By Jim Stewart
The Three Degrees are still out there performing…
The Three Degrees
The Three Degrees is not only one of the most successful girl groups in music history. They also hold the Guinness record as the longest working group touring and recording group since 1963 constantly.
Valerie Holiday has been ever-present since 1967, which must also be a record, and the trio has no intention of taking life easy yet.
Having just completed a two-month trek around the UK last Autumn, they are back this month for the ’40 Years Of Disco 2019’ arena tour, with shows at Brighton Centre, Wembley SSE Arena, Liverpool Echo and Birmingham Genting Arenas, on four consecutive nights beginning on March 21.
Another long-serving member is Helen Scott, not an original member, although she joined in their formation year, 1963, leaving in 1966 to start a family. She was replaced by Sheila Ferguson, but the trio of Sheila, Valerie and founder member, Fayette Pinkney was present throughout the initial hit period.
Helen rejoined a decade later, in 1976, and remains a member today. With 15 ‘Degrees’ in total, Freddi Pool completed in the current line-up in 2011 and recorded her first album with the group ‘Strategy: Our Tribute To Philadelphia’ in 2016.
I caught up with Valerie at her home in Georgia shortly before Thanksgiving and the tour was our initial topic of conversation.
I asked her – You’re coming back to the UK in March for another ‘40 Years Of Disco’: what is it you like about doing those shows?
“We love doing those arena shows because we always get such a huge roar when we walk out onto the stage; nothing beats that, and we also get to meet lots of old friends and make some new ones.”
The line-up this time is just about the strangest and widest range of the term ‘Disco’ that I’ve ever seen, with you, Village People, Trammps, Imagination with Leee John, Gibson Brothers, Odyssey, and The Real Thing.
“‘I know (laughing). I myself am waiting to see how it turns out, but I think it will make for a very interesting audience.”
Have you ever worked with The Village People before?
“No, and I’m quite looking forward to it. I believe there is one original member, the policeman I think, but there can’t be anyone alive who hasn’t at one time in their life done that crazy ‘YMCA’ dance. I’ve also heard their fans like to dress in costume for their shows, which will make every show even crazier.”
I first discovered The Three Degrees when I got a copy of ‘Gee Baby’ on the Swan label in 1969, but it wasn’t until you signed for Philadelphia International in 1972 and started working with Gamble and Huff that your career really began to take off.
“I know – to be working with such talent – they had already started to have a few hits, but little did we know we were getting on board something so amazing. Every artist was given the same attention and those records and songs, even though they were written and recorded so long ago, still sound fresh today and the lyrics are still relevant.”
You really helped put Philadelphia alongside Motown and Detroit on the music map of America.
“It was a very exciting time; you also had the Memphis sound and Stax, so it was good to be a force to be recognised among the giants in the recording industry.”
Then you left the label, Helen rejoined in place of Fayette with Ariola and Giorgio Moroder, which must have been a very different experience for you.
“Ariola allowed us to enter the disco sound with Giorgio Moroder. We were very fortunate to have a producer like Giorgio which lifted us back up again.”
How did Sheila Ferguson leaving the group affect you?
“It was devastating at the time, because she has always been there, and it’s like asking someone to step into a moving car because the pace we were going at was so fast, and we just had to keep going, and that brought us to a complete stop.
“We had to find someone who could not only handle the vocals, but also the dance routines with a personality to blend in and keep the unit going.
We stumbled a couple of times, but then Cynthia Garrison came and stayed for nearly 20 years and the lineup of Helen, Cynthia, and myself was the longest-running lineup of the group so far.”
That is the line-up I saw the most, and the fact that Sheila was missing didn’t seem to matter.
Then Cynthia left and Freddi, who I already knew from the FLOs, joined in 2011.
“We were always a unit, equal vocals, no lead without the need for individual focus, which made it easier for us, after Sheila left, to maintain the sound and keep the group as a unit, and Freddi is a good powerhouse, and the unit is as strong as ever.”