Wilbert Hart

Wilbert "Wil" Hart (born October 19, 1947) is an American soul singer, songwriter, and producer, best known as a founding and last surviving member of the musical group the Delfonics.

Hart was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as one of eight children of Wilson and Iretha Hart. He attended Philadelphia public schools and Overbrook High School, where he and his older brother William were in different vocal groups.

Wilbert and William formed the Delfonics in 1965, with William as their primary songwriter, often in collaboration with Thom Bell. Between 1968 and 1974, The Delfonics had a string of hit singles on Philly Groove Records that included "La-La – (Means I Love You)", "Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)", and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" among several others that reached the Billboard R&B and Pop charts. In 1971 the group won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance, and were featured in the first live televised performance of that ceremony. Also in 1971, the group was awarded a Gold Record for "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)".

After several years of hit singles, The Delfonics split into two groups in 1975, with Wilbert and William each leading their own units. The brothers were involved in a legal dispute over the use of the group name, with a judge ruling in 2007 that both could use the name while properly informing the audience of the distinction between the two groups. Henceforth, Wilbert's version was called Wil Hart & The Delfonics, or Wil Hart formerly of the Delfonics.

Wilbert Hart also worked as a songwriter for other acts while he was active with the Delfonics. In 1970, he wrote and produced three songs for the vocal group Honey & The Bees on their debut album Love. After the original Delfonics disbanded, Hart remained active as a songwriter and producer. In 1977, he contributed to the album This Is Your Life by Norman Connors, and wrote a song under the pseudonym A. Hakeem Waheed.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.