The group was formed in
Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Donald McPherson (July 9, 1941 – July 3, 1971), They made their first
recordings for
Leiber & Stoller's
Red Bird label, but soon changed their name to the Insiders and signed with
RCA Records. In 1968, after a couple of
singles, they changed their name once again, this time permanently, to The Main Ingredient. and also reached number ten on the
Billboard Hot 100. The track peaked at number twenty-seven in the
UK Singles Chart in July 1974, although it was their only chart presence in the UK. In 1975, the group recorded several songs co-written by
Leon Ware, including the R&B Top Ten "Rolling Down a Mountainside". By this point, however, Tony Silvester was harboring other ambitions; he released a solo album called
Magic Touch that year, and left the group to form a production team with DeCoteaux. The two of them scored a Top 10 Pop and R&B smash with their production of
Ben E. King's hit "
Supernatural Thing" in 1975. In 1975 they were the opening act for
The Jackson 5 at the
Theatre at Westbury (known as The Westbury Music Fair at that time) on
Long Island, New York, for the six shows from August 26 until 31.
The Doobie Brothers were originally scheduled to perform, it's unknown why this change was made. ==Later years==