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Listen to The Friends of Distinction, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!

The Friends of Distinction

R&B/Soul

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Top Songs By The Friends of Distinction

Listen to Going In Circles by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
Going In CirclesThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to Grazing In the Grass by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
Grazing In the GrassThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to Love or Let Me Be Lonely by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
Love or Let Me Be LonelyThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to Grazing In the Grass by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
Grazing In the GrassThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to I Really Hope You Do by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
I Really Hope You DoThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got) by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)The Friends of Distinction
Listen to I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)The Friends of Distinction
Listen to And I Love Him by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
And I Love HimThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to Lonesome Mood by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
Lonesome MoodThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to Grazing In the Grass (Re-Recorded) by The Friends of Distinction, see lyrics, music video & more!
Grazing In the Grass (Re-Recorded)The Friends of Distinction

Latest Release

Listen to Going in Circles / Grazing in the Grass (Rerecorded Version) - Single by The Friends of Distinction
ALBUMGoing in Circles / Grazing in the Grass (Rerecorded Version) - SingleThe Friends of Distinction

More albums from The Friends of Distinction

Listen to Reviviscence 'Live to Light Again' by The Friends of Distinction
ALBUMReviviscence 'Live to Light Again'The Friends of Distinction
Listen to Love Can Make It Easier by The Friends of Distinction
ALBUMLove Can Make It EasierThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to Friends & People by The Friends of Distinction
ALBUMFriends & PeopleThe Friends of Distinction
Listen to Grazin' by The Friends of Distinction
ALBUMGrazin'The Friends of Distinction
Listen to Highly Distinct by The Friends of Distinction
ALBUMHighly DistinctThe Friends of Distinction

The Friends of Distinction's Popular Music Videos

Watch Grazing In The Grass (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, December 27, 1970) music video by The Friends of Distinction
Grazing In The Grass (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, December 27, 1970)
The Friends of Distinction

About The Friends of Distinction

Listen to The Friends of Distinction, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Hometown
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Formed
1968
Genre
R&B/Soul
Known most for their pop smash "Grazing in the Grass," the Friends of Distinction were founded by Harry Elston and Floyd Butler and included Jessica Cleaves and Barbara Jean Love, as well as later member Charlene Gibson, who replaced Love during her pregnancy. Elston and Butler's involvement in music entailed several groups, including the Hi-Fi's. When that group disbanded in 1966, Elston and Butler recruited Cleaves and Love for their next endeavor. Initially, Elston came up with Distinctive Friends as a name, but Love suggested reversing the words to Friends of Distinction. After polishing their act for a few months during 1968, the Friends of Distinction hit the local tour circuit in Los Angeles. With well-developed talent and the support of a well-known manager, former football great Jim Brown, the group signed with RCA. In 1969, the group released its first single, "Grazing in the Grass." Originally recorded by famed trumpeter Hugh Masekela (Elston wrote the lyrics to Masekela's trumpet lead), the song became a smash hit. It graced the Billboard R&B chart for 17 weeks and peaked at number five, while it reached number three on the Hot 100. The second release, "Going in Circles," climbed to number three on the R&B chart during a 19-week stay. "Love or Let Me Be Lonely," "Time Waits for No One," and "I Need You" also charted for the group, though none was as rewarding as the group's first two hits. The group also encountered some personnel changes following the early success. Love departed, as did Cleaves, who joined Earth, Wind & Fire (and later worked with Parliament-Funkadelic and Raw Silk, among others). When Elston and Butler opted to call it quits over differences, the Friends of Distinction had seven albums to their credit, all of which were released on RCA. After several years apart, Elston and Butler overcame their differences, but Butler died of a heart attack in 1990. Later in the decade, Elston re-formed the group with Pattie Brooks, Van Jewell, and Drake Frye as his fellow performers. Cleaves died after a stroke in 2014. Harry Elston died on March 4, 2025, at the age of 86. ~ Craig Lytle
Members of The Friends of Distinction include, or have included, Harry Elston.

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