On paper, Harvey Scales (September 27, 1940 – February 11, 2019) should be a household name. The Milwaukee soul legend co-wrote “Disco Lady,” the very first platinum single in Recording Industry Association of America history, moving over two million copies for Johnnie Taylor in 1976. He penned “Love-Itis,” a deep soul burner that became a hit for Canada’s Mandala and later the J. Geils Band. Yet for most of his career, Scales remained Milwaukee’s best-kept secret.
Now, Scales steps into the spotlight with Trying To Survive, Numero Group’s comprehensive double-LP compilation gathering 27 tracks from Scales’ Cuca and Magic Touch recordings for the first time. Released on July 11, 2025, this isn’t just another reissue—it’s a musical history of Milwaukee’s “Godfather of Soul.”
Born in Osceola, Arkansas, Scales grew up in Milwaukee, attending Roosevelt Middle School and North Division High School. In the early 1960s, he was known as “Twistin’ Harvey,” riding the dance craze before forming Harvey Scales & The 7 Sounds with longtime friend Albert James Vance in 1961. This was Milwaukee in its industrial prime, where Black musicians carved out their scenes in venues far from the coasts.
The compilation traces Scales’ journey “from his early-’60s days as hip shaker Twistin’ Harvey to his late-’70s nights on the light up dance floor in search of a ‘Disco Lady,'” documenting a career that “survived scrapes with the pop charts, bankrupt record companies, walk outs, sit ins, strikes, price hikes, lay offs, and under table payoffs over a 40 year career,” via Numero Records.
The group initially recorded for Cuca Records, later moving to Magic Touch Records, a Wisconsin-based label owned by Lenny LaCour. Their biggest hit was “Get Down,” backed with “Love-Itis,” which reached No. 32 on the R&B charts in 1967. But chart positions tell only part of the story—this was music made for Milwaukee’s club circuit, designed to move bodies on Saturday nights in venues that never made it into the history books.
Harvey Scales passed away on February 11, 2019, exactly one year before the Milwaukee Mayor’s office officially declared February 11 “Harvey Scales Day” in recognition of his musical achievements. He lived to see renewed interest in his work but not this comprehensive retrospective.
Trying To Survive corrects the historical record, positioning Scales not as a footnote to Milwaukee music history but as a central figure in America’s music legacy.
Trying To Survive is available now via Numero Group on double vinyl, CD, and digital formats.
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