Joe Jeffrey Group

The Joe Jeffrey Group was an American rhythm and blues band. Their best-known song was "My Pledge Of Love", which reached No. 14 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.^[1]^[2]

The group was made up of Joe Jeffrey (born Joseph Stafford Jr., Cleveland, Ohio; vocals, guitar), Al Russ (bass), Charles Perry (percussion) and Ron Browning (drums).^[3]

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Career

The biggest hit for Joe Jeffrey Group was "My Pledge of Love", which charted on Billboard Hot 100 at No. 14 from 26 July to 2 August 1969, and entered Vancouver's CKLG chart May 23, 1969.

The group also recorded a version of "My Baby Loves Lovin'", which charted concurrently with the bigger hit by White Plains. Their version reached No. 115 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart.

In the early to mid-1970s, Jeffrey played in the greater Cleveland area three or four nights a week, in a bar off Miles Road named "In The Woods". The dark road off Miles road was literally 'in the woods'. A solo act, he played guitar and sang. His repertoire included "My Pledge of Love", "My Baby Loves Lovin'", old standards, Stevie Wonder, different R&B artists, and his version of "Impossible Dream".

Stafford died of cancer at his Cleveland home on September 4, 2016, at age 80.^[4]

Discography

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and details
Title	Year	Peak chart positions							Length (A-side only)	Label	Credits (A-side only)	Album
Title	Year	US Pop ^[5]	US Cash. ^[6]	AUS ^[7]^[A]	BR (IBOPE) ^[B]	CAN ^[8]	NLD ^[9]	PHL ^[10]	Length (A-side only)	Label	Credits (A-side only)	Album
"My Pledge of Love" (b/w "Margie'")	1969	14	13	40	3	6	18	8	2:44	Wand / Scepter	Joe Stafford, Jr. Jerry Meyers Alan Klein Al Russ	My Pledge of Love (1974)^[C]
"Dreamin' Till Then" (b/w "The Train")		108	—	—	—	—	—	—	3:01		Mark James Chips Moman Jerry Meyers Alan Klein Glen Spreen
"Hey Hey Woman" (b/w "The Chance of Loving You")		109	—	—	—	—	—	—	2:07		Johnny Christopher R. West Chips Moman Jerry Meyers Alan Klein Glen Spreen
"My Baby Loves Lovin'" (b/w "The Chance of Loving You")	1970	115	—	23	—	—	—	—	2:56		Roger Cook Roger Greenaway Jerry Meyers Alan Klein Al Russ
"—" denotes a song that did not chart, or is unknown to have charted in that territory.

Albums

My Pledge of Love (1974)

References

^ "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 1969-07-26. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1276. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
^ "Joe Jeffrey". Soulfulkindamusic.net. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
^ "Joseph Stafford Jr. Obituary". The Plain Dealer. September 8, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
^ "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 1969-08-02. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 8/16/69". Cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^ "Go-Set National Top 40, 27 June 1970". Poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
^ "Top 40 week 40 van 1969". Top40.nl. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^ "December 13, 1969 - Hits of the World - Billboard Magazine - Page 75" (PDF). Billboard / worldradiohistory.com.

Notes

^ “My Pledge of Love” charted at No. 40 on the Go-Set week of October 4, 1969
^ According to the "Hits of the World" section of Billboard magazine, "My Pledge of Love" peaked at number 1 in Rio de Janeiro for the week ending January 24, 1970, while it peaked at number 3 in Sao Paulo for the week ending March 14, 1970.
^ "The Train" is not included.