A sonic exploration and tonal analysis of contemporary creative music in a myriad of improvisational/composed settings, textures, and expressions.
Welcome to Sound Projections
I'm your host Kofi Natambu. This online magazine features the very best in contemporary creative music in this creative timezone NOW (the one we're living in) as well as that of the historical past. The purpose is to openly explore, examine, investigate, reflect on, studiously critique, and take opulent pleasure in the sonic and aural dimensions of human experience known and identified to us as MUSIC. I'm also interested in critically examining the wide range of ideas and opinions that govern our commodified notions of the production, consumption, marketing, and commercial exchange of organized sound(s) which largely define and thereby (over)determine our present relationships to music in the general political economy and culture.
Thus this magazine will strive to critically question and go beyond the conventional imposed notions
and categories of what constitutes the generic and stylistic definitions of ‘Jazz’, ‘classical music’, ‘Blues.’
'Rhythm and Blues’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Pop’, ‘Funk’, ‘Hip Hop’, etc. in order to search for what individual
artists and ensembles do cretively to challenge and transform our ingrained ideas and attitudes of what
music is and could be.
So please join me in this ongoing visceral, investigative, and cerebral quest to explore, enjoy, and pay
homage to the endlessly creative and uniquely magisterial dimensions of MUSIC in all of its guises and expressive identities.
Saturday, December 15, 2018
The Spinners (1953-Present): Legendary and iconic singing group
Dapper R&B troop whose elaborately orchestrated arrangements finally made them soul maestros in the 1970s.
The Spinners
were the greatest soul group of the early '70s, creating a body of work
that defined the lush, seductive sound of Philly soul. Ironically, the
band's roots lay in Detroit, where they formed as a doo wop group during
the late '50s. Throughout the '60s, the Spinners tried to land a hit by
adapting to the shifting fashions of R&B and pop. By the mid-'60s,
they had signed with Motown Records, but the label never gave the group
much consideration. "It's a Shame" became a hit in 1970, but the label
continued to ignore the group, and dropped the band two years later.
Unsigned and featuring new lead singer Phillipe Wynne,
the Spinners seemed destined to never break into the big leagues, but
they managed to sign with Atlantic Records, where they began working
with producer Thom Bell. With his assistance, the Spinners developed a distinctive sound, one that relied on Wynne's breathtaking falsetto and the group's intricate vocal harmonies. Bell
provided the group with an appropriately detailed production, creating a
detailed web of horns, strings, backing vocals, and lightly funky
rhythms. Between 1972 and 1977, the Spinners and Bell
recorded a number of soul classics, including "I'll Be Around," "Could
It Be I'm Falling in Love," "Mighty Love," "Ghetto Child," "Then Came
You," "Games People Play," and "The Rubberband Man." Wynne
left in 1977 and the Spinners had hits for a few years after his
departure, but the group will always be remembered for its classic
mid-'70s work.
Originally, called the Domingoes, the quintet formed
when the its members were high-school students in the Detroit suburb of
Ferndale in 1957. At the time, the group featured Bobbie Smith, Pervis Jackson, George W. Dixon, Billy Henderson, and Henry Fambrough. In 1961, they came to the attention of producer Harvey Fuqua,
who began recording the group -- who named themselves the Spinners that
year -- for his Tri-Phi Records. The band's first single, "That's What
Girls Are Made For," became a Top Ten R&B hit upon its 1961 release
and featured Smith on vocals. Following its release, Dixon was replaced by Edgar "Chico" Edwards.
Over the next few years, the group released a series of failed singles,
and when Tri-Phi was bought out by Motown in the mid-'60s, the Spinners
became part of the larger company's roster. By that time, Edwards had been replaced by G.C. Cameron.
Though the Spinners had some R&B hits at Motown
during the late '60s, including "I'll Always Love You" and "Truly
Yours," they didn't have a genuine crossover success until 1970, when Stevie Wonder
gave the group "It's a Shame." Motown never concentrated on the
Spinners, and they let the group go in 1972. Before the band signed with
Atlantic Records, Phillipe Wynne replaced Cameron as the group's lead vocalist. Wynne had previously sung with Catfish and Bootsy Collins.
At Atlantic Records, the Spinners worked with producer Thom Bell,
who gave the group a lush, seductive sound, complete with sighing
strings, a tight rhythm section, sultry horns, and a slight funk
underpinning. Wynne quickly emerged as a first-rate soul singer, and the combination of the group's harmonies, Wynne's soaring leads, and Bell's
meticulous production made the Spinners the most popular soul group of
the '70s. Once the group signed with Atlantic, they became a veritable
hit machine, topping the R&B and pop charts with songs like "I'll Be
Around," "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," "One of a Kind (Love
Affair)," "Ghetto Child," "Rubberband Man," and "You're Throwing a Good
Love Away." Not only were their singles hits, but their albums
constantly went gold and charted in the Top 20.
Wynne left the band to pursue a solo career in 1977; he was replaced by John Edwards. Though none of Wynne's solo records were big hits, his tours with Parliament-Funkadelic
were well received, as were his solo concerts. In October 1984, he died
of a heart attack during a concert in Oakland, California. The Spinners,
meanwhile, had a number of minor hits in the late '70s, highlighted by
their disco covers of "Working My Way Back to You" and the medley
"Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long Time." During the early '80s, they had
several minor hits before fading away from the charts and entering the
oldies circuit, reprising their earlier material for 1999's new studio
effort At Their Best. Bobbie Smith,
who sang lead on several of the Spinners' '70s hits including "I'll Be
Around" and "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," died from complications
of pneumonia and influenza in March 2013.
Sometimes called the (Detroit) Spinners in the UK to differentiate
them from a native folk group, the Spinners were nevertheless the prime
architects of Philly Soul, turning lush soul into pop classics that dominated early '70s AM radio.
