3 Degrees

The 3 Degrees were a Philadelphia vocal trio who found their biggest success in the mid-1970s. The song remains their best-known track, though they also recorded others like "Dirty Ol' Man" and "The Runner."

The group originally consisted of Valerie Holiday, Fayette Pinkney, and Sheila Ferguson. Holiday left in 1976, after which Pinkney and Ferguson continued as a duo. They kept performing and recording for years, with Ferguson remaining active long after Pinkney's death in 2017.

Much of the existing biography about them leans on dramatic language about controversies and challenges, but the concrete details are simpler: a Philadelphia trio, one major hit song, and a lineup change in the mid-1970s. Their music, particularly "When Will I See You Again?," still gets played on oldies stations and in films, which says more about the song's durability than any grand narrative about their career.