The Fabulous Peps

Detroit soul group the Fabulous Peps was comprised of vocalists Tommy "Storm" Hester, "Little Joe" Harris, and Ronnie Abner, the latter a former member of the Vibratones. According to an article on the www.soulfuldetroit.com website, the group was founded in 1962 and spent its formative years gigging at Motor City nightclubs and working sessions for the local Thelma Records label. Credited as Tom Storm & the Peps, they cut 1964's "That's the Way Love Is" for the Ge Ge imprint, soon followed by "This Love I Have for You," this time billed simply as the Peps. Both records recalled Curtis Mayfield's Impressions and neither made much of an impression, but by the time they joined producer Mike Hanks' D-Town label in 1965, the Peps were one of Detroit's most popular live acts, famed for their energetic stage shows complete with choreographed dances, splits, and back flips. Their D-Town debut, "Detroit, Michigan," fared poorly, but the follow-up ballad "This I Pray" was their strongest effort to date, making excellent use of the trio's fine-tuned harmonies. For the 1965 Wheelsville label release "Love of My Life," a horn-fueled uptempo dance number, they rechristened themselves the Fabulous Peps, a moniker that remained intact for their 1966 D-Town return "My Love Looks Good On You." With 1967's "Why Are You Blowing My Mind?" -- recorded at Memphis' Stax Studios with Booker T. & the MG's -- the Fabulous Peps moved to the Premium Stuff label; two more singles, "So Fine" and a cover of the Impressions' "Gypsy Woman," appeared that same year, but following 1968's Wee label effort "With These Eyes," the group dissolved. A subsequent reunion under the name Smoke, Heat and Fire went nowhere, and in 1971 Harris resurfaced as a member of the Motown act the Undisputed Truth, later scoring with the classic "Smiling Faces Sometimes."
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