The Spinners' best-known songs:
"I'll Be Around"
"One of a Kind (Love Affair)"
"The Rubberband Man"
"Could It Be I'm Falling in Love"
"It's a Shame"
"Then Came You" (with Dionne Warwick)
"Working My Way Back to You / Forgive Me, Girl"
"(They Just Can't Stop It The) Games People Play"
"Mighty Love"
"Cupid / I've Loved You for a Long Time"
Where you might have heard them Their footprint in
'70s R&B is probably never gonna fade, but you may have also come
across "It's a Shame" in an episode of "Everybody Hates Chris," "Could
It Be I'm Falling in Love" on "True Blood," or "The Rubberband Man" in
Bill Murray's classic comedy Stripes and not one but two episodes of "That '70s Show"
Philippe Soul Wynne (b. April 3, 1941, Detroit, MI; d. July 14, 1984, Oakland, CA): vocals (falsetto); Billy Henderson (b. August 9, 1949, Indianapolis, IN; d. February 2, 2007, Daytona Beach, FL): vocals (tenor); Pervis Jackson (b. May 17, 1938, New Orleans, LA; d. August 18, 2008, Detroit, MI): vocals (bass); Henry Fambrough (b. May 10, 1935, Detroit, MI): vocals (baritone); Robert "Bobbie" Smith (b. April 10, 1937, Detroit, MI; d. March 16, 2013, Orlando, FL): vocals (tenor)
Claims to fame:
The most successful of the "Philly Soul" groups, despite the fact that they were from Detroit
Lead singer Phillipe Wynne was considered one of the great falsetto/tenors in all of Seventies soul
Wynne's ability to "vamp" over repetitive choruses inspired a generation of soul singers
One of the longest-lived vocal groups in history, remaining popular from the doo-wop era through a Motown stint and well into the Eighties
Successfully crossed over into disco when Philly Soul fell out of favor
(Detroit) Spinners History
Early years
Often called the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners in the UK
(so as to distinguish the group from a Liverpool folk group with the
same name), the quintet began way back in 1955 as a high-school doo-wop
group called the Domingoes. By 1961, they were the Spinners, and Harvey
Fuqua (former Moonglow,
later of Motown) signed them to his local Tri-Phi Records. Their first
release, "That's What Girls Are For," hit the R&B Top Ten that year,
but a string of follow-ups flopped, and by 1965 they were struggling;
when Berry Gordy's Motown label bought out Tri-Phi, the group moved
along with Fuqua.
Success
Hits were still hard to come by, however, and the Spinners began to
feel lost in the shuffle of more --important Motown artists. Finally,
in 1970, Stevie Wonder
gave the group his song "It's A Shame," which again cracked the R&B
Top Ten and made inroads on the pop chart as well. The follow-ups again
stalled, however, and in 1972, the group signed with Atlantic and
recruited new lead tenor Phillipe Wynn. Working with producer Thom Bell,
they were recreated as a Philly Soul group and began an astonishing run
of R&B and pop hits for most of the decade -- this coming twelve
years after their professional debut.
Later years
Disco didn't damage the careers of the Spinners nearly as much as it
did many soul groups -- but Wynne's departure for a solo career in 1977
did derail them somewhat. Hooking up with disco producer Michael Zager,
they scored two comebacks in 1980 by pairing up oldies like "Cupid" and
"Working My Way Back to You" in medleys with Zager compositions. Wynne
died of a heart attack in 1984 and Henderson (who'd sued the band in
2004 over financial disputes) passed on from diabetes complications in
2007; the last original member, Fambrough, now tours with former
Delfonic Frank Washington on lead.
More About the (Detroit) Spinners
Other Spinners facts and trivia:
Bobbie Smith sang lead on "That's What Girls Are For" and "I'll
Be Around," while G.C. Cameron takes the lead on "It's a Shame" and John
Edwards sings on their "Cupid" and "Working My Way" medleys
Other members have included C.P. Spencer, James Edwards, George Dixon, and Edgar "Chico" Edwards
The group's name came from spinning tire rims popular in Detroit at the time
Aretha Franklin was responsible for getting the group from Motown to Atlantic
Dionne Warwick had to be convinced her collaboration on "Then Came You" would be a hit
Jackson got the nickname "12:45" after singing the phrase on "Games People Play"
Spinners Awards and Honors Vocal Group Hall of Fame (1999), Hollywood Walk Of Fame (6723 Hollywood Blvd.)
Hit Spinners Songs and Albums
#1 hits Pop "Then Came You" with Dionne Warwick (1974),
#1 hits R&B "I'll Be Around"
(1972), "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" (1973), "(One Of a Kind) Love
Affair"(1973), "Mighty Love - Pt. 1" (1974), "They Just Can't Stop It
(The Games People Play)" (1975), "The Rubberband Man" (1976)
Top 10 hits Pop "I'll Be Around"
(1972), "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" (1973), "They Just Can't Stop
It (The Games People Play)" (1975), "The Rubberband Man"
(1976), "Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long Time" (1980), "Working My Way
Back to You/Forgive Me Girl" (1980)
R&B "That's What Girls Are Made For"
(1961), "I'll Always Love You" (1965), "It's a Shame" (1970), "Ghetto
Child" (1973), "I'm Coming Home" (1974), "Love Don't Love Nobody - Pt.
I" (1974), "Then Came You" with Dionne Warwick (1974), "Living a
Little, Laughing a Little" (1975), "Sadie" (1975), "Love Or Leave"
(1976), "You're Throwing a Good Love Away" (1977), "Cupid/I've Loved You
for a Long Time" (1980), "Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me Girl"
(1980)
#1 albums R&B Spinners (1973), Mighty Love (1974), New and Improved (1975), Pick Of The Litter (1975)
Top 10 albums Pop New And Improved (1975), Pick of the Litter (1975)
Top 10 albums R&B Pick Of The Litter (1975), Happiness Is Being With The Spinners (1976), Spinners Live! (1976)
Notable covers Two members of the Red Hot Chili
Peppers had a minor '80s hit with a rock-inflected version of "I'll Be
Around," released under the name What Is This?; "It's a Shame" was
sampled by UK rapper Monie Love for her 1990 hit "It's a Shame (My
Sister)"
Movies and TV The group got their TV break in the
most unlikely of places, debuting in 1963 on the musical variety show
"Hullabaloo"; the entire group appeared as a gospel choir in the
notorious 1975 basketball comedy flop The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
Bobbie Smith, top left, with the soul group the Spinners.CreditCreditAtlantic Records
by Peter Keepnews
Bobbie
Smith, whose mellifluous vocals helped make the Spinners one of the
leading soul acts of the 1970s, died on Saturday in Orlando, Fla. He was
76.
The cause was complications of
pneumonia and influenza, his son Ron Smith, who plays guitar for the
Spinners, said. The elder Mr. Smith had been receiving treatment for
lung cancer.
Bobbie Smith was with
the Spinners from their early days as a doo-wop group in Detroit to
recent years on the oldies circuit. To the end, with their close
harmonies, smooth choreography and matching outfits, they were the very
model of an old-school rhythm-and-blues vocal ensemble.
