The Detroit Emeralds

The Detroit Emeralds were an American R&B; vocal group, best known in the early 1970s. "The Emeralds" formed as a vocal harmony group in Little Rock, Arkansas, and originally composed of four brothers, Ivory (born 14 September 1941), Abrim (born Abe Tilmon, 12 January 1945 - 6 July 1982), Cleophus and Raymond Tilmon. After Cleophus and Raymond left, the remaining Tilmon brothers were joined by childhood friend James Mitchell. Moving to Detroit, M... more

The Detroit Emeralds were an American R&B; vocal group, best known in the early 1970s. "The Emeralds" formed as a vocal harmony group in Little Rock, Arkansas, and originally composed of four brothers, Ivory (born 14 September 1941), Abrim (born Abe Tilmon, 12 January 1945 - 6 July 1982), Cleophus and Raymond Tilmon. After Cleophus and Raymond left, the remaining Tilmon brothers were joined by childhood friend James Mitchell. Moving to Detroit, Michigan and expanding their name to the Detroit Emeralds, the then trio had their first R&B; chart success on Ric-Tic Records, with "Show Time" in 1968. In 1970, they joined the Westbound record label. When touring in Memphis, Tennessee, they recorded some demo tracks at the Hi recording studios, run by producer Willie Mitchell, to which they then added vocals and strings back in Detroit. This approach worked and brought them another hit, "If I Lose Your Love", which was followed by a run of successes, including "Do Me Right", "You Want It,... less