Bob (Robert Relf) & Earl (Nelson) were black American session singers and later act reunited together agian at Marc Records LA by a young up and coming Mr Barry White who was in co-charge of A&R . White had played piano on various sessions and famously played piano on Jesse Belvin's "Goodnight Sweetheart/Pleasant Dreams" (later revived as "Beware"and by White too!) . Relf had written "Harlem Shuffle" (he would later go on to work directly with Barry White and his team at Mo Soul productions: Gene Page, Tony and Bill Sepe, Relf co-wrote "You're The First, The Last, My Everything).

The original duo were Bobby Byrd and Earl Nelson they had both been members of The Hollywood Flames, a prolific doo-wop group in Los Angeles, California whose minor hit was "Buzz Buzz Buzz" in 1958, on which Nelson sang lead.

By 1957, Byrd had started a parallel solo career, writing and recording for contractual reasons as Bobby Day. (Byrd wrote and recorded the original version as Bobby Day & The Satelites of "Little Bitty Pretty One", Byrd had his first hit as the solo Bobby Day with "Rockin’ Robin" (Class Records 1958). In 1960, Day/Byrd and Nelson began recording together as Bob & Earl, for Class . However, their releases had relatively little success, and Day/Byrd restarted his own solo career.

Nelson was teamed up with a second “Bob”, Bob (Robert) Relf, who was also using the stage names of Bobby Garrett and Bobby Valentino. Relf had already fronted several Los Angeles based acts in his career, including the Laurels, the Upfronts, and Valentino and the Lovers. The latter two groups also featured Barry White in various guises)

Bob & Earl's biggest hit and claim to fame is "Harlem Shuffle" which was written by Relf and Nelson, arranged by Barry White, and co-produced by Barry White & Fred Smith, the multi tracks were naturally mixed to mono for AM Radio and when released on the Marc label in 1963 became a modest hit on the R&B chart. Its vocal interplay directly influenced later duos such as Sam and Dave. However, its main success came later in 1969, when it was re-released in the UK via Island Records on their generic label (it had originally had been released in the UK on Sue) it became a top 10 hit and thus a classic in the underground soul clubs. (Still only availabe in its original mono mix).

By the time of the UK re-release, Nelson had achieved further success as a solo artist under the alias of Jackie Lee, with "The Duck", another soul gem released in 1965 .The Duck had a northern soul-ish re-release in 1974 on Contempo-Raries via Pye. (Jackie was Nelson's wife's name and Lee his own middle name). When "Harlem Shuffle" became successful on reissue, Nelson and Relf reunited as Bob & Earl to tour. However, the duo split up finally in the early 1970s.

"Harlem Shuffle became legendary again as the opening bars were sampled and used on House Of Pain's 1980,s hip hop gem "Jump Around" (Tommy Boy Records) UK: XL Recordings 12" "Jump Around" was subsequently used in the movie Mrs Doubtfire.

In 2008 the multi tracks of "Harlem Shuffle" were located for a new soul compilation project and were at last mixed to a proper and absolute mind blowing wide stereo mix,

WARNING!

Whatever you do please please avoid this now dull, pointless and lifeless mono mix and the various EQ and suedo electronic/duaphonic awful attempts at making the mono mix sound stereo-ish or fied!, (There was a very very very narrow bootleg stereo mix put out when Mrs Doubtfire came out, but it's still very much 95% mono in sound.)

It is the new 2008 full and wide 180 degree stereo mix you need to seek :listen to and buy! You will never want to hear the sad mono mix ever again. sadly the 2008 stereo mix is not what is currently filed or sampled on here or used on any album vinyl or CD prior to 2008, but just the various vile EQ botches and tweeks of the dated mono mix). God gave us 2 ears>>>>> MONO is pointless, needless and stupid to want to listen to. 360 degree 3D Surround/Stereophonic is as God and Nature intended just leave all mono in the storage archive bin. NOTE>>>>Quadraphonic's even lives on as Dolby Surround! Seek and Enjoy

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