Mr. Smith was the lead singer on the group’s first hit, “That’s What Girls Are Made For,”
which reached No. 27 on the Billboard singles chart in 1961, and on
three records that reached the Top 10 in the 1970s: “I’ll Be Around”
(1972), “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” (1973) and “They Just Can’t Stop It,” better known as “Games People Play” (1975). He also harmonized with Dionne Warwick on “Then Came You” (1974), a collaboration that was the Spinners’ only No. 1 hit.
Mr.
Smith often shared lead vocals with Philippe Wynne, who joined the
group in 1972. Typically Mr. Smith would handle the beginning of a song
and Mr. Wynne would take over with gospel-style fervor toward the end.
“Bobbie
took the engine from zero to 70, then Philippe took it from 70 to 150,”
Thom Bell, who produced most of the Spinners’ biggest hits, said in a
telephone interview on Tuesday. But Mr. Smith, he added, “was the
original sound throughout the entire career of the Spinners.”
Robert Steel Smith was born on April 10, 1936, in Abbeyville, Ga., and later moved with his family to Detroit.
In
the mid-1950s he and his friends Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, Billy
Henderson and C. P. Spencer began singing together as the Domingoes. By
the time they signed with the local Tri-Phi label a few years later,
they had become the Spinners, a name said to have been inspired by the
hubcaps on Mr. Smith’s car. (In Britain, where there already was a
popular folk group by that name, they were the Detroit Spinners.)
The
Spinners spent much of the 1960s under contract to Motown. But
established groups like the Temptations and the Four Tops got more
attention from the company, and the Spinners had only one Top 20 hit
during their tenure: “It’s a Shame” (1970), produced and co-written by Stevie Wonder, on which G. C. Cameron sang lead.
They
became consistent hitmakers only after they left Motown for Atlantic,
where Mr. Bell became their producer and Mr. Wynne replaced Mr. Cameron
as the second lead vocalist.
The
Spinners, in various permutations, stayed together after the hits
stopped coming in the 1980s, and despite his health problems Mr. Smith
remained with them until the end; he last performed with them a month
ago, Ron Smith said. Mr. Fambrough, who is still with the group, is now
the only surviving member of the original lineup.
In
addition to his son Ron, Mr. Smith is survived by his wife, Lorraine;
his sons Lamar and Richie White; his daughter, Vanessa Smith; four
grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Correction:
An
obituary on Thursday about the singer Bobbie Smith of the Spinners,
using information from his family, misstated the number of survivors.
Besides his wife and four children, Mr. Smith is survived by four
grandchildren and a great-grandson — not by three grandchildren.
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B19 of the New York edition with the headline: Bobbie Smith, 76, Voice of the Spinners. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper
Recorded in Philadelphia in 1972, the Spinners’ hit song became the inspiration for many disco hits in the 1970s
The Spinners performing in the 1970s. From left to right: Henry Fambrough, Bobby Smith, Billy Henderson, Pervis Jackson and Philippé Wynne NBC/NBCU PHOTO BANK/GETTY IMAGES
byMarc Myers
June 18, 2017
Wall Street Journal
The start of the Philadelphia dance sound of the 1970s can be traced back 45 years to the Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around.” The song’s rollicking conga-infused backbeat would become the inspiration for many Philly disco hits that followed.
When “I’ll Be Around” was released in August ‘72, it appeared on the B-side of a Spinners’ single. After radio DJs discovered the song, it climbed to #3 on the Billboard pop chart that fall and to #1 on the R&B chart.
Recently, the song’s co-writer and producer Thom Bell (who received a Grammy Trustees Award this year), the song’s lyricist Phil Hurtt and drummer Earl Young talked about the influential hit’s evolution. Edited from interviews.
Thom Bell: One Friday afternoon in early ‘72, I was at Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios producing a Stylistics record. When we finished, Vince Montana, a superb percussionist and a friend, started teasing me.
“Man, Thommy, I bet you can’t write a simple song with three chords, like the old doo-wop stuff.” I laughed and said, “Doo-wop was nice, Vince, but we’ve evolved.” He said, “Yeah, but I still bet you can’t do it. You need three legs to dance to some of this stuff.
Back at my office that evening, I couldn’t shake Vince’s challenge. I turned to my piano and played a series of three-chord combinations. Eventually I landed on E major 7, G sharp minor and F sharp major 6 (Mr. Bell illustrates on the piano).
I realized I had the start of a song for Bobby Smith, the Spinners’ lead singer. The Spinners had just signed with Atlantic, and I was producing two songs for them—“How Could I Let You Get Away” and “Just You and Me Baby.” I wanted a third, for insurance.
What I loved about Bobby’s voice is that he had an unusual vibrato and rarely sang on the beat. The melody and rhythm that I came up with was perfect for his voice. When I was done, I needed a lyric. But there was a problem.
My writing partner, lyricist Linda Creed, was leaving on her honeymoon and I couldn’t wait until she returned. The Spinners were coming into the studio that Tuesday to try out all three songs.
So the next morning, on Saturday, I went into my office and found lyricist Phil Hurtt, Bunny Sigler’s writing partner, in another office.
I played Phil the song on the piano. Then I gave him a cassette tape of me playing piano and humming the melody.
I told Phil the title I had in mind—“I’ll Be Around”—which was based on my melody. I didn’t tell him what kind of storyline I wanted. I left that to him.
Phil Hurtt: That evening, I was watching the 76ers basketball game with the sound down and listening to Thommy’s tape. I started writing the lyric based on his title.
As soon as I came up with the first line, “This is our fork in the road,” the rest came fast. (Mr. Hurtt sings a verse): “You made your choice, now it’s up to me / To bow out gracefully /Though you hold the key, but baby / Whenever you call me, I’ll be there.”
My lyric was about a guy who loves his girl but he understands that she’s confused and wants to date someone else. Instead of getting angry, he lets her go. He’s hurt, but he’s betting she’ll come back.
He’s giving her space and offers a safety net. He knows there isn’t much he can do if she wants to leave. His play is to be there if things don’t work out for her. It was an unusual theme then from a guy’s perspective.
Thom Bell, the song’s co-writer and producer, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June 2006.
PHOTO: STEPHEN LOVEKIN/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
Mr. Bell: As soon as I heard Phil’s opening lines—“This, is our fork in the road / Love’s last episode / There’s nowhere to go, oh no”—I loved it.
The romantic storyline was perfect for the Spinners. Now that I had the song’s words, I wanted to be sure the song worked for the guys. The Spinners had a distinct, vulnerable sound.
