Mel and Tim

Mel & Tim
Origin	United States
Genres	Soul R&B
Years active	1969–1970s
Labels	Bamboo, Stax
Past members
Mel Hardin Tim McPherson

Mel and Tim were an American soul music duo active in the 1960s and early 1970s, and best known for the hit, "Backfield in Motion" (1969). They are also well known for: "Hope, Life's Goal" and "Starting All Over Again" (1972).

Career

Melvin McArthur Hardin and Hubert Timothy McPherson were cousins from Holly Springs, Mississippi, who traveled to Chicago where they were discovered by Gene Chandler. Hardin's mother and McPherson's aunt, Yolanda Hardin, cousin Walita, Catha, Donny and Darris Maxwell helped the duo with their writing and publicity, as she was once a singer herself. She signed them to a recording contract with her Bamboo Records record label, and they recorded their own song, "Backfield in Motion". It was immediately successful, reaching #3 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart and #10 in the pop equivalent in 1969. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[1] Their follow-up song was "Good Guys Only Win in the Movies", which was also the name of their first album.

Hardin and McPherson subsequently moved to the Stax label, where they recorded a second Top 5 R&B hit with the ballad "Starting All Over Again". Released in the U.S. in June 1972, this also climbed to #16 on the Hot 100, and stayed in that chart for 22 weeks.^[1] It was their second million seller, taking five months to shift that number of gramophone records.^[1] This was also the title track of their second album in 1972, recorded in Muscle Shoals and produced by Phillip Mitchell. They performed at the Wattstax charity concert that year, but later recordings could not repeat their earlier successes.

Tim McPherson died in 1986.^[2]

Discography

Chart singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions
		US Pop[3]	US R&B[4]
1969	"Backfield In Motion"	10	3
1970	"Good Guys Only Win In The Movies"	45	17
1972	"Starting All Over Again"	19	4
1973	"I May Not Be What You Want"	113	33
1974	"That's The Way I Want To Live My Life"	-	79
	"Forever And A Day"	-	88

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 264 & 316. ISBN 0-214-20512-6. 
2. ^ Tim McPherson at Discogs
3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc.. p. 465. ISBN 0-89820-155-1. 
4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B Singles: 1942-1995. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc.. p. 299. ISBN 0-89820-155-2. 

External links

• Backfield In Motion lyrics
• Discography
• Allmusic.com