Delfonics co-founder William 'Poogie' Hart dead at 77

foxnews.com:

William "Poogie" Hart, a founder of the Grammy-winning trio the Delfonics who helped write and sang a soft lead tenor on such classic "Sound of Philadelphia" ballads as "La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," has died.

He was 77. His son Hadi told The New York Times Wednesday that Hart died July 14 at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.The cause was complications during surgery.

William "Poogie" Hart died July 14, 2022 at a hospital in Philadelphia after experiencing complications during a surgery. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images) From the late 1960s to the mid 1970s, the Delfonics had six top 40 pop hits and more than a dozen top 20 R&B hits.

With Thom Bell serving as producer and co-writer, their sound was defined by the rich orchestral arrangements and layered harmonies — Hart at times rising to a falsetto — that made Philadelphia soul as essential to the '70s as Detroit's Motown label had been in the previous decade.