and a long awaited comeback
Ivery Bell in his own words
Little is known about the band Moment of Truth, their only album from 1977 enjoys great popularity among soul and disco connoisseurs on both sides of the Atlantic. The group, which unfortunately was to record only one album, consisted of Norris Harris, Ivery “Caprice” Bell, Michael Garrison and Billy Jones. The producer Reid Whitelaw writes in the liner notes “Moment of Truth is an album about the desire for love”. From the introductory song “Chained to Your Love” to the last song of the B-side “So Much for Love”this statement proofs to be true.The label Salsoul Records is better known for their “disco-heavy” releases, but Moment of Truth is more of an “uptempo soul concept” album. Since there is so little information about this group, we located and interviewed one of the lead singers of the group Ivery “Caprice” Bell in New York.
Ivery is not surprised that Moment of Truth are in Europe and even in Japan floor fillers in underground Discos. “I know that the releases of ‘Lovin’ You Is Killin’ Me’,’You got me hummin ‘and a few others have often been played, and what we have always regretted is the fact that we never had a chance to perform in Europe.” Ivery started singing at the age of 8, his first appearance was at no other location than the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The famous talent competitions that have produced the Jackson 5, among others, are legendary. Among a large number of first-class singers, he won the first place. “That was the wake up call for my family that I had great talent.
“At some point I put together my own group, so to speak my own Jackson 5 version. We then performed at parties and talent competitions.” Devoted to his music career, Ivery quit his job and set off each day for New York City to search for jobs that required singers.”I knew I had talent, but I was not sure if I should do it professionally, but I definitely wanted to try it.”The Village Voice newspaper has always been there to help him find vocal jobs. He discovered a display of the Studio Sound System 6, which was looking for singers. Ivery went to the audition with a friend and was selected for the group that was to be named ACE SPECTRUM. The group later had a hit with “Do not Let Me Be Lonely”. Reid Whitelaw, the auditor in charge, however, alerted Ivery to another group, Moment of Truth. “Moment of Truth was the baby of Reid Whitelaw, he had musicians recording in the studio, but no real group performing. Therefore, he was very interested in finding singers. At this time, Ivery and Norris, who were already working on the Moment of Truth tracks, met.”
“We held auditions ourselves at that time to find more members for the group, we chose Michael Garrison. We invited Billy Jones to get an impression of the group in the hope that he will also become part of the group. He was the ideal cast because we were looking for a singer with a “heavy and rough voice”. Billy, I knew from other groups where we sang together. In this formation, we then sang in front of Reid who took us immediately under contract “. Reid took the group to Ken Cayre, one of the founders of Salsoul Records, and we sang the track “Helplessly” in his apartment. That was the official birth of Moment of Truth, as Ken immediately signed us up for Salsoul Records. This time was terribly exciting for the then 19-year-old Ivery, everything seemed to be possible. “I’ll never forget the moment when I first heard myself sing on tape in the studio. Of course you are still nervous at the beginning, but after the second take, i felt comfortable. The duet between Billy and me “You’re All I Want To Be” will always be remembered as another highlight. To this day I just love this song “.
He is still in contact with Billy and is thinking about re-recording the song as many people still request this song to him. Ivery does not know why the cover pictures where changed in the European versions of the album as opposed to the US version. He thinks it’s very funny. There are many versions of their songs on the internet, and every time Ivery is surprised how creatively people deal with their music and what new remixes emerge.
When asked if there are still unreleased songs from that time, Ivery says, yes. He remembers the song “Spreading Myself Too Thin”, which he wrote himself. It was a ballad not an uptempo song and was written in 1983. “We’re thinking about finally releasing this song, it would be a good idea to do it as we’re back as part of a very successful disco reunion show.
Therefore, one can say Moment of Truth are back. I reunited the group for a reunion show, which took place last October at Resorts Casino NY. In addition to Tavaris (which also regularly occur in Holland), France Jolie (Come to me) and many other Well-known artists from the disco area.” We are already talking to some agents in order to continue to make a comeback.
Incidentally, we also learns that Moment of Truth also played in a then-popular Blaxploitation movie, on the soundtrack you will find greats like Gloria Gaynor and Vicki Sue Robinson. NOCTURNA is the name of the vampire movie from 1979. They also contributed two songs to the soundtrack, “Love At First Sight” and “I’m Hopelessly In Love With You”. The in-disco STARSHIP DISCOVERY 1 in Manhattan served as a location for many scenes from the film. (https://sites.google.com/site/cultoddities/home/nocturna/filming-locations) But shortly after the shooting differences within the group and the management stared. “We just wanted to have more influence on our music, also in terms of writing songs. We simply could not agree with the management, so we retreated and everyone moved in a different direction. ” When asked why there was no way for a follow-up album of the first album, Ivery laughs and says “politics” As far as Ivery is aware, producers Joe Cayre, Ken Cayre and Stan Cayre wanted to be involved in the group through a “personal ownership interest”. The inventor of Moment of Truth, Reid Whitelaw was of course not enthusiastic about this proposal. This led to a break from which the group should not recover. We were already in the preparations for a second album, as the label did not want to invest in the group due to these clashes. The debut album also sold very well in Europe and Ivery regrets that they never had the opportunity to perform in Europe.
“One of the big problems we had was that we were approached at concerts by many managers and producers who would have loved to work with us, but unfortunately, because of our contract, our hands were tied”. And it was not just concerts in discos, at the height of their short career, Moment of Truth played at Madison Square Garden. At the premiere party of the film Saturday Night Fever, whose influence is still present today and characterizes the image of the Disco Area, they performed that evening in the Disco Odyssey 2001 in Brooklyn, which were also the filming location of the film. There they were, next to Sister Sledge one of the “Main Acts”.
