David Simmons

A Philly-bred baritone similar to Teddy Pendergrass and David Ebo who first recorded with the Exzels. The group waxed one single, "Hit Talk" (written by Morris Bailey and Leon Mitchell) b/w "Canadian Sunset," in 1964 on Crossfire Records under the guidance of producer/arranger/writer Bobby Martin. It didn't smell the charts and is tough to find -- Crossfire didn't press many copies. Simmons formed Neo Experience for two singles on Sahara Records: "Human" b/w "God Make My World" (1975) and "Eternally Sunshine" b/w "Paradise (Where My Baby Live)." Besides Simmons, Neo Experience was Vera Brown (later of the Ritchie Family) and Venson Unto, aka Vincent Paul Unto, who previously sang with the Millionaires and later Executive Suite. Neo Experience was a smooth Philly harmony outfit with showmanship. The two 45s are popular as trading fodder among collectors these days, but got scant notice when originally released. Tired of vocal-group madness, David went solo and signed with WMOT/Fantasy in 1978. The deal resulted in two albums: Hear Me Out (1978) and The World Belongs to Me (1979) and a handful of singles, but like some American artists, Simmons was more acclaimed in England than the States. He got good press in the soul magazines, but that appears to be the extent of WMOT's promotion. His most significant singles were "Holdin' Back," "Hooked on You," and "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You." A highlights were recording a duet with Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge entitled "All the Man I Need" and touring with the siblings for a year. After a time out he re-emerge in 1984 with "Love Tonight" on Pearl Harbor Records -- reissued by Atlantic the same year. It got some attention but was hardly a smash, something that has eluded the talented Mr. Simmons throughout his career.
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