When Bobby and the Spinners came in that Tuesday, I played piano and sang Phil’s words. Then Bobby and I went over the lead vocal part.
Once he was set, I worked with the rest of the Spinners. I sang each of the background notes I wanted them to sing, and they tried them out. Before they left, I recorded each Spinner singing his part and gave them each a tape.
They had just come off the road and were heading home to Detroit for two weeks to rest. By practicing their parts at home, we’d save time and money when they came back to record.
When the Spinners left, I began writing and arranging the basic rhythm-track arrangement. After I finished, I brought the musicians in to record.
On the intro, I had Norman Harris open with three notes using octaves on his guitar resolving in an E major 7 chord. Then I answered his line with three chords on the Clavinet, which sounds like an electrified harpsichord.
I wanted the Spinners to record more uptempo dance stuff, so I had the drummer, Earl Young, emphasize the second and fourth beats. The flavor he came up with was fantastic. It became the start of the Philly dance beat that was adapted for many disco hits that came later.
Earl Young: As a session drummer, I had to have a thousand different beats in my head. I didn’t do solos or stick-spinning stuff. I played grooves. My job was to come up with a beat that made the lead vocalist want to sing, so you could hear that energy and excitement in his voice.
On “I’ll Be Around,” I created a medium-tempo dance beat. I hit the snare and floor tom-tom at the same time on the second and fourth beats to give them a fatter sound.
Meanwhile, I played what I call my “Indian beat” on the bass drum—two hits on the first beat and a one hit on the second, repeating the pattern on the third and fourth beats. This gave the song its groove.
Mr. Bell: When the Spinners came in to record, they put on headphones and added their vocals to the rhythm track. Once the vocal track was combined with the rhythm track, it was time to overdub the horns.
After I recorded their parts, Don Renaldo and his strings overdubbed my “sweetening” arrangement. Then I overdubbed myself playing tambourine on the second and fourth beats to add a little shimmer.
I also added female background vocals. The Spinners were great, but they had low voices. The song needed a greater vocal range. I auditioned about 20 singers and hired Barbara Ingram, Evette Benton and Carla Benson. They were students at Glassboro State College in New Jersey. I found them through my first wife, who was best friends with Barbara’s big sister.
This was the first time I used female background singers with the Spinners. After “I’ll Be Around,” I used them on everything I produced. They became known as the “Sweethearts of Sigma.”
By the end of the year, with “I’ll Be Around” a hit, Atlantic had me produce the rest of the tracks for “Spinners,” the group’s first album for the label, released in April 1973.
Mr. Hurtt: The first time I heard “I’ll Be Around” on the radio, I loved it. The only change I noticed in my lyric was the addition of the word “once”: “And love can burn once again, but I know you know.”
I didn’t write that word in my original lyric. Bobby Smith must have added it so the line would be easier to sing at that tempo. Hey, it worked.
My kids called the song tuition. In the 1980s, they were in college, and whenever they heard it, they’d call and say “Hey, dad, chich-ching!”
Mr. Bell: In November ‘72, I saw Vince Montana at one of my recording sessions. I said, “Hey, remember that three-chord song you said I couldn’t write? ‘I’ll Be Around’ is #1 on the R&B chart and #3 on the pop side.”
Vince looked down, shook his head and just laughed. Hey, if Vince hadn’t challenged me that day, I probably never would have written that song.
The Spinners were formed in Michigan, in 1957. Five friends — Billy
Henderson, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, C.P. Spencer, and James
Edwards — grew up together as neighbors in a suburb in Ferndale, just
next door to Detroit. They formed a band which they first named The
Domingoes. But James and Spencer eventually left. Bobby Smith and George
Dixon came along to replace them. It was Smith who would sing lead in
all of the Spinners’ early records and some of their hits as well. Four years later, record producer Harvey Fuqua noticed the quintet’s
talent and had them signed to his label, Tri-Phi records. Now calling
themselves The Spinners, they released their first single “That’s What
Girls Are Made For” in 1961. It didn’t perform badly on the charts, as
it climbed to #5 on the R&B and #27 on the Hot 100. Following the
release of their first single, Dixon had quit the band, to be replaced
by Edgar “Chico” Edwards.
End of the chart drought
Over the next few years, The Spinners scored moderate successes. In
the mid-1960s, Fuqua’s Tri-Phi was swallowed by the bigger label Motown
Records. The Spinners automatically became part of Motown’s stable of
artists, and they were signed to its subsidiary label V.I.P. Around this
time Edwards left the band and was replaced by G. C. Cameron. Still, the band was having moderate chart success. Ushering into the
1970s, the course of their career began to turn around with a Stevie
Wonder-penned hit “It’s a Shame” in 1970. For over a decade of singing
professionally, the Spinners had yet to taste major success. During
these years the Spinners were about to leave Motown and move to
Atlantic. However, there was a hitch. Cameron couldn’t leave Motown due
to his still-existing contract, so he remained there as a solo artist.
Instead, Cameron recommended his talented cousin Philippe Wayne to the
group. And soon enough Wayne was one of the group’s newest co-lead
singers. But the drought was about to end. Also in 1972, The Spinners scored
their first major success with “I’ll Be Around,” a song written by their
producer Thom Bell, together with Phil Hurtt. “I’ll Be Around” peaked
at #3 on the Hot 100 and topped the R&B singles chart. It was
followed by “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” which peaked at #4 and #1
on the pop and R&B charts, respectively, and 1973’s “One of a Kind
(Love Affair)” which charted at #29 and #1 on the pop and R&B
charts, respectively. Throughout the 1970s The Spinners achieved a string of R&B Top 10
hits including “Ghetto Child” (#29 pop, #4 R&B), “Mighty Love” (#18
pop, #1 R&B), “Love Don’t Love Nobody” (#15 pop, #3 R&B),
“Living a Little, Laughing a Little”(#37 pop, #7 R&B), “Sadie” (#54
pop, #7 R&B), “They Just Can’t Stop It (Games People Play)” (#5 pop,
#1 R&B), “Love or Leave” (#36 pop, #8 R&B), “The Rubberband
Man” (#2 pop, #1 R&B), and “You’re Throwing A Good Love Away” (#43
pop, #5 R&B). During these peak years the band was mostly led by
Wayne. Taking advantage of the Spinners’ new-found success, their erstwhile label Motown released Best of the Spinners compilation. Wayne left the band in 1977 to pursue a solo career and was replaced
by John Edwards. The Spinners by then were still scoring decent hits.