Soon after, Billy and Michael left the group, and then a new member arrived. Michael later came back to the group, but the moment of the group was just gone. After “Moment of Truth”, Ivery has been very focused on Gospel and released a lot of Gospel material along with O’Jays producer Dennis Williams. He also produced “Spreading myself to thin” in the early ’80s.
One day, Darryl Payne called him to alert him to the group Blue Magic. The group was looking for a new lead singer and they felt that his voice fit best with their material. He accepted the job and was for several years the lead singer of the group Blue Magic. “You must know there are several groups of Blue Magic. In between, I joined the Delfonics to sing again in another Blue Magic group. I did that for about 10 years. ” Since October of this year he is again very successful with his gospel material on tour and he has at least 40 appearances with a Motown revival group a year. Incidentally, he still finds the time to bring Moment of Truth back together. Ivery is a friend of Reid Whitelaw, who helps him to rebuild his plan of Moment of Truth. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to rebuild the original line up. Michael Garrison died a few years ago. Norris Harries is also no longer available, as he has a hotel in the Caribbean. They do not earn money on the album, and Moment of Truth also meets the fate of so many artists who signed contracts that were not in the main interest of the artist. Especially in view of the fact that the album was released in many countries and several times on CD, this fact hurts a lot. “First and foremost, we made money from the concerts. For the Movie we were paid for the shooting days, but we were not involved in either the soundtrack revenue or the box office earnings. Today it would not happen to me anymore, but at the age of 19 you were just very young and very naive.” For Ivery it is very important that the fans know that Moment of Truth is back and only looking for a promoter, so that they can finally appear in Europe. He thanks the fans for their support over the years.
SoulDisco can exclusively present some snippets of the never released songs from 1983.
Bonus:
Well done! Thank you for this online version of Unsung. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I must say,it’s so disheartening to learn how prevalent the unfairness and mistreatment of the R&B groups was back in the day. Moment of Truth should have and could have been a household name under better circumstances.
Wishing you the best in your current and future endeavours Ivery. The UK would love you, no doubt! So happy to know you. And Billy!
Thank you for your comments Antoinette. Yes I have learned many lessons about the industry since I signed with ” Moment of Truth” at the tender age of 19. Moment of Truth was one of the most exciting performance groups to be seen. “Helplessly” was a Blockbuster Hit and a huge club record. And still very popular today through Tom Moulton re-mixes and underground club play. That record alone could have and should have taken “Moment of Truth ” to an even higher plateau. But great news is that this wonderful music was made and we are still around making music today. Moment of Truth gave birth to Ruff & Smooth and you know as well as anyone the special chemistry of that duo. It’s also great that we are able to come together for disco reunion shows because people still have a love for this music. Look out for some unreleased music from Moment of Truth archives that I intend to bring forward soon as well as a few new recordings and a re-make of ” You’re All I want you to be”. Much love to you Antoinette.
Peace & Blessings!!!
Thank´s for your music Moment Of Truth.
May be you don´t know, but you has make great success in Brazil too.
At seventies, i remember to listen and dance when `Helplessly` was playing. For me the very first music in all times.
Congratulations.
“Chained to your love” has always been a floorfiller in Italy at that time and even today in those dedicated disco nights
Did a Google search while listening to this great album, a version released by Canadian label Uni Disc that also includes 4 12inch extended mixes! The music still sounds great, timeless. You guys deserved greater recognition and a long successful hit making career. The album is one of the best released during the disco era. It was great to find out more about the group personnel and its history. I’ve often wondered what happened to so many great groups, singers who seemed to vanish overnight. Thank you for the music and so many cherished memories. Hard to believe it’s almost 50 years ago!
Ivery , I had the pleasure of meeting you and your lovely wife at a few of your performances on cape cod mass. You have certainly paid your dues in the R&B history of music, your first tenor voice is one of the best . I wish you continued success and look forward to hearing you again when it’s safe to do live concerts .
Robert Lima Sr.
Brockton Mass.
Looking forward to seeing you in love concerts. I’m always on YouTube looking for your info and songs .I came across you on YouTube a couple of years back . So intrigued by your vocals. Thanks for the music
I would like to audition for the group I’m a second tenor baritone 6315929778 ,6319189443
Moment of Truth are playing in Germany’s Baltic Soul Weekender (April 30 – May 2): https://www.facebook.com/BalticSoulWeekender
how can I purchase the song Your All I want you to be
Hello Karen,
you need to get in touch with Ivery Bell.
Thanks
Nadine
Hello Karen you should be able to find it on Amazon.com or go to my website at iverybell.com
Thank You for your love of the music!
Ivery
Hello Karen you should be able to find it on Amazon.com or go to my website at iverybell.com
Thank You for your love of the music!
Ivery
I never heard of you guys but let me tell you when aI just heard heavenly !! I went crazy
Please bring back the soulful smooth sounds !! Love whispers , blue magic , the escorts, you guys are on that level as well as the temptations !! Marvin Gay love you !! I caa a me up on music in my home I’m now 63yrs old ! And can’t get enough of the of the love music !! Of the 70,80,and yes I did have ace spedtrums album !! I pray you guys don’t stop 🛑 we need you badly !!!it will make some people fall in love respect there ladies our race needs love ❤️ our world needs it !!
I’ve been trying to get their version of Heavenly by The Temptations but I like MOT better is it available anywhere
Thank you so much for this article.. My father is Norris Harris and he was a member of Moment For Truth. I was going down the internet rabbithole looking for his music when I found this. I cannot thank you enough for this enjoyable read and I am sending him the article now. Have a blessed holiday season!!