Friend and Lover were an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

-singing duo

Duet (music)

A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...

 composed of husband

Husband

A husband is a male participant in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between cultures and has varied over time...

-and-wife

Wife

A wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...

 team, Jim and Cathy Post. They are best known for their hit single

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

 "Reach Out of the Darkness

Reach out of the Darkness

"Reach out of the Darkness" is a song by American folk duo Friend and Lover. Peaking at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, it was the duo's most successful single, and they are often regarded as a one-hit wonder for the track because the duo's only other Hot 100 entry stalled at #86 a few...

", which reached number 10 on the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 in the summer of 1968.

Biographical information

Cathy Conn, later Cathy Post, was born May 30, 1945 in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. She had a background in song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 and dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 before meeting Jim at a Canadian provincial fair in 1964. Their marriage and the band eventually broke up. Cathy re-married twice, became Cat Conn, has three children and five grandchildren, and lives in the mountains of New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

.

Jim Post

Jim Post

Jim Post is an American folk singer-songwriter, composer, playwright and actor. In 1968 his pop song "Reach out of the Darkness" charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks, peaking at number 10.-History:...

 was born October 28, 1939 in Houston, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. He had previously performed with the folk group The Rum Runners. He went on to record

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s for labels

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 such as Flying Fish Records

Flying Fish Records

Flying Fish Records was a Chicago-based eclectic blues and country record label. It was founded in 1974 by Bruce Kaplan, former president of the University of Chicago's Folklore Society....

 and Fantasy Records

Fantasy Records

Fantasy Records is a United States-based record label that was founded by Max and Sol Weiss in 1949 in San Francisco, California. They had previously operated a record-pressing plant called Circle Record Company before forming the Fantasy label...

.

Reach Out Of The Darkness

Jim, inspired by a New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 love-in, wrote the duo's only significant hit single, "Reach Out Of The Darkness". The song was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, with Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...

 and Joe South

Joe South

Joe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...

 on the session, and released on the Verve Forecast label. The song made the U.S. Top 10 chart in June 1968 and was adopted as a kind of anthem by the protest movement against American politics of the time. It was re-released as the title track of a follow-up album in 1969. The song became a staple of local and regional Christian rock

Christian rock

Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...

 groups in the 1970s, as the lyrics

Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

 were viewed by many as having religious overtones. The song appeared in the movie 1969

1969 (film)

1969 is a 1988 drama film starring Robert Downey, Jr., Kiefer Sutherland, and Winona Ryder. It was written and directed by Ernest Thompson. The original music score is composed by Michael Small...

 and in the "The Time Has Come Today" episode of Beverly Hills, 90210

Beverly Hills, 90210

Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...

(season 4, episode 25).

Track listing

1. "Boston Is a Lovely Town"
2. "I'm a Woman, I'm a Man"
3. "Zig-Zag"
4. "Saturday's Hero"
5. "Room to Let (to Rowena with Love)"
6. "Reach Out of the Darkness"
7. "A Wise Man Changes His Mind"
8. "Ode to a Dandelion"
9. "If Love Is in Your Heart"
10. "The Weddin' March (I Feel Groovy)"
11. "The Way We Were in the Beginning"