Leroy "Chris" Bartley (April 17, 1947

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

Allmusic.com – October 26, 2009) was an American R&B singer. Bartley grew up listening to 1950s

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

, and formed his own group in the early 1960s with William Graham, Henry Powell, Sam Nesbitt, and Ronald Marshall. The group was initially called The Soulful Inspirations, but changed names several times, including a stint as The Mindbenders. Later in the 1960s, Bartley and Marshall auditioned as a duo with

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his c ...

, and McCoy elected to sign Bartley to a solo deal with

Cameo-Parkway Cameo-Parkway Records was the parent company of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, which were major American Philadelphia-based record labels from 1956 (for Cameo) and 1958 (for Parkway) to 1967. Among the types of music released were doo-wop, d ...

subsidiary Vando Records. Bartley hit the pop charts with the McCoy-penned single " The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven", peaking at #10 on the US R&B Singles chart and #32 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' pop charts in 1967. On ''Cash Box'', it reached number 35. Also, the song reached number 14 on the Canadian R&B chart. Bartley released a full album behind the single and toured both in America and England following the song's success. When Vando Records folded, Bartley signed with

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

, but the resulting single "Baby I'm Yours" did not chart. Bartley left the music industry in the early 1970s as a result of family health problems, but re-emerged a few years later by joining The Ad-Libs. Chris Bartley died of kidney failure on October 26, 2009 at age 62.

Discography

Albums

* ''The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven'' — Vando VA-60000 (Mono) / VAS-60000 (Stereo) — 1967

Singles

* "The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven" / "Love My Baby" — Vando 101 — 7/67 * "Baby It's Wonderful" / "I'll Be Loving You" — Vando 3000 — 10/67 * "For You" / "You Get Next to My Heart" — Vando 3001 — 12/67 * "Truer Words Were Never Spoken" / "This Feeling You Give Me" — Vando 14000 — 1968 * "I Found a Goodie" / "Be Mine Forever" — Vando 14001 — 1968 * "Baby I'm Yours" / "I'll Take the Blame" — Buddah 93 — 1969 * "One Wonderful Girl" / "I Know We Can Work It Out" — Buddah 115 — 1969 * "A Man, A Woman" / "Tomorrow Keeps Shining on Me" — Musicor 1437 — 5/71

References

External links

Bartley songs on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartley, Chris 1947 births 2009 deaths American soul singers Singers from New York (state) Deaths from kidney failure in the United States 20th-century American singers