The Tymes – Ms Grace

4th March 2021 · 1970s, 1975, Music

The celestial harmonies that open this song make it an essential addition to any playlist of Philly soul.

The vocal qintet had been together for two decades when this became by far their biggest UK hit early in 1975. The way those harmonies float and soar and intertwine and just hang there until the tick of a drum brings in the musicians is almost ethereal.

They first formed in the mid-Fifties as The Latineers and changed their name to The Tymes when they took on a new lead singer in 1960.

George Williams also wrote songs (including this one) and with him at the helm, backed by Donald Banks, Albert Berry, Norman Burnett and George Hilliard, they had the million-seller So Much In Love as far back as 1963.

It topped the US charts but didn’t crack the Top 20 in the UK, while Ms Grace did the reverse, topping the charts here but becoming a US flop.