The Three Degrees - Dirty Ol' Man (Live at ZDF - 1976) video free download

The Three Degrees are a female Philadelphia soul and disco vocal musical group, formed in 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Although always fronted by a three person line-up, there have been a number of personnel changes, and a total of twelve women have represented the group so far.

The original members were Fayette Pinkney, Shirley Porter and Linda Turner.

The trio, tagged by the media as 'Prince Charles's favourites' in 1974, were the first girl group to top the UK Singles Chart since The Supremes in 1964.

They are best known for their million selling 1974 hit song, "When Will I See You Again".

By 1970, they were signed to Roulette Records and they released their first album, Maybe.

The title song took them to #4 on the US R&B charts. Other singles like "I Do Take You" and "You're The Fool" followed, as did their second album, So Much Love. This success landed them a cameo appearance in the 1971 film, The French Connection, filmed during one of their appearances at the Copacabana nightclub in New York, and also an engagement at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada with Engelbert Humperdinck.

In 1973, with their contract with Roulette ending, Barrett signed them to Philadelphia International Records under Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, where they were to have their greatest successes.

They also made an appearance on the television series Sanford and Son, singing their song "I Didn't Know."

The first song they recorded there was with the studio band MFSB, entitled "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" which was the theme song for Soul Train.

Their Philadelphia International debut (The Three Degrees) will finally be issued on CD in 2010 by UK label Big Break Records.

The first album spawned three hits. "Dirty Ol' Man" went gold in the Netherlands and Belgium. The second single was "Year Of Decision" which made it to the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart.

Their third single "When Will I See You Again" was the one that broke the trio into the mainstream. It topped the UK Chart, reached #2 in the US, and sold over two million copies, earning the trio a gold record.

The R.I.A.A. made the award on December 9, 1974.