Clifford James Nobles (August 4, 1941 ? October 12, 2008) ^[1] was an American soul singer , who is best known for his instrumental hit, " The Horse ".

Biography [ edit ]

Nobles ^[2] was born in Grove Hill , Alabama , United States; grew up in Mobile , Alabama; ^[3] and began singing in high school as a member of a local group, The Delroys. He moved to Philadelphia and recorded three singles for Atlantic Records , none of which charted . ^[4] While living in a commune in Norristown , Pennsylvania , he formed a group, Cliff Nobles & Co., with bassist Benny Williams, guitarist Bobby Tucker, and drummer Robert Marshall. ^[4] They recorded demos and, with the help of songwriter / record producer Jesse James, landed a recording contract with Phil-L.A. of Soul Records. ^[4]

Their second release for the record label was the single "Love Is All Right" b/w "The Horse", which featured the horn section from what would later be known as MFSB . ^[4] "The Horse" was simply an instrumental version of the A-side , and Nobles, who was the lead singer , does not actually play on the track at all. ^[4] Nevertheless, it caught fire at radio stations and became a hit , peaking at number 2 for three weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968, as well as number 2 on the R&B Singles chart. ^[5] It was held out of the number 1 spot by Herb Alpert 's " This Guy's In Love With You ". In Canada the song reached number 7. ^[6] "The Horse" sold a million copies within three months of release, with the gold disc award from the R.I.A.A. made in August 1968. ^[3] Nobles' record label continued releasing instrumental singles on which Nobles himself did not play a note, though a later single on which Nobles sang narrowly missed the R&B Top 40 . ^[4] An album credited to Cliff Nobles & Co., entitled The Horse , was released consisting mostly of instrumentals, and hit number 159 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. ^[7] In Canada a further two singles did make the Top 100. Horse Fever reached number 94, and Switch It On reached number 91. ^{[8] [9]}

After his music career, Nobles worked in construction and later in the electricity generation industry. ^[2]

After moving to Norristown, Cliff Nobles had a daughter Yvette Blakeslee (Bradley) in July, 1977. Nobles died in Norristown, Pennsylvania , in October 2008, at the age of 67. ^[1]

See also [ edit ]

• List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States

References [ edit ]