The Emeralds (as they were first called) were a group of four brothers from Little Rock, Arkansas: the splendidly named Ivory, Cleophus, Raymond and Abrim, who wrote, arranged and produced their handful of hits.

As a teenager watching Top of the Pops, I never made any distinction between genres, let alone know my Temps from my Tops or my O’Jays from my Isleys. I definitely didn’t know my Detroit Spinners from my Detroit Emeralds.

There were three distinct strands of soul at this time – the rootsy horns-blaring deep soul and country-soul of Memphis, the more pop-soul of Motown in Detroit, and the lush concoction of Philly Soul, the new kid on the block. Soon there would be four, with the arrival of Disco.

The Emeralds were a bit of an anomaly, combining elements of north and south. Having moved from their home town of Little Rock, Arkansas, to Detroit at the start of their career, they developed a way of working with the music being laid down with Willie Mitchell at the famous Hi studio in Memphis, adding their vocals later in Detroit, along with horns and strings arranged by Johnny Allen.

This was their firsdt hit from 1973.but sadly, they broke up just a year after this reached No.4 in 1973. Abrim died from a heart attack at the absurdly premature age of 37, on the eve of a rumoured reunion in 1983.