#soon! Part Un - The 60s-00s Girl Band Debut Breakthrough Rate

He/Him
As if it'd be the Spice Girls though.

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Someone did guess it right!






































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#18
The Three Degrees – When Will I See You Again?
Average Score: 7.763
Highest Score: 11 x 2 (@Sprockrooster, @dancingwithmyself), 10 x 3 (@Remorque, @ohnostalgia, @Filippa)
Lowest Score: 4 x1 (@iheartpoptarts)

This cut makes me very sad, not just because I have grown very attached to many of the older numbers from our song list, and each cut tears at me a little bit - but also due to the sweet & touching sentiment here reminding me of simpler times. Nowadays, we are part of a society that lives outside of the moment with the need to take 'selfies' and consume excessively to prove our worth – ignoring the precious moments and their worth in the here and now, not enjoying them as such. This is what the spectacular Three Degrees do to me, make me look inward!

When Will I See You Again is our first entry here to score more than one 11 (there are a couple of others, don’t worry!) and I must say, it warmed my heart to see and made me pay attention to its performance very closely. I can reassure @Sprockrooster and @dancingwithmyself that The Three Degrees were never in any danger of flopping here. They were always a fixture of the top 25 (even beating the likes of the Spice Girls around the top 10 mark at one point, more on them #soon) until the dust settled on this placement. So, what made this song connect with myself and the two 11 givers? I gave the melancholy and nostalgia angle (reaching into my ohnostalgia myself lol) but there is so much more to love! How relatable is the feeling of wanting to see a loved one again? The lyric certainly lends itself to a romantic connection but for me, an expat – this can extend to family, friends or country. The sweet and beautiful vocals on display are certainly enough for you to immerse yourself in all the loveliness! You'll also notice this song has a strange and very compelling structure with each sentence phrased as a question, leading to that uncertainty felt by the protagonist.

When Will I See You Again, released in 1974 is one of the most commercially successful tracks on our songlist, reaching the top spot in the UK and #2 in both Australia and the US. The “Philly Soul” track (also thought of as one the more successful of this genre) was performed by The Three Degrees at Prince Charles’ 30th Birthday party in 1978 (your royal connection - spot on @kermit_the_frog !) The song was written by Kenny Gamble & Lean Huff. Sheila Ferguson sang lead and recalled ‘the song was played to me by Kenny Gamble at the piano in 1973 and I threw a tantrum. I screamed and yelled and said I would never sing it. I thought it was ridiculously insulting to be given such a simple song and that it took no talent to sing it. We did do it and several million copies later, I realized that he knew more than me.’ This reminds me of something @iheartpoptarts said in @JamesJupiter ‘s rate for the 00s princesses about Mandy Moore and popstars in general not having the best taste in their own music.

The Three Degrees were formed as early as 1963 (their breakthrough wasn't til much later obviously) in Philadelphia by producer and songwriter Richard Barrett, producing their first song ‘Gee Baby (I’m Sorry)’ for Swan Records. The original line-up was no longer in effect a couple of years later due to two members leaving, and with this turn of events - Fayette Pinkney became the only original. They were replaced by Helen Scott and a few others until we ended up with the trio of Sheila Ferguson, Fayette Pinkney and Valerie Holiday, who are the (original) performers of When Will I See You Again. There have been a total of fifteen members over the years, with some members having stints in the band from 20-50 years so that’s mighty impressive! When Will I See You Again’s greatness was also ranked #67 on Billboard’s 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs Of All Time.

What did PopJustice think about all this? Only 9 of you bothered to comment on this unlike the 14 who did on Atomic Kitten (where is the taste??)

Unnameable (7) likes but doesn’t think it is a classic – pleasant but not amazing. Ufint (9) sees what makes the girls special - They look and sound angelic. Lovely strings, beautiful strings. DominoDancing (5) gets a little bored in the proceedings -The hook introducing the verses is fine I guess, but all in all the song simply meanders into uninteresting directions for most of its running time. Sprockrooster (11) shares with us (you have a friend in us if you need to talk!) - This song is the epitome of pure beauty and the compliment to every love relationship. Having a boyfriend that is a steward and is a lot away from home, I feel like this is a life mantra.

Empty Shoebox (6.5) has potential recommendations for part 2 - Obviously not their best song, but I like it as much as I can like non-disco soul. That is to say, a bit. There is a bit too much repetition of the title though, so points subtracted for that. Trouble in Paradise (8) buys (bites) into the lovely cheese - Is this song ridiculously cheesy? Yes. Do I love it unabashedly? Yes. Filippa (10) gives a perfect score, in a completely heroic turn! - I know this song well and I love it. What a beautiful voice!

Kermit_The_Frog (8) brings the band into the 21st century for us heathens! - The original Sugababes (HOW MANY LINE-UP CHANGES!?) which I think has always damaged their legacy. A little smooth for my tastes, though no one can argue that this song isn’t amazing. Further Listening: Giving Up, Giving In (even a Donna Summer cast-off was better than most people’s singles at that time). Zar-Unity (9) gets close to giving this a perfect score! Yippee!! - Powerfully charged vocals in harmony. Tech: 5 Taste: 4 = 9 points​










This cut also leaves us with your 70s top 3!


The Nolans - I'm In The Mood For Dancing

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Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie

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The Emotions - Best Of My Love

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Three bops remain, in line with PopJustice taste and should make @iheartpoptarts happy, right??

Seriously, all great songs so very good work you all!


How do you think they will all fall?



#soon!
 
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She/Her


Oh, Electrik Red! I still dream of getting How to Be a Lady: Volume 2 someday.

Also, I love "When Will I See You Again?" It came on the radio as my best friend and I were driving aimlessly around our small town the last night before we left to go to separate colleges seventeen years ago and it was such the perfect, corny thing to hear at that moment. We still sing it to each other to this day. Ooooh oooh, aaaah aaah, precious moments.
 
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I am definitely pleased it got this far seeing the 70's didn't do so well. For the short stories from @Alphableat I was reminded to use my 11 in this rate and I became my extra self writing about it:

WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN?

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My boyfriend is a flight attendant. Being fed up with working as a fiscal jurist he changed his career four years into our relationship. This change in career was instantly supported, but the consequences of this are more overwhelming than anticpated. Loneliness is a sudden common feeling we share. Work schedules align far from each other’s. And I can't help but feel scared for his life. The flightradar app is suddenly among my most used applications on my LG5 phone. It has been 5 months now he has been working actively as a flight attendant and I can't help but shake the feeling he will crash down. I have to follow him almost like a stalker on the flight radar screen. And I rationally know it is highly unlikely something will happen. But a job as fiscal jurist is simply much safer. More boring too, I will give you that. And of course I do not wish him a boring life. The upside of following his flight is definitely the feeling of euphoria when I see he landed safely. I almost feel like clapping along. Like I am there in the plane. Another upside is the complete relevance of a new song in our life. “When Will I See You Again” by the Three Degrees. It is played in the middle of the night when he leaves home or at Schiphol airport when I dropped him off and see him fly away. Fading from view, but never out of sight.
 
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