[MRL 420] Terry Huff & Special Delivery - The Lonely One

Personnel

Terry Huff - Vocals
Chester Fortune - Vocals (bckgr)
Jim Huff - Vocals (bckgr)
George Parker - Vocals (bckgr)
Reginald Ross - Vocals (bckgr)
Al Johnson - Arranger, Conductor

01 - That's When Love Hurts (4:45)
02 - The Lonely One (LP Version) (3:28)
03 - Why Doesn't Love Last (4:55)
04 - When You're Lonely (4:40)
05 - Where There's A Will (There's A Way) (3:38)
06 - Poochie (5:33)
07 - I Destroyed Your Love - Part 1 (3:32)
08 - I Destroyed Your Love - Part 2 (3:30)
09 - Just Not Enough Love (4:25)
10 - The Lonely One (45 Version) [Japanese Edition Bonus Track]
11 - Come Back With Love Pt.1 - Special Delivery [Japanese Edition Bonus Track]
12 - Come Back With Love Pt.2 - Special Delivery [Japanese Edition Bonus Track]
13 - The Lonely One (Inst.) [Japanese Edition Bonus Track]

SoulTracks Bio
by Chris Rizik

Originally called Act 1, the group Special Delivery was a rotating bunch of Washington D.C.-based singers that had a brief moment in the spotlight in 1976. Led by falsetto singer Terry Huff, the group had its first hit around the Huff-written ballad "I Destroyed Your Love." The six minute song (split up into parts for both sides of the 45) only made it halfway up the Soul charts, but was an absolute gem, with excellent harmonies behind Huff's sweet falsetto voice. It may be one of the greatest sweet soul cuts of the 70s, with the appeal of some of the top Stylistics and Chi-Lites cuts. The song continued to live on after its initial run, and is still a regular on Urban Adult Contemporary radio 30+ years after its introduction.

The group followed "I Destroyed Your Love" with "The Lonely One," another excellent Huff ballad that shot up to the Soul Top 10 and seemed to indicate another hot Soul group was in the makings. Working with writer/producer Al Johnson, the group released the album The Lonely One later that year, and it briefly reached the Soul top 40. All Music Guide asserts that by the time "The Lonely One" was recorded, Special Delivery had already broken up and that the single and subsequent album were actually recorded by Huff, Johnson and Huff's brother, but were nonetheless credited to Special Delivery. Huff informed me that his split with Special Delivery occurred two weeks before the release of "I Destroyed Your Love" due to a dispute about songwriting credit for the song (Huff is generally credited as the sole writer of the song).

Special Delivery regrouped in 1977 without Huff, and charted one more time, with 1978's "This Kind of Love," before fading into oblivion with their 1981 release Living On the Run. Though he entertained offers following his split with Special Delivery, Huff's solo career never materialized, and his national notoriety wound up being limited to two wonderful Soul ballads.

The name Special Delivery was later used by a completely unrelated country/folk act, which released This Is Special Delivery in 1994. You won't find Terry Huff's sweet falsetto on that disc. Just a whole lotta picking and strumming.

AMG Bio
by Andrew Hamilton

Terry Huff is an obscure Washington, D.C.-based singer whose biggest hit was the ache-filled "The Lonely One," a substantial hit along the East Coast. Terry was born in North Carolina and raised in Maryland foster homes; he started singing in church at an early age before graduating to school talent shows. At the shows he would sing songs by Little Richard and the Everly Brothers with his brother Andy.

Terry Huff moved to Washington, D.C., in 1959, where the Huff brothers sang on street corners and porches. In 1962, they auditioned their newly formed group for Van McCoy, who rejected them. Luck struck in 1963 when a restaurant owner sponsored their trip to New York for a recording session. As Andy and the Marglows, they recorded "Just One Look" for Liberty Records, who released it two weeks before the hit version by Doris Troy. Troy's version won that battle, as the Marglows never received any exposure. The follow-up, "I'll Get By," generated few sales despite several publicity appearances in the area. Shortly after the second flop and being dropped by Liberty, Andy and the Marglows were history.

In the mid-'60s, the Huff brothers tried again to interest several producers, including Van McCoy; they were again rejected. Terry Huff finished his education and became a member of Washington, D.C.'s police force. By 1973 the music bug hit the Huff brothers again; Terry also befriended Al Johnson (the Unifics). Terry Huff quit the police force in 1974 and joined Act 1, a group who had recorded for Spring Records. The group left Spring for Mainstream Records, re-formed with Huff, and changed their name to Special Delivery. Terry Huff, George Barker, Chester Fortune, and Reginald Ross auditioned for Van McCoy with a painful ballad written by Huff titled "I Destroyed Your Love." The song quickly became a staple on quiet storm radio stations and remained on the low end of the R&B charts. Before Mainstream could record a follow-up, the group disbanded over musical, business, and personal differences.

Terry Huff recorded and produced "The Lonely One" with help from Al Johnson. Johnson and Huff's two brothers (Andy and Jimmy) did the backing vocals. For commercial reasons, Mainstream released it as being by Special Delivery featuring Terry Huff. The song's success caused a demand for an LP, which Huff and Johnson rushed to New York to record. The album fizzled and soon Terry Huff was back where he started: in D.C., looking for a deal. Special Delivery surfaced again, recording sporadically on small labels; they released an LP titled Living on the Run, but they faded from the scene without fanfare after disappointing sales.

AMG Review
by Andrew Hamilton

R&B groups from the D.C./Baltimore area were unique in that they would create elaborate vocal arrangements to complement the lead; they didn't just ooh and ah in the background. "I Destroyed Your Love (Parts 1 & 2)" is a prime example of the trend -- lead singer Terry Huff's shrill falsetto cries and whines as Reginald Ross, George Parker and Chester Fortune, singing in ringing three-part harmonies, add some sparkling choruses to the drama; a tenor emerges from the threesome and provides some needed relief from Huff's soprano high pleadings. Only Terry is pictured on the album's cover; Special Delivery was an ever-changing ensemble of singers. Andy Huff and Jimmy Huff (Terry's brothers) are the backing voices on "The Lonely One."

A charmer from the first note, Terry sounds real hurt, the type of hurt that lasts for years. All of the songs centered on Terry's real-life problem: a knock-down, drag-out divorce. He missed the family pet so much he wrote a sentimental ballad about the mutt entitled "Poochie"; seems his ex got to keep the dog. This is not a happy album; the songs are some of the saddest imaginable, all filled with self-condemnation. These songs provided a needed release for Terry, who wrote everything except "When You're Lonely" -- another "I'm gonna jump" tune. I hate to think what Terry might have done if he had not found an outlet by writing and recording this album.

Dusty Groove Review

A heartbreaking classic from Terry Huff and his Special Delivery group -- a cool 70s harmony ensemble who deliver some wonderful backup on the set! The record's a stone east coast classic from way back -- arranged and conducted by Al Johnson, with a vibe that's a slightly more polished take on the harmony modes used by George Kerr over at All-Platinum. Terry Huff has a high-end vocal approach that's great -- never cloying or too-sweet, but nicely crackling and almost in a Ralfi Pagan mode at points. Huff wrote most of the songs, and titles include "Poochie", "The Lonely One", "When You're Lonely", "I Destroyed Your Love", "That's When It Hurts", and "Why Doesn't Love Last". (In case you didn't notice, this guy's pretty broken up about love!) CD also includes the bonus tracks "Come Back With Love (parts 1 & 2)", plus instrumental and 45 versions of "The Lonely One"

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Terry Huff at MySpace