Philadelphia singer Billy Paul (born Paul Williams) belted out a great hit in 1972: Me and Mrs. Jones. His adoption of a stage name was done so as not to be confused with another Paul Williams, who sang lead for The Temptations. Paul's start in music got a boost from a well-placed neighbor: Bill Cosby. Paul (and Cosby) studied at Temple University, and Paul attended both West Philadelphia Music School and Granoff School of Music. His racy hit sold 2 million copies, but he never managed to repeat that success. Paul won a half-million dollar legal judgement from the production company that handled his big hit, which was a blend of jazz, pop and R&B Philadelphia style. Since that time, he has been known mainly as a jazz singer.
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