch pretty regularly.”
Martha Louise singing: “Iiiiiiiiiif and wheeeeeeennnnnn…..”
I actually did not need to do the entire Three Degrees repertoire between the peas and the french fries, so I gently cut her off with a, “Yep! I love that song. I’ll probably put it on when I get home.” She said she always does her shopping on Thursdays but she had forgotten something and decided to pop in that morning as well. Not having that item was a gift so she could run into me that day.
Music bringing the people together! And by people, I mean the Three Degrees because they’ve had about 20 members come into and out of (and return to) the group over the years which is about half the capacity of a Waffle House.
The Three Degrees History
Back in 1963, the three original members — Fayette Pinkney, Linda Turner, and Shirley Porter — formed the Three Degrees during their last year of high school in Philadelphia. They were signed to Swan Records and released their first single, “Gee Baby I’m Sorry,” a very traditional 60s girl group ballad. You can hear in the delivery and enunciation that the girls were trying to stand out in crowded market, but it doesn’t quite hit for me.
Linda and Shirley left the group soon after, being replaced by Helen Scott and Janet Harmon. Around the same time, Sheila Ferguson had been signed to Swan Records as a solo artist, but since she and the Three Degrees shared a manager, they collaborated — the group sang backup for Sheila, and Sheila would fill in if they were a member short. Helen left the group to get married, and Sheila filled in permanently. This line-up released “Maybe” in 1966, and I need you to listen to a little of it, because we’ll come back to this shortly.
Fun Fact: “Maybe” is a cover. The original by The Chantels released in 1958 is said by many to be one of the founding pillars of the girl-group sound.
So for the Three Degrees, we have founding member Fayette, my soul sister goddess icon role model Sheila, and Janet.
Nevermind — Janet decided to leave too. After a couple of short-lived replacements, Valerie Holiday finally cemented my favorite lineup and magic was about to be made. Here’s a promo photo of Fayette, Sheila, and Valerie during the beginning of their reign, and most successful period.
First order of business? Re-record “Maybe” and issue it as a Philly soul torch song with Valerie singing the lead.
There are 3 minutes of storytelling in the beginning, as was the wave during this era, but you can skip to 3:10.
This version finally put the group on the map, with “Maybe” rising to #4 on the R&B charts in 1970.
The next year they landed a cameo in The French Connection, one of the best action thrillers of the 70s with 5 Academy Awards, Gene Hackman, and a spot in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. The Three Degrees appear singing one of my favorite songs from their catalog “Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon.”
Quickly approaching the cusp of greatness, the group signed with Philadelphia International Records and provided vocals on “TSOP: The Sound of Philadelphia” by MFSB, a collection of thirty some odd musicians in Philadelphia. You can hear the girls come in toward the end around 2:40.
If those vocals sound familiar, they should. Soul Train used it for the theme and it became the first TV Theme Song to hit #1 on the Billboard chart.
And then came their first album on the new label, The Three Degrees.
A true classic in the pantheon of girl groups, this is when the Three Degrees became the group that I’m obsessed with. Not only did they give so much close harmony that I love, but the hair and the outfits and the movements….in my mind, this is who I am as a person when I’m having my Pre-Office Shower Concert Series.
As with a fair number of American Soul groups, “Dirty Ol Man” was a bigger hit overseas, going gold in The Netherlands and Belgium.
“Year of Decision” followed suit, reaching #13 in the UK.
In August 1974, “When Will I See You Again” reached the top spot in the UK for two weeks, making the Three Degrees the first girl group to achieve that feat since The Supremes ten years earlier. A couple of months later that song would reach #2 in the US, but it was an album cut from this album that first hooked me.
The album version of “If & When” is seven minutes of drama but get into the live performance. Everybody is holding their own clearly, however Sheila Ferguson deserves an Oscar for this. Look at the emotion!
For me, that is the height of girl group perfection. The blend, the fashions, the movement — nobody has done it like that since.
Unfortunately, my opinion is not shared by anyone other than King Charles III. Random, but so serious! Look at them partying with the future King of England at his 30th Birthday Party.
Reportedly, his jam is “Givin Up, Givin In” which hit #12 in the UK back in 1978.
Sheila was still serving as the lead singer, but you might notice Fayette’s absence. There’s a new face to the left, but she’s actually an old face — Helen Scott, who had left the group to get married back before they released the first “Maybe” cover in 1966. Interesting to note that neither Valerie nor Sheila were in the group when Helen left, but Helen’s iteration of The Three Degrees had sung backup for Sheila as a solo artist.
The Shelia/Valerie/Helen version also dropped another one of my favorite girl group bops with “My Simple Heart” in 1979.
This was the last successful period of the group, producing four Top 20 hits in the UK, but when Sheila left, the group had trouble finding another lead singer. Because of all the time spent touring, Shelia felt her daughters were becoming more and more distant, so she left the group, informing the other members by phone. There’s some she-said/she-said back and forth between Helen & Valerie on one side and Sheila on the other about the fallout, but Sheila has never made another public appearance with the Three Degrees, and Valerie ended up taking over as lead singer, a position she still serves to this day.
Sheila went on to record some solo albums, but she found more success on the stage. Capitalizing on her popularity in the UK, Sheila has appeared in a number of productions in various Royal Theaters (Nottingham, Norwich, Windor). In the early 90s, she was the first Black woman to lead a sitcom in the UK with Land of Hope & Gloria…
…and she pops up on the reality TV circuit from Celebrity Master Chef to The Real Madrigold Hotel.
As for the other members of the group, Valerie and Helen are still making music with current third Freddie Pool, and they have not forgotten their Philly roots in the least.
So I would just like to thank Martha Louise for putting this Three Degrees spirit on my heart today. I hope y’all have enjoyed a little trip through a catalog that goes overlooked in the conversation of great girl groups. If and When you put on Three Degrees in the future, think of me and Martha Louise.
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