Vince Montana was old school even back in Disco’s heyday. Born in 1928 in south Philadelphia, he began playing vibes and other percussion at an early age and at sixteen was playing in local jazz clubs reportedly sharing stages with the likes of Charlie “Bird” Parker and Sarah Vaughn. By the early sixties, Montana was an established and sought after session player who recorded with scores if not hundreds of artists. None of this really matters to the House fan. What matters is that Vincent Montana ended up at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, the headquarters of superstar writing team Gamble and Huff and home of the “Philly Sound”.
It was here that Montana helped form the basis of what would become known as Disco. He was part of the pool of studio musicians at Sigma who were known collectively as MFSB. This ensemble provided the backing for many hit acts including Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The O’Jays, The Spinners, and The Stylistics to name a few. In 1974, under their own name, MFSB recorded T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia) which became a number 1 hit and the long running theme song for the influential musical television series Soul Train.
Eventually differences with Gamble and Huff led much of the group to relocate to Salsoul Records and form the Salsoul Orchestra. Much like MFSB, this group recorded backing tracks as the house band for the label in addition to recording under their own name. Many hits produced by both MFSB and The Salsoul Orchestra carried over into the House era in Chicago, most notably, Love is the Message. This song was a hit for MFSB and the Salsoul Orchestra produced a similar song with vocals called Ooh I Love It. Both versions (actually many different versions with varied titles eventually appeared) were staples in early House sets. The Salsoul version was sampled by Madonna for her 1990 hit Vogue.
Vince Montana continued recording with the Salsoul Orchestra while also branching out on his own. Under the name Montana as well as the Montana Sextet, he had his own success on dance music scene. Heavy Vibes is probably his best known perhaps because it shares some musical similarities with Love is the Message/Ooh I Love it. This version (on Montana’s own Philly Sound Works label) also includes the novelty song No Football No More which places tongue in cheek lyrics about the 1982 NFL players strike over an edited version of Heavy Vibes.
Track List
Side A
Heavy Vibes
No Football No More
Side B
Heavy Vibes (Club Mix)
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