1979’s “Working My Way Back to You” became one of the group’s strongest
singles, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the R&B
singles chart, and a high #2 on the UK singles chart. In the same year,
Motown again issued another Spinners compilation albumFrom the Vaults. In 1980 The Spinners scored their last Top 10 pop hit with the medley
“Cupid”/”I’ve Loved You for a Long Time.” It reached #4 there.
Active in the oldies circuit
Since their last pop smash, The Spinners would never again achieve
another major chart success. In 1984, Wayne passed away from a sudden
heart attack in the middle of his performance in Oakland, California. He
was 43 years old. Wayne had also collaborated with
Parliament/Funkadelic aside from his solo career. In any case, it was in the 1980s where the Spinners’ star started to
fade away, and they began to settle themselves into the
oldies/revivalist circuit. With their chart success finished, the
Spinners nevertheless have remained a popular concert draw. Early members C.P. Spencer, George Dixon and Edgar “Chico” Edwards
passed away in 2004, 2005, and 2011 respectively. While original members
Billy Henderson, Pervis Jackson and lead singer Bobby Smith died in
2004, 2008 and 2013, respectively. The Spinners’ current lineup consists
of latter-day members Henry Fambrough, Charlton Washington, Marvin
Taylor and Jessie Robert Peck, with Fambrough the only surviving
original member who is still active. In 2009, the Spinners released their latest album, a compilation issue Are You Ready For Love? The Very Best of the Detroit Spinners.
The group had already been inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
in 1999, and as of now they have received their first nomination for the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Honors.
** This is just a short biographical summary – for the full story, check out this artist’s reviews! ** The Spinners – known in the UK as the Detroit Spinners, or the
Motown Spinners – were a remarkable vocal group, one of the most
accomplished of Motown’s “second tier” of great acts just below the
level of outright superstardom. Driven initially by the wonderful lead
vocals of Bobby (or Bobbie) Smith, one of the most underrated of all
Motown lead singers, the Spinners arrived at Motown as part of the
buy-out of Harvey Fuqua’s Harvey/Tri-Phi empire. Despite their obvious quality, they struggled for both hits and
attention in a crowded Motown marketplace, and eventually the group
ended up leaving Motown in 1972 to move to Atlantic (supposedly at the
urging of Aretha Franklin herself); with Philippé Wynne now installed on
lead vocals, and a supportive label behind them, they immediately
started having the chart hits they’d always deserved. A version of the
group is still touring today.
The Spinners, though finalists for the 2012 class of the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame, came up short. It was one of the only times something
like that’s happened for the greatest soul group of the early 1970s. After all, the Spinners once posted a staggering four No. 1 R&B
hits in less than 18 months: “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling
in Love,” “One Of A Kind (Love Affair)” and “Mighty Love” — all from
1972’s Spinners. The 1974 follow-up Mighty Love featured
three Top 20 hits, and the Spinners would go on to hit the Top 10 two
more times over the next two years before beginning to fade. Since, they’ve been recognized as major influences by David Bowie,
Elvis Costello and Elton John, and were inducted into the Vocal Group
Hall of Fame in 1999. Original members Henry Fambrough (who sang the
famous “12:45” line in “Games People Play”) and Robert “Bobby” Smith
(“I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “Then Came You”
with Dionne Warwick) remain with the group, though singer Philippé Wynne
(“One of a Kind,” “The Rubberband Man”) died of a heart attack while
performing back in 1984. Original singer G.C. Cameron (“It’s a Shame”)
also returned to the fold for a time in the 2000s, but he has since
departed. Throughout all the changes, their legacy has lived on. The hope, of
course, is that they’ll be considered for the 2013 Rock Hall ballot.
Here’s are at least five reasons why … “THE RUBBERBAND MAN” (HAPPINESS IS BEING WITH THE SPINNERS, 1976):
Formed in 1961, the Spinners went on to become one of the best and most
successful singing outfits of 1970s. Brandishing a polished presence
grafted of honey-kissed harmonies, classy grooves and melt-in-your mouth
melodies, the Detroit, Michigan, group spawned catchy songs bleeding
with heart and soul. By the time “The Rubberband Man” swept the airwaves, reaching No. 2
on the national charts in the early fall of 1976, the Spinners had
already racked up a dozen Top 40 hit singles to their name, with tunes
like “It’s A Shame,” “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling In
Love,” “One Of A Kind Love Affair,” “Ghetto Child” and “Then Came You”
(featuring Dionne Warwick) being all but a brief list of such
gold-studded achievements. But returning to “The Rubberband Man”: Is it funk or disco? A little
bit of both, that’s for sure, but no matter which way you slice it, it’s
a super fun song. Crafted of bouncy rhythms, cheerful choruses, a
boogie-based jam and a hook so sharp it pokes right through the record,
“The Rubberband Man” actually produces a sound similar to that of a
stretching rubberband. Whenever I hear “The Rubberband Man,” it reminds me of my first
semester of my sophomore year in high school. During lunch hour, seated
in a grassy knoll located by the tennis courts, I would play my blinding
yellow transistor radio and this tune was in constant rotation.
Whenever it came on, a bunch of fellow students would start dancing and
singing along with the bubblegummy type lyrics. Although I have few fond
recollections of high school, “The Rubberband Man” produces pleasant
memories, as it was a nice diversion to the boring and often hostile
environment I was then subjected to. — Beverly Paterson
“I’LL BE AROUND” (SPINNERS, 1972): From the first
chunky guitar chords, the Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around” is a different kind
of a song about getting dumped, and still loving her anyway, and
thinking to yourself — and then saying out loud — that you’ll wait for
as long as it takes for her to return, since there’s always a chance, no
matter how remote, that these things work out in the end. A lean bass
signature enters next, then the soaring strings required of any soul
effort of the period, and some sly conga work by Larry Washington. Bobby
Smith cries then winks — “now it’s up to me, to bow out gracefully,” he
sings, though you somehow know from the start that he won’t — in a
performance as nuanced as the brilliant arrangement. It’s Philly Soul, personified — even if the group started out as four
high school students in Michigan. Thank producer Thom Bell, who
fashioned a two-chord burst of mournful resolve on “I’ll Be Around” that
neatly echoes the chorus’ vocal lines. The Spinners, who had named
themselves after a hubcap on Smith’s 1951 Crown Victoria, were on their
way. “I’ll Be Around” led to a run of subsequent hits — but Bell and the
group hit a creative vista, to me ears, with 1972’s Spinners.
