Terry Huff and
Special Delivery '
The Lonely One'
[
Tracks]
1. I
Destroyed Your Love, Pt1 - 00:00:00
2. I Destroyed Your Love,
Pt.2 - 00:03:34
3. That's
When Love Hurts - 00:07:06
4. The Lonely One - 00:11:54
5. Why Doesn't
Love Last - 00:15:26
6. When You're
Lonely - 00:20:
22
7. Where There's
A Will (There's A Way) - 00:25:08
8. Poochie - 00:28:55
9. Just
Not Enough Love - 00:34:28
10. The Lonely One - 00:38:51
11.
Come Back With Love, Pt.1 - 00:43:25
12. Come Back With
Lover, Pt.2 - 00:46:50
13. The Lonely One - 00:51:32
Artist Biography 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.
- published: 31 Mar 2016
- views: 712