Friend and Lover were an American folk-singing duo composed of husband-and-wife team, Jim and Cathy Post. They are best known for their hit single "Reach Out of the Darkness", which reached number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in the summer of 1968.[1]
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Cathy Conn, later Cathy Post, was born May 30, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois. She had a background in song and dance 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.
Jim Post was born October 28, 1939 in Houston, Texas. He had previously performed with the folk group The Rum Runners. He went on to record solo albums for labels such as Flying Fish Records and Fantasy Records.
Jim, inspired by a New York love-in, wrote the duo's only significant hit single, "Reach Out Of The Darkness".[2] The song was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, with Ray Stevens and Joe South on the session, and released on the Verve Forecast label.[3] 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.[4] 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 groups in the 1970s, as the lyrics were viewed by many as having religious overtones. The song appeared in the movie 1969 and in the "The Time Has Come Today" episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 (season 4, episode 25).[5]