I have to confess I didn’t know the singer of this Northern Soul favourite, Bobby Garrett, was the same ‘Bob’ in Bob & Earl, who sang the mega-hit Harlem Shuffle.

In a wide and varied career, Robert Relf was also the Bobby (and Bob) in Bobby Relf – aka Robert Relf – and, on other occasions, Bobby Valentino.

Born in LA in 1937, Relf’s music career began at school when he formed a doo-wop group called The Laurels, who released a single, Yours Alone/Farewell, in 1955. 

The following year Relf released two solo singles, Our Love and Little Fool/I’m Not Afraid, and recorded three more – Finders Keepers, Sweet Dreams and I’ll Be Seeing You – with The Crescendos.

Next stop was a local group called The Upfronts, featuring vocalist Barry White, before he tried his hand under the pseudonym Bobby Valentino, singing the deep soul tearjerker Special Delivery. in 1962.

Then came a stint in doo-wop group The Hollywood Flames, who had enjoyed a 1958 hit single called Buzz-Buzz-Buzz, replacing Bobby Byrd who had decided to go solo.

Byrd then renamed himself Bobby Day and had a hit, also in 1958, with his self-penned song Rockin’ Robin a decade before it was covered by Michael Jackson.

Byrd/Day then teamed up with Earl Nelson, another ex-Flame, to form the duo Bob & Earl but when he left in 1962, Relf was perfectly placed to replace him without even the need for a name change.

The new Bob & Earl’s first few singles flopped but they struck gold  with the horn-blaring, finger-popping banger Harlem Shuffle, featuring their old pal Barry White on piano.

It became a huge US hit in 1963, but took another six years to reach the UK charts, by which time Bob & Earl 2.0 had fizzled out – following a final flop fittingly called Baby It’s Over – dooming them to be remembered as one-hit wonders. 

Both then decided to reinvent themselves with new pseudonyms. Nelson, now recording as Jackie Lee, had a solo hit with The Duck, and Relf renamed himself Bobby Garrett, writing and recording I Can’t Get Away, released in 1965.

A year later he returned with Big Brother and this song, its B-side, My Little Girl.

He also wrote and produced another great Northern Soul number, Try A Little Bit Harder, for the Fi-Dels , and in 1968 reverted to Bob Relf for Blowing My Mind To Pieces.

After that he worked with his old pal Barry White on releases by Love Unlimited, Gloria Scott and White Heat, as well as composing Bring Back My Yesterdays for his old pal Barry White’s album I’ve Got So Much To Give in 1973.