About Impact
Artist Biography
Members of the group later known as Impact burst onto the recording scene with the name the Young Tempts on the Isley Brothers' T- Neck label. The first single, "I've Been Good to You" b/w "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby," ripped the Temptations' earlier versions, and both tracks appeared on the Gettin' Ready album with Eddie Kendricks on lead. Impact's falsetto Otis Robert Harris Jr. sounded like a fuller Kendricks, but he lacked Kendricks' edge. Objecting to the name, Motown filed an injunction and had the record recalled; T-Neck renamed the act the Young Vandals and pressed more copies with the new moniker. After two more singles for T-Neck during 1970, the Baltimore natives disbanded when Otis Harris landed a gig with the Temptations, the group he admired so, later in 1970. (He changed his name to Damon since, as he said "the group already had an Otis"). What he thought was a lifetime gig, however, turned into a four-year stint for Damon. Dejected, but not for long, he re-formed the Young Vandals and renamed them Impact. The quartet consisted of the same members: Damon Harris, John Quinton Simms, Charles Timmons, and Donald Tighman (who's related to Sonny Til of the Orioles and whose real name was Earlington Tighman).
They signed with a Philadelphia production company who secured a masters' deal with Atco Records. An album titled Impact dropped first, followed by the single "Happy Man," a popular 1976 disco cut. Impact put as much work in their backing vocals as the lead, something peculiar with D.C./Baltimore-area groups; the background voices competed with the lead for attention, making the songs more exciting. In addition to Harris' buttery falsetto, Impact had a David Ruffin-ish tenor and both were a joy to hear.
The same procedure was followed with "Love Attack" and "One Last Memory." While the singles and the album had a winning sound, sales figures were less than projected and the Atco association terminated. They surfaced on Fantasy in 1977 with a new album, The Pac Is Back. Fantasy released two singles -- "Rainy Days" and "Smile Awhile" -- but with only minimal chart action and scant sales, they proved to be Impact's final releases. Harris later went solo and cut a couple of critically acclaimed albums that didn't do much. He later disappeared from the scene, moved to Reno, NV, to finish college, and still lives there. The whereabouts of the other members are unknown, but it's believed all live in the Baltimore/D.C. area. ~ Andrew Hamilton
Hometown
United States of America