THE FRIENDS OF DISTINCTION

The Friends of Distinction were a Los Angeles group who had three major hits in less than a year.

Their frontman, Harry Elston, started with Ray Charles’ backup band, the Hi-Fis. Eventually, the group changed their name to the Vocals and recorded for Charles’ Tangerine label. When none of their singles hit, the group dissolved. Two of its members—Lamont McLemore and Marilyn McCoo—formed the 5th Dimension, while Floyd Butler and Harry Elston formed the Distinctive Friends. They changed their name after adding Barbara Love and Jessica Cleaves to the group; Love suggested “The Friends of Distinction,” and the name stuck.

Elston had a roommate who knew future NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown from their hometown of Cleveland. When Brown came to Los Angeles for a Pro Bowl, he and Elston met and became friends. After he retired from football, Brown entered show business. When Elston told him about the Friends of Distinction, Brown offered to manage them. The group subsequently signed with RCA Victor.

Around this time, Elston began to draw on his experiences traveling from gig to gig, watching cows grazing as the tour bus sped by. As he told an interviewer, “We’d be on the road, touring, and that meant riding the bus for hours at a time. We’d drive past pastures, cotton fields, cornfields. I’d always see these cows, just grazing, so peaceful, and I’d think to myself, ‘You know, they have it made. They just graze and shit!’” That observation led to the Friends of Distinction’s first hit.

In the summer of 1968, Hugh Masekela had a #1 instrumental record, “Grazing in the Grass.” Elston took it upon himself to add lyrics and pick up the tempo. The resulting single hit #5 on the Billboard Soul chart and #3 pop in the spring of 1969. It sold over a million copies and received a gold record from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Their follow-up, “Going in Circles,” was a ballad that leaned toward the deep soul of the American south, as opposed to the West Coast pop-soul of “Grazing.” That’s likely why it did better on the Soul chart, where it hit #3. On the Billboard Hot 100, “Circles” topped out at #15. Meanwhile, Barbara Love went on maternity leave and was replaced by Charlene Gibson, who sang on the group’s third and last major hit, “Love or Let Me Be Lonely.” As with “Grazing,” it had strong pop elements and, as such, did better on the Hot 100 (#6) than it did in the Soul market (#13).

The Friends of Distinction’s lack of sustained chart success may have had to do with things changing in the group. Per Elston, “Barbara came back, and then Jessica split and went with Earth, Wind and Fire and later Parliament-Funkadelic. Charlene stayed on, then she split after a couple of years too.” He added, “Being on the road was tiring, and when record sales started slipping, we felt like it was time to hang it up.”

The Friends of Distinction called it quits in 1975. Fifteen years later, Harry Elston and Floyd Butler decided to revive the group. But before they could do so, Butler, 52, died of a heart attack on April 29, 1990. Elston went on to form a new quartet, keeping the group’s name. They perform to this day.

“Going in Circles” was covered by Isaac Hayes, the Gap Band, and Luther Vandross. In 1982, a remake of “Love or Let Me Be Lonely” by Paul Davis hit #40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Elston’s songwriting credits include “Check It Out,” a 1973 hit for Tavares.

Jessica Cleaves, 65, died of a stroke on May 2, 2014.

Charted singles:

“Grazing in the Grass” (1969) R&B #5, Pop #3
“Going in Circles” (1969) R&B #3, Pop #15
“Let Yourself Go” (1969) Pop #63
“Love or Let Me Be Lonely” (1970) R&B #13, Pop #6
“Time Waits for No One” (1970) R&B #37, Pop #60
“I Need You” (1970) R&B #28, Pop #79