1971 and 1972 were the climax years for soul in the 1970s, what some call "The Philadelphia Sound." The most memorable pre-disco love ballads of that decade came out of this period, sung by such major groups as The Spinners, The Stylistics, The Chi-Lites, The O'Jays, and stellar vocalists such as Al Green, Lou Rawls, Bill Withers, and the great Billy Paul. Billy Paul's "Me And Mrs. Jones" was not only one of my most favorite love ballads from 1972, but was also one of the greatest and saddest songs in pop music history. It is timeless ... and easily towers over most of today's music, never losing its relevance. It is a song about hopeless love ... forbidden love ... the worst jam a person will ever get into in his or her long search to find and replace that special someone they lost during a breakup. Hearing it today still sends chills up my spine and makes the tears well up in my eyes. If "Me And Mrs. Jones" does nothing to you, then you've never truly lived ... or loved. THIS is what the early 1970's felt like.

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