Randy Cain, a founding member of the Delfonics, who sang on such Philly soul hits as "La La Means I Love You," and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" died Thursday. He was 63. No cause of death is yet known for Cain who formed the Delfonics with brothers William and Wilbert Hart while attending Overbrook High in the 1960s. Cain left the group in 1971 and was replaced by Major Harris.
In the 1980s Cain returned for a later incarnation of the group and also for the past several months Cain had been again performing with the Delfonics with William Hart, the group's lead singer and songwriter, who is the sole owner of the name of the group. That reunion is somewhat surprising as in 2002 and 2005 Cain and Wilbert Hart filed civil suits against William Hart and against Arista Records/Sony BMG, for back royalties. A court later awarded Cain and Wilbert back royalties.
The three original members were reunited in 2006 by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation which presented the group its Pioneer Award at its annual awards banquet. “That was the first time we were all together in years but we couldn’t work it out,” Wilbert Hart told us Friday night. “I’m gonna miss him. We grew up together since 1968,” Wilbert said of Cain whom he last saw four or five months ago. “We’re gonna have to do what we’re doing until God brings us together,” said Wilbert who now performs with a group as Wil Hart formerly Delfonics.
Cain had lived in Willingboro, NJ with Wilbert and his family but according to Wilbert recently moved into an apartment in Maple Shade. Wilbert said he hopes Cain will long be remembered through the Delfonics music. The group’s timeless tunes saw a resurrection in 1997 after several songs were featured in Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film "Jackie Brown."
“That three part harmony with the falsetto sound was phenomenal,” Jerry Blavat says of the Delfonics. Blavat was the first DJ to spin “La La Means I Love You,” and also had Cain and the Hart brothers performing on his TV show “Jerry’s Place,” which was broadcast on WFIL. “The entire rhythm and blues community has lost a beloved voice. We are all grieving,” said Patricia Wilson Aden, executive director of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
"Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and the Philadelphia International Records family deeply mourn the loss of this great artist and give their sincere condolences to the Cain and Delfonics family," said PIR executive Chuck Gamble.
"Gamble and Huff have fond memories of working with Randy and the group at the start of their career with fellow legendary producer Thom Bell who produced and penned many of the Delfonics hits," said Gamble who noted that the label had recently worked with Cain and the Delfonics on its PBS "Love Train" special.
This story has been updated from the original post.
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My condolences to the family. I loved the Delfonics...I still listen to their music! He will be missed and remembered, dearly.— livin in philly- I worked with Randy for many years at the Philadelphia Parking Authority. He will be missed by many there. Randy was always making us laugh. For anyone that had a chance to know him on a personal basis can tell you that he was a very kind hearted person. The employees of the Fleet Maintenance Dept. had the honor of working with Randy while he held the position of Deputy Manager. We could not have asked for a better person to work with. We also had the chance to meet the other members of the Delfonics while working with Randy. They visited us alot at the job. I am very happy that I had the opportunity to know Randy as a friend and co-worker. I will miss him very much.— 4Yoyo
- In the 80s I also worked with Randy at the Philadelphia Traffic Court. In those days Randy worked as a court clerk in the court rooms. Randy was always a nice person , one day while he was working in judge ray Malones court room my brother was in the court room for a ticket he was found guilty of and to pay the fine. well for some reason he did not have all the money and Randy payed his fine. i had been out in the street working in the warrant div. that's the kind of person he was always looking out for someone. Did you know Randy's dad was a judge( Common Pleas Court)? La La means i love you was number one on the charts valentines day 1968. Philly grove records one time in the groups history Randy left the group. He was replaced by major lance( monkey time) then rejoined the group. You will be missed today we all lost a dear friend R.I.P to My Friend Joe Meyers Traffic court co worker 1980-1987— imakemagic
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