Today’s classic song of the day is an early Philly Soul classic from 1968 by the Intruders. “Cowboys to Girls” was released as a single in March of 1968 and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart.
“Cowboys to Girls” was written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, two of the primary architects of the Philly Soul sound. While Philly Soul wouldn’t really become big until the early ’70s, Gamble and Huff used the Intruders and another early group, the Soul Survivors, to establish the parameters of this new, post-Motown sound. (Philly Soul was smoother than Motown with increasingly lush orchestration.) Many of the Philly Soul artists were former doo-wop groups, with anywhere from three to five singers, who’d been cooling their heels for a decade or so, just waiting for the right opportunity to show off their impressive vocal chops. (They also had impeccable sartorial taste and some nifty dance moves.) Gamble and Huff helped to define the sound and produce many of the genre’s best artists, including Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, the Three Degrees, MFSB, and Billy Paul.
I like the nostalgic lyrics in “Cowboys to Girls” that reflect on how the protagonist’s tastes have changed since he was a kid. He used to chase after girls and beat ’em up, but now he’s more interested in kissing them:
I remember when I used to play shoot ’em up
(Shoot ’em up, bang, bang baby)
I remember when I chased the girls and beat ’em up
But I was young and didn’t understand
But now I’m a grown up man
I know girls are made for kissing
Never knew what I was missing
Now my life is not the same
My whole world has been rearranged
Catchy tune, too.
The Intruders were singers Sam “Little Sonny” Brown, Eugene “Bird” Daughtry, Phillip “Phil” Terry and Robert “Big Sonny” Edwards. They first got together, in Philadelphia, back in 1960, but they didn’t make it big until they hooked up with Gamble in Huff in 1967. More than a dozen hits followed, including “Together” in 1967, “When We Get Married” in 1970, and “I’ll Always Love My Mama” in 1973.
The group stayed together through the mid-70s then went their separate ways. Bird Daughtry died of cancer in 1994, 55 years old. Little Sonny Brown committed suicided in 1995, 54 years old. Big Sonny Edwards passed away in 2016 from a heart attack; he was 74 years old. Phil Terry is still with us today, age 83.
And here’s your daily bonus video of the day, the Intruders lip synching “Cowboys to Girls” on the November 13, 1971, episode of Soul Train. Groovy, baby.
