their second release for the record label was the single "love is all right" b/w "the horse", which featured the horn section from what would later be known as mfsb. "the horse" was simply an instrumental version of the a-side, and nobles, who was the lead singer, does not actually play on the track at all. nevertheless, it caught fire at radio stations and became a hit, peaking at #2 for three weeks on the u.s. "billboard" hot 100 chart in 1968, as well as #2 on the r&b singles chart. it was held out of the #1 spot by herb alpert's "this guy's in love with you". "the horse" sold a million copies within three months of release, with the gold disc award from the r.i.a.a. made in august 1968. nobles' record label continued releasing instrumental singles on which nobles himself did not play a note, though a later single on which nobles sang narrowly missed the r&b top 40. an album credited to cliff nobles & co., entitled "the horse", was released consisting mostly of instrumentals, and hit #159 on the billboard hot 200 album chart.