Songwriter and performer Harvey Scales is the first songwriter of a platinum-selling single. Scales was a co-writer for singer Johnnie Taylor’s 70’s hit, “Disco Lady,” which is the first single to ever sell over 1 million copies.
Scales, born 1941 in Osceola, Ark. and raised in Milwaukee, Wisc., got his start in the early 60’s with his Seven Sounds band. The group was well known around Milwaukee, and scored several mild hits on the R&B charts. Scales’ band signed with Chicago’s Chess Records in 1969 and made one their most significant career connections while signed there.
Chess producer Don Davis and Scales crossed paths with Taylor, which led to the pair working together. Scales left Chess and signed with Stax, working with Taylor until the label eventually folded. When Taylor went over to Columbia, Davis introduced the concept of what would become “Disco Lady” to Scales.
The song was a huge hit and remains Taylor’s biggest song. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry on April 22, 1976. To date, the song has sold over 2.5 million copies.
Based on the success of “Disco Lady,” Scales was signed by Casablanca, where he recorded his debut album, Confidential Affair, in 1978. Scales released his last album, Somebody Else’s Somebody, in 1997.
Scales and the Seven Sounds still tour nationwide, and enjoy an active presence online.
(Photo: Facebook)
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