Practically its own greatest hits package, this Atlantic recording is
home to “I’ll Be Around,” as well as “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,”
“Ghetto Child,” “How Could I Let You Get Away” (actually, the flip side
to “I’ll Be Around”) and “One of a Kind (Love Affair).” Bell brings the same kind of lush sophistication to this project that
marked celebrated earlier work with the Stylistics and Delfonics —
think, “La La Means I Love You” and “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This
Time)” — but with an updated street-level vibe. He then mixes in
orchestral elements of the big band sound of the previous decade, making
for a fluttering, hypnotic effect that was faster than a standard
ballad but a beat slower than a dance song. The result: Three-minutes
bursts of exquisite soul glory like “I’ll Be Around,” which eventually
spent five weeks at No. 1 on the R&B chart, the Spinners’ first, and
reaching No. 3 on the pop hit parade, as well. — Nick DeRiso “WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU/FORGIVE ME GIRL” (DANCIN’ AND LOVIN,’ 1979):
During the time that my little kid self grew into a rock fan, I learned
about a lot of R&B music through listening osmosis: the radio was
still generous enough to mix genres and then there we always those crazy
K-Tel albums. Sure, I bought it for the hard rockin’ Thin Lizzy song,
put up with “Disco Duck” and other smarm, but was showered with the
gifts of Stevie Wonder, The Chi-Lites, and Tower of Power. The funny thing is that I didn’t realize this at the time. Years
later I’d hear a song like “Working My Way Back To You” and it seemed
incredibly familiar, even if I wasn’t the biggest R&B fan in
general, or fan of the Spinners in particular. There was even a tiny
remembrance of hand-held transistor radio days with shadows of the
original Four Seasons version, rattling out of that tinny,
plastic-encased speaker. Delivery methods aside, it’s obvious to me that this music embedded
itself in my musical root systems. The harmonies are just glorious and
still have the power to resonate even after all these years. — Mark Saleski “IT’S A SHAME” (SECOND TIME AROUND, 1970): Today, the
Spinners are considered one of the best 1970s soul groups, but “Spinners
1.0” began with 1970’s “It’s A Shame,” a Stevie Wonder-penned tune that
kicked off their career. While Wonder’s composition brought the group
early success, they didn’t hit their stride until they departed Motown
and signed with Atlantic Records. However, this classic track, with G.C.
Cameron on lead vocals, did create interest in the group and gave them
their first crossover hit. Originally formed in the late 1950s as a doo-wop act, the Spinners
signed with Motown in 1965 and decided to move in an R&B direction.
However, the label paid little attention to the singers. Their big break
came in the form of labelmate Stevie Wonder, who co-wrote “It’s A
Shame” with Syreeta Wright and Lee Garrett. The Spinners recorded the
song for their debut LP Second Time Around, which was released
on a short-lived Motown spinoff label V.I.P. Backed by Motown’s stellar
backing band the Funk Brothers, the singers demonstrated their knack for
tight harmonies, while Cameron displayed his extensive vocal range. Wonder’s words concern a love affair gone wrong, with the narrator
chastising his girlfriend for cheating on him. The song immediately
begins with the memorable chorus: “It’s a shame, the way you mess around
with your man.” While the other singers harmonize in the background
(recalling their doo-wop roots), Cameron effortlessly handles the
frequent chord changes, particularly in the lines “I’m sitting all
alone, by the telephone, waiting for your call, when you don’t call at
all.” But then he reaches his impressive falsetto range on the verses
“Why do you use me, try to confuse me? How can you stand to be so
cruel?” It’s an emotional performance, one that befits the song’s tale
of heartbreak. Despite the lyrics’ pleading, desperate tone, the Funk
Brothers provide an upbeat instrumental counterpart. The thumping beat
pulsates throughout the track, as does the distinctively ringing guitar
riff that emphasizes the catchy melody. Wonder’s knack for writing memorable chord changes and meaningful
lyrics gave the Spinners a bona fide hit, reaching No. 4 on the
Billboard R&B Singles chart and No. 14 on the Hot 100. Despite this
success, Motown still failed to invest in the band, and ultimately
dropped the group from the label in 1972. In addition, Cameron chose to
remain with Motown, so the Spinners recruited new lead singer Phillipe
Wynne before signing with Atlantic. Thus began Spinners 2.0, when they
recorded an impressive array of quality hit songs. But “It’s A Shame”
remains one of their best tracks, their first crossover single, and the
only hit featuring Cameron on lead vocals. — Kit O’Toole
Each month in “The Story Behind,” I’ll look at the history of a
well-known Top 40 hit based on interviews I’ve conducted with
individuals who performed some of the most familiar pop hits of the
1960s and ’70s. This month, I’ll look at the Spinners’ 1970 hit, “It’s a
Shame.” It’s
easy to assume that the Spinners’ story began around 1972 when they
kicked off a long string of nearly 30 charts hits on Atlantic Records,
including “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “The
Rubberband Man,” “Then Came You” (with Dionne Warwick), and “One of a
Kind (Love Affair).” But the group didn’t just appear overnight, and in reality, by that
time, they’d been recording for almost a decade in near anonymity on
Motown. But “It’s a Shame” was their first Top-20 song and a portent of
the mainstream popularity that was yet to come. The Spinners got their start in Ferndale, Michigan, in 1954 as the
Domingoes, and originally consisted of members Billy Henderson, Henry
Fambrough, C.P. Spenser, Pervis Jackson, and James Edwards. Edwards was
soon replaced by Bobbie Smith, and Spencer would leave and be replaced
by George Dixon. By 1961, they had renamed themselves after those spinning car
hubcaps and had their first real shot at success on Tri-Phi with “That’s
What Girls are Made For” which went to #27 on the charts. In 1963,
Berry Gordy bought out Tri-Phi, so by 1964, the Spinners were part of
Motown’s considerable array of talent. Despite the fact that they had a
couple of brushes with chart success, including 1965’s “I’ll Always Love
You” (#35) and 1966’s “Truly Yours” (#111), they were largely
underutilized at Motown and frequently even served as chaperones and
chauffeurs for other Motown acts. Apparently, Motown thought one way to make the group more bankable
was to bring in a more versatile lead singer, someone in the
deep-gravelly voiced mold of the Four Tops’ Levi Stubbs or the
Temptations’ David Ruffin. As a result, G.C. Cameron joined the group in 1967, but still no tangible results in the form of hit records were forthcoming. Soon, the group was relegated to the Motown subsidiary label VIP, and
given the recognition factor this name conjures up compared to the
other Gordy-owned labels such as Motown and Tamla, it would appear that
the group was essentially being sent down to the minors to play out the
remainder of their contract. Oddly enough, their rescue came due to the assistance of Motown
superstar Stevie Wonder. “After I signed with Motown and joined the
group, Stevie and I became very good friends,” Cameron told me. “We’d
hang out together, and he knew that because I’d been thrown in the midst
of all these great Motown singers like Marvin Gaye, David Ruffin, Levi
Stubbs, and Diana Ross, I needed to catch up. “So one night we were out and he told me, ‘I wrote a song for you.’ I
asked him what it was, and he had me take him to his house, and he
started playing this song on his electric piano. The song was ‘It’s a
Shame.’” After Wonder played the song for Cameron that night, “the next
day Stevie went in and recorded the music, and three or four days later,
I went into the studio with the rest of the Spinners to record the
vocal track.” Cameron sang “both leads” on the song, and as he explained, “That
means that I not only sang the part when it says, ‘It’s a shame the way
you mess around with your man,’ but the higher chorus when it says, ‘Why
do you use me, try to confuse me’ and so on. We did the song in one
take, and Stevie and everyone else was really excited. That’s how ‘It’s a
Shame’ came about.”
