Barbara Mason
Barbara Mason, Singer/songwriter Barbara "Lady Love" Mason, one of the true pioneers of Philly-Soul, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1947. Although she, like so many other young girls, had dreams of a becoming a star, she never thought it would happen to her. But it did. She was still a minor when she had her first hit record "Yes, I'm Ready" in 1965. Seven years later, she would be one of the most celebrated Soul singers, only to disappear almost completely from the public eye in the early eighties. This is a very compressed version of Barbara's story. To learn more about her, read the five-part interview.
Barbara Mason, one of the few ladies of Soul who not only sang but wrote a great portion of her material, began to "mess" with her grandmother's piano at a the tender age of twelve. While still in school, Barbara formed several groups, comprised of both male and female members. Barbara, the lead singer, would come up with the songs, accompany on the piano and naturally win many of the local talent shows, which were held at a playground near her house every summer. Her next door neighbor was Bill Oxydene of the Larks, a vocal group from Philly and it was another member of that constellation, Weldon Arthur McDougal III, who offered Barbara to perform during odd spots and intervals on the Larks' shows in various nightclubs around the Philadelphia area. McDougal also introduced Barbara to Jimmy Bishop, one of the the most popular DJ's in Philadelphia at the time. Bishop was suitably impressed with Barbara's easily identifiable, innocent-sounding voice and self-penned material and after aiding in the financing of her debut single "Trouble Child" on the local Crusader label, Bishop signed her to his Arctic Records. In 1964, at the age of seventeen, Barbara cut her first hit single "Girls Have Feelings Too" which went to #31 on the U.S. charts early the following year. But it would be with her second Arctic single that Barbara made the record she'll always be remembered for. Issued in August 1965, her self-penned "Yes, I'm Ready", which today is considered a Philly-Soul classic, indeed one of the first Philly-Soul records ever, blasted off to #2 on the R&B charts and #5 Pop. Interesting to note is that a nineteen year old Kenny Gamble sang backgrounds and several musicians who later would become Philly Icons, such as Bobby Eli, Earl Young, Roland Chambers and Jack Faith, played on the song. Guitarist Norman Harris, one of Barbara's closest friends, who would play on and arrange many of her 70's albums, toured with Barbara as her music director in the 60's, but was not allowed into the studio on most Arctic sessions because he could only play by ear, not read charts.
