The Show Stoppers

The Show Stoppers were Philadelphians, and recorded in the States, but had their only hit courtesy of the United Kingdom. Two sets of siblings made up the quartet: Timmy and Earl Smith, and Alec and Laddie Burke (brothers of popular soul man Solomon Burke). They formed at Germantown High School and rehearsed religiously under the guiding hand of the elder Burke. All were either 18 or 19 years old when "Ain't Nothing but a House Party" broke in England. Written by Joseph Thomas and produced by Del Sharah, that dance song was first released on Showtime Records, a small local company, and sold around 40,000 copies in the Philadelphia area. Showtime didn't have the means or the inclination to release the record nationally. That would have been it, but producer Jerry Ross purchased the master from Showtime and released it on his newly founded Heritage Label, distributed by MGM Records.



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