Philly sitar

[soulwally]

Which of the philly guitarists was responsible for the sitar sound heard on philly recorded tracks from the late 60s such as on delfonics tracks, and particularly Jerry Butler's Ice on Ice album?

[MIKEW-UK]

Bobby Eli confirmed back in 2002 that he was the player of the sitar on all the Philly stuff....YAll of the sitar stuff was me. Anything that was "effected" was me as well as the backbeats. Many times I have played several guitar parts on a song as in For the Love of Money and Hope that we can get together soon. Norman Haris was always the "mellow man" as in the octave "Wes Montgomery " type stuff excepet on the afforementioned title as I was the only guitar on that date.
The sitar stuff was originally an accidental experiment on Didn't I ...by the Delfonics. The instrument was in the storage room and was dusty with old srings but I dusted it off and at first someone[[mum's the word) did a "711" voice like an Indian person and poked fun at it. But I shrugged it off and the rest they say is a mystery!!!
I also played the backbeats on those records.
Usually the backbeats were on the basic track and I overdubed the sitar, but sometimes it was reversed depending on the song.

es all of the sitar things out of Philly are little old me!!

[soulwally]

Thanks Mike. It doesn't surprise me Bobby was the man!

[alanh]

Interesting - thanks for unearthing the info Mike. As Soulwally says, it's not surprising that it was Bobby. There must be some fascinating facts from Bobby hidden away in the Soulful Detroit post archives! It's a pity he's still not taking part and retelling his stories and knowledge.

[tsull1]

Yes, Bobby Eli. I asked him once [[on social media) on who played the solo on "How Could I Let You Get Away" and he said he played it with a Sitar. It is a great sound, Stylistics also have it. Adds a lot to the songs and Bobby played it very well.