The Thompsons

The Thompsons had quite a family – 10 children, seven brothers and three sisters. Growing up on North 25th Street in North Philly, many of them sang and, like other soul legends, they came up in the church. By their early teens, three of the brothers – Cornelius (aka Lefty), Sylvester (aka Lightbulb) and Bill – joined up in a quartet with friend and “honorary Thompson” Sandy Andersen. The four went to Vaux Junior High and started making waves at talent shows.
By their earliest high school years, the group were managed by school friend Eric Ward, and by 1974, Ward met an up-and-coming musician and producer, Tyrone Broxton, a classmate of Ward’s at West Philly High. After months of rehearsals and intermittent gigs, they decided to push forward and put out a full-length album. None of the young musicians involved had experience in the record business, but they had talent and energy to spare. Broxton and Ward found a studio in New Jersey – Century Productions in Sayreville – and songwriting work began in earnest.
The group’s one and only album, 1975’s I’ll Get Over It, had eight original compositions, penned by Broxton with co-writing credits on all eight to Ward. The backing band included Basil Fearrington on bass; Tyrone Holland on guitar; and Vince Brown on keys/piano. (Vocal arrangements by Lefty Thompson.) And, as modern listeners can now attest, it features an ear-bending set of tunes.