The Spinners were one of the most successful vocal groups of the
1970’s with nearly three dozen R&B hits and 27 singles that charted
on Billboard’s Hot 100 during the decade. Although they created
a body of work that defined the lush, seductive sound of Philly soul on
Atlantic Records, the group’s roots were in Michigan. They began as a
doo wop group, before evolving into soul music with early releases on
Detroit’s Tri-Phi Records from 1961 until 1963 when both the label and
the Spinners were absorbed into Motown’s hit-factory machine. Tenors Bobby Smith, C.P. Spencer, and Billy Henderson, along with
baritone Henry Fambrough and bass Pervis Jackson, were all from
Ferndale, a mostly residential community located in Oakland county,
north of Detroit. They formed a doo wop vocal group called the Domingos
in 1955 and sang in talent contests and local bars and nightclubs before
changing their name to the Spinners in tribute to the shiny hubcaps on
Bobby Smith’s car. During these early years, Spenser was replaced by
George Dixon.
(L to R) Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, Billy Henderson, Chico Edwards, and Bobby Smith. Harvey Fuqua was a founding member of the Moonglows. After he left
the group in late 1958, he moved to Detroit with Marvin Gaye and began
working with Anna Records which was enjoying a big hit with Barrett
Strong’s “Money”. Fuqua helped Gaye get signed to Motown and, he started
his own labels, Tri-Phi and Harvey Records in Detroit in 1961. While in the Motor City, Fuqua saw the Spinners perform and heard
something in their splendid vocal blend. He began working with the
group, polished their vocals, and signed them to his Tri-Phi label. In
the spring of 1961, Fuqua took the Spinners to Chicago to record a
delightful doo wop song called “That’s What Girls Are Made For” that
he’d co-written with Barry Gordy’s sister, Gwen Gordy. The ballad was
Tri-Phi’s debut single; and it became a big hit during the summer,
reaching at # 5 on Billboard’s R&B chart and crossing over to # 27 on the Hot 100. Listen to "That's What Girls Are Made For":
The Spinners’ follow-up single on Tri-Phi was released in November of
1961. The ballad “Love (I Am So Glad I Found You)” was only a minor
hit, however, spending just one week on the Hot 100 and peaking
at # 91. The group underwent another personnel change during the
Tri-Phi years when George Dixon was replaced by Edgar “Chico” Edwards in
1962. The group would release three more singles on Tri-Phi: “What Did She
Use?” backed with “Itching For My Baby, But I Don’t Know Where To
Scratch”, “I’ve been Hurt” b/w “I Got Your Water Boiling, Baby (I’m
Gonna Cook Your Goose)”, and under the name Bobby Smith & The
Spinners: “She Don’t Love Me” b/w “Too Young, Too Much, Too Soon”, but
nothing charted. In 1963, Harvey Fuqua sold his labels to Motown, and the Spinners
came along as part of the deal. The group found themselves stuck among
the second tier of acts at Motown, where the best songs went to the
biggest acts on the label. It took a while, but Motown finally released a
Spinners’ single in late 1964. The a-side was “Sweet Thing”, an upbeat
composition by Mickey Stevenson that failed to chart. It was backed with
“How Can I”, written by Harvey Fuqua and Gwen Gordy. The Spinners’ first Motown hit came with their next release in early
1965. Written by Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter, “I’ll Always Love
You” reached # 8 on the R&B chart and crossed over to # 35 on the Hot 100. Listen To "I'll Always Love You": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Lttt9OsEk (L to R) Henderson, Edwards, Jackson, Fambrough, and Smith. With releases by the Supremes and the Four Tops dominating the Motown
label, it took over a year before the Spinners put out their follow-up
single. “Truly Yours”, an upbeat number again written by Stevenson and
Hunter, went to # 16 on the R&B chart but didn’t make the Hot 100, stalling at # 111. The next single, “For All We Know”, was issued a year later but it failed to chart. Motown released the group’s first album, “The Original Spinners”,
in the summer of 1967. Meanwhile, the group perfected their
choreography with Cholly Atkins and toured with Marvin Gaye’s revue; but
they couldn’t pay the bills by performing alone, so they moonlighted as
chaperones, drivers, and road managers. G.C. Cameron, who took over for Chico Edwards after completing a tour
of Vietnam in 1967, said this about the other group members: “They
chauffeured the Temptations around so much, they thought they were the
Tempts’ drivers. They paid some serious dues.” Cameron, who contributed most of the lead vocals on the Spinners’
remaining Motown releases, got into the group because of his friendship
with Dennis Edwards. Years before, Cameron and Edwards had done some
singing together in a small club on Joy Road. Edwards knew that the
Spinners were looking for someone and recommended Cameron. G.C. Cameron debuted with the Spinners on “I Just Can’t Help But Feel
The Pain” b/w “Bad, Bad Weather (Till You Come Home)” in the fall of
1968. It would be the group’s last release on the blue and silver Motown
label; as the company switched the Spinners to the V.I.P. subsidiary
for the rest of their recording contract. The Spinners’ first release on V.I.P. was a cover of the Moonglows’
1955 classic “In My Diary” in 1969. Harvey Fuqua had recorded the
original with the Moonglows, and even though he produced the Spinners’
version, it failed to chart. Norman Whitfield produced the group’s first single of 1970, “Message
From A Black Man”. The song was composed by Whitfield and Barrett Strong
and had been recorded the previous year by the Temptations for their “Puzzle People” album, but it failed to find an audience.
