Among the first purveyors of the smooth, orchestral sound that would come to typify Philadelphia soul, the Delfonics established themselves as one of the quintessential soul groups of the late 60s and 70s and created some of the most notable songs of that era.

Formed in the early 1960s in Philly by brothers William “Poogie” and Wilbert Hart and schoolmate Randy Cain, the Delfonics established a reputation as a solid young vocal group and William Hart as a fine young songwriter.  They signed with local Cameo-Parkway Records and released a number of singles on that label and on small MoonShot Records, none of which received much attention outside of Philadelphia.  Then the group became one of the early acts to team with young producer/arranger Thom Bell, and the combination struck immediate pay dirt on Bell Records.  They hit both the Pop and Soul top five in 1968 with the Bell/William Hart composition “La La Means I Love You,” a now-classic soul ballad highlighted by William Hart’s plaintive falsetto lead.

William Hart continued both as a solo artist and with his own version of The Delfonics. In 1999, he teamed with Harris and former Futures member Frank Washington (later the lead singer for the Spinners) to record Forever New on Volt Records, working with producer Preston Glass. It received some critical notice but failed to chart. He followed with the solo album Fonic Zone in 2005 and a few years later he teamed with Ted Mills of Blue Magic and Russell Thompkins Jr of the Stylistics to release The Three Tenors of Soul on Shanachie Records. Sadly, he died on July 14, 2022, leaving Wilbert Hart as the sole original member of The Delfonics.