Song Of The Day 4/22/2013: Harvey Scales & The Seven Sounds - "Broadway Freeze"

Harvey Scales is from Milwaukee, WI, and rose to success on the basis of his songwriting. He's got an unusual accomplishment nobody can take away from him: He wrote Johnnie Taylor's 1976 hit song "Disco Lady." In 1976 the Recording Industry Association of America began certifying records with the "platinum" distinction. Before it just had "gold," which was for recordings that shipped at least 500,000 units. "Platinum" was introduced for titles that shipped 1,000,000. The first single to ever get a platinum certification was "Disco Lady," so Harvey Scales is the songwriter of the first platinum single ever.

I know you guys love numbers. There, just gave you some numbers. Scales also wrote a song called "Love-Itis," which was covered by the J. Geils Band and the Sonics, among others. With his own outfit, the Seven Sounds, Scales made the furious jam "Broadway Freeze" in 1968. It's one of my favorite funk pieces from that era. You'll be hearing it at some point Wednesday night.

Photo by Ray Ellis