The Delfonics’ William Hart has died aged 77

nme.com:

TMZ, revealing that the singer was hospitalised due to having trouble breathing, and died from complications from subsequent surgery.Hart founded The Delfonics with brother Wilbert in 1966 as an offshoot of their group The Orphonics, who had formed two years earlier.

Their most popular single, ‘La-La (Means I Love You)’, came out in 1968, and was subsequently covered by worldwide stars including Prince and the Jackson 5.The band officially broke up in 1975, but Hart continued to perform with Delfonics members including Major Harris and Randy Cain in many different iterations until the 1990s.The group’s legacy continued into the ’90s and early 2000s through being sampled by hip-hop heavyweights including Missy Elliott, Notorious BIG, Ghostface Killa and more.Leading tributes to Hart was producer Adrian Younge, who Hart collaborated with on 2013 album ‘Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics’, which saw Younge re-working Delfonics classics.He wrote: “Definitely shed some tears today.

We lost a great one. You taught me so much and gave so much to the world of music. The master singer…the master writer…the man that created songs that changed the world.

You are missed brotha. Love you man.“As I write this, I’m thinking about one of the last songs we wrote for our album ‘Life Never Ends.’ Never thought about it applying to you though.”Younge added: “Still remember us talking on the phone for the first time…the excitement about us getting to work…the journey you’ve been on.