William ‘Poogie’ Hart, Lead Singer of The Delfonics, Dead at 77

William “Poogie” Hart, the Grammy-winning lead singer of the iconic R&B band The Delfonics, died Thursday at the age of 77, TMZ was first to report. Hart’s son confirmed to the outlet that his father had been having trouble breathing and was taken to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia for treatment. Due to complications during surgery, Hart passed away at the hospital. 

The musician was born on Jan. 14, 1945 as William Hart, but would go on to be known as his nickname Poogie throughout his life. Hart was one of the founding members of The Orphonics alongside brother Wilbert Hart and Randy Cain, and the group would eventually change its name to The Delfonics. On May 14, 1968, the group released their debut studio album La La Means I Love You, which starred the hit track of the same name.

Hart revealed in the Delfonics Unsung documentary that the song’s title was inspired by his son, who was just a little baby when the tune was conceived. “My son used to always wake up and he would say ‘La-la, la-la,’ And I thought, wow, ‘La-la’ means l love you,” he said in the documentary. “That cuts out a lot of words and it gets right to the point.”

The Delfonics would go on to release popular songs “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),” and “Break Your Promise,” as well as “Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide from Love)” and “I’m Sorry.” The Delfonics took home the Best R&B Performance Grammy at the 1971 award ceremony for “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time).”

The Delfonics would go on to release four more full-length albums before disbanding and calling it quits in 1975, but their impact lived on in pop culture. Hit shows including Malcolm in the Middle, Jackie Brown, Euphoria, Atlanta, and The Sopranos all used the band’s music on their soundtracks, giving the songs new life into the 2010s. 

Other artists, including Prince, Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5 and Missy Elliott have also shown their love for The Delfonics, covering or sampling their hits throughout their own careers. Following the breakup of The Delfonics, Hart and his former bandmates would go on to continue their music careers in separate groups, but would reunite in the 90s. They would go on to perform together throughout the 2000s and 2010s as well.