THE INTRUDERS

The group formed in Philadelphia in 1960. The line-up featured Sam “Little Sonny” Brown, Eugene “Bird” Daughtry, Phillip Terry, and Robert “Big Sonny” Edwards. They made their first recordings in 1961, for the small Gowen label. Like their compatriots Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, the Intruders blended doo-wop harmony with gospel fervor and created a sound unique to Philadelphia.

In 1965, songwriters and record producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff began to think about leaving Cameo-Parkway Records to launch their own label. They pinned their hopes on the Intruders, whose 1966 release on the Gamble label, “(We’ll Be) United,” became their first charted single. The following year saw the group’s debut album, The Intruders Are Together, named for their third hit.

The year 1968 gave the Intruders their biggest single. The title cut from their second LP, “Cowboys to Girls” spent a week at #1 on the Billboard Soul singles chart and crossed over to the pop market at #6. Though the hits continued into 1969, lead singer Sam Brown left the Intruders that year and was replaced by Bobby Starr, only to rejoin the group in 1973.

Gamble and Huff’s success with the Intruders led Columbia Records to give them the money to start Philadelphia International. It became one of the biggest record labels of the 1970s, producing hits on Billy Paul, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, MFSB, the Three Degrees, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, and many others. PIR became known as “The Sound of Philadelphia.”

In 1975, Robert Edwards and Phil Terry left the music business after becoming Jehovah’s Witnesses. In 1980, Tierra’s remake of “Together” hit #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 1984 and ‘85, the Intruders had two hits in England that did not chart in the U.S.

Of the original group, “Bird” Daughtry died of cancer on December 25, 1994, at age 55; “Little Sonny” Brown committed suicide on April 21, 1995, at age 54; and “Little Sonny” Edwards died of a heart attack on October 15, 2016, at age 74. Only Phil Terry remains alive.

Rock critic Dave Marsh included “Cowboys to Girls” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. 

Charted singles:

“(We’ll Be) United” (1966) R&B #14, Pop #78
“Devil With an Angel’s Smile” (1966) R&B #29
“Together” (1967) R&B #9, Pop #48
“Baby I’m Lonely” (1967) R&B #28, Pop #70
“A Love That’s Real” (1967) R&B #35, Pop #82
“Cowboys to Girls” (1968) R&B #1 (1 week), Pop #6
“(Love Is Like a) Baseball Game” (1968) R&B #6, Pop #26
“Slow Drag” (1968) R&B #12, Pop #54
“Give Her a Transplant” (1969) R&B #23, Pop #104
“Me Tarzan, You Jane” (1969) R&B #41
“Lollipop (I Like You)” (1969) R&B #22, Pop #101
“Sad Girl” (1969) R&B #14, Pop #47
“Old Love” (1969) R&B #35
“Tender (Was the Love We Knew)” (1970) R&B #25, Pop #119
“When We Get Married” (1970) R&B #8, Pop #45
“This Is My Love Song” (1970) R&B #22, Pop #85
“I’m Girl Scoutin’” (1971) R&B #16, Pop #88
“Pray for Me” (1971) R&B #25, Pop #105
“I Bet He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)” (1971) R&B #20, Pop #92
“(Win, Place or Show) She’s a Winner” (1972) R&B #12, UK #14
“I’ll Always Love My Mama (Part 1)” (1973) R&B #6, Pop #36
“I Wanna Know Your Name” (1973) R&B #9, Pop #60
“A Nice Girl Like You” (1974) R&B #21
“Rainy Days and Mondays” (1975) R&B #81
“Who Do You Love?” (1984) UK #65
“Warm and Tender Love” (1985) UK #99