The New Birth

The New Birth is an American funk and R&B group that was put together by Harvey Fuqua and Vernon Bullock in the 1960s. The history of the group began with the instrumental outfit, The Nite-Liters, which was originally formed in 1963 in Louisville, Kentucky by Tony Churchill and Harvey Fuqua. In addition to The Nite-Liters, The New Birth were a combination of the groups the all-male vocal group The New Sound, the all-female vocal group Mint Julep, and a group from Detroit, Michigan called Love, Peace & Happiness, which featured former Marvelettes singer Ann Bogan and brothers Leslie and Melvin Wilson, which provided the spark that was missing from the New Birth ensemble After years of multiple line up changes, in 1972, the reorganized group (as a 17-piece ensemble) reached the Billboard R&B top 10 with their cover of Bobby Womack's "I Can Understand It", which paved the way for the band's future success.