Cliff Nobles
Cliff Nobles (born 1944, Grove Hill, Alabama) was an American pop singer.
Career
Nobles grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and began singing in high school as a member of a local group, The Delroys. He moved to Philadelphia and recorded three singles for Atlantic Records, none of which charted. While living in a commune in Norristown, Pennsylvania, he formed a group, Cliff Nobles & Co., with bassist Benny Williams, guitarist Bobby Tucker, and drummer Tommy Soul. They recorded demos and, with the help of songwriter/record producer Jesse James, landed a recording contract with Soul Records. Their second release for the record label was the single "Love Is All Right" b/w "The Horse", which featured the horn section from what would later be known as MFSB. "The Horse" was simply an instrumental version of the A-side, and Nobles, who was the lead singer, does not actually play on the track at all. Nevertheless, it caught fire at radio stations and became a hit, peaking at #2 for three weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968, as well as #2 on the Black Singles chart.[1] It was held out of the #1 spot by Hugh Masekela's "Grazin' in the Grass", on the week of 29 July 1968 - resulting in the extremely rare occurrence of instrumentals occupying both the #1 and #2 slots of the pop charts in the same week.[2]
Nobles' record label continued releasing instrumental singles on which Nobles himself didn't play a note, though a later single on which Nobles actually sang narrowly missed the R&B Top 40. A full-length album credited to Cliff Nobles & Co., entitled The Horse, was released consisting mostly of instrumentals, and hit #159 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart.[3]
The material Nobles recorded for Atlantic has yet to see re-release.