(L to R) P. Jackson, B. Smith, H. Fambrough, B. Henderson, and G.C. Cameron.
It took the talent of Stevie Wonder to restore the Spinners to the
charts. Stevie co-wrote, produced, and played several instruments on the
stunning “It’s A Shame” single, issued during the summer of 1970.
Cameron and Wonder had become close friends, and one night after driving
Stevie home from a club, Wonder told him that he had been working on a
song for the group and played him “It’s A Shame” in his basement studio.
Cameron said that the Spinners recorded it the next day, but that it
took almost a year to finally get it released. Listen to "It's A Shame":
After “It’s A Shame” hit big during the summer, Motown released the group’s second LP, “2nd Time Around”
in the fall. The label then arranged for Stevie Wonder to produce the
Spinners’ follow-up single in early 1971. Wonder co-wrote “We’ll Have It
Made” with his wife Syreeta, and the song reached # 20 on the R&B chart and # 89 on the Hot 100. When the Spinners’ contract with Motown was about to expire, Aretha
Franklin suggested that they sign with her label, Atlantic Records.
Cameron was still contractually obligated to Motown, however, and
couldn’t switch labels. He stayed on as a solo artist at Motown and
suggested that his cousin, Philippe Wynne, replace him when the group
moved to Atlantic. It was there that the Spinners embraced the sleek
Philly sound, and they were selected by Thom Bell as the perfect vehicle
for his burgeoning creative talents as a producer, arranger, and
composer.
Top (L to R): B. Smith and P. Jackson. Bottom (L to R): H. Fambrough, P. Wynne, and B. Henderson.
For more than five years, Bell and his songwriting partner Linda
Creed brought out the best in the Spinners by providing them with some
of the sweetest soul titles ever written. The group responded with
highwire vocal performances that made them one of the most successful
vocal groups of the 1970’s.
The Bobby Smith-led “I’ll Be Around”, their first Top Ten hit, was
actually the b-side of their initial Atlantic single, “How Could I Let
You Get Away”. DJs flipped the record over, however, and radio airplay
for “I’ll Be Around” pushed it all the way to # 3 on he Hot 100,
while the original a-side, (the Wynne-led) "How Could I Let You Get
Away", peaked at # 77. "I'll Be Around" was also the Spinners' first
million-selling hit single, as it spent an impressive five weeks at # 1
on the R&B chart. Watch the Spinners perform "I'll Be Around":
Their follow-up single, “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love”, was
released in late December. The song was co-written by brothers Mervin
and Melvin Steals who worked for Atlantic. Bell produced the song at
Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studio, and the MFSB house band again
provided the instrumental backing. Bobby Smith sang lead through most of
the song, and then Philippe Wynne handled the vocal on the song’s
outro. “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” equaled the success of its
predecessor, peaking at # 1 R&B and # 4 on the Hot 100 and selling over one million copies. The Spinners made it three # 1 R&B singles in a row when “One Of A Kind (Love Affair)” reached the top spot in the spring of 1973. It peaked at # 11 on the Hot 100 and also sold over one million copies, but the song was also the subject of some controversy.
When the single was first released, there was some confusion as to
whether the song contained a curse word in the section immediately
following the instrumental break. Some heard the lyric that Philippe
Wynne sang as “One of a kind love affair, makes you want to love her,
you just got to fuck her, yeah.” Most others heard the allegedly
offensive line as “You just got to hug her, yeah”. Regardless, Atlantic
quickly responded to the complaints by reissuing the song with the three
lines edited out. The “One of a kind love affair makes a lame man walk,
makes a blind man talk about seeing again” lyric was moved up to right
after the instrumental break, avoiding further debate. Did the song
contain the dreaded f-word? Listen to the original version of “One Of A
Kind (Love Affair)”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8uRhUSPBjk
The controversy did not seem to hurt the Spinners one bit; as their parade of chart hits continued with “Ghetto Child, # 4 R&B, “Mighty Love Pt. 1”, # 1 R&B, and “I’m Coming Home”, # 3 R&B. All three single were also Top 40 hits on the Hot 100
in 1973 and 1974. The only group that could even begin to compare with
the Spinners’ incredible chart success at this time was the O’Jays. The Spinners’ biggest hit on the Hot 100, however, was a
duet with Dionne Warwick on “Then Came You”. The single was released
during a time that Warwick’s chart success had started to wane, and she
had begun adding an “e” to her last name after signing with Warner Bros.
Records. “Then Came You” was recorded as a duet with the Spinners’ lead
singer Bobby Smith, but Philippe Wynne took over the lead duties at the
end of the song. The Grammy-nominated song became the first # 1 hit on
the Hot 100 for both Dionne Warwick(e) and the Spinners, and it
dominated radio playlists during the summer of 1974. Listen to "Then
Came You":
The group continued its success on the R&B charts with “Love Don’t Love Nobody Pt. 1”, a # 4 R&B hit in the fall of 1974, and with “Living A Little, Laughing A Little”, and “Sadie”, both reaching # 7 on the R&B chart in 1975. The Spinners’ next big hit on the Hot 100,
however, came during the summer of 1975 with “They Just Can’t Stop It
the (Games People Play)”. The song peaked at # 5 on the pop chart and
was also the group’s 5thR&B # 1 hit. After two lesser hits with “Love Or Leave” and “Wake Up Susan”
earlier in 1976, the Spinners bounced back in a major way with “The
Rubberband Man” in the fall of the year. The song, written by producer
Thom Bell and singer-songwriter Linda Creed, was about Bell’s son, who
was teased by his classmates for being overweight. Intended to improve
his son’s self-image, the song eventually evolved from being about “The
Fat Man” to “The Rubberband Man”. The single spent three weeks at # 2 on
the Hot 100 and topped the R&B chart at the end
of 1976. The song, with its impressive choreography has become a
highlight of the Spinners’ live performances. Watch the Spinners perform
“The Rubberband Man”:
(L to R): P. Wynne, B. Henderson, P. Jackson, B. Smith, and H. Fambrough. "The Rubberband Man” was the last major hit to feature Philippe Wynne
on lead vocals, and the group’s relationship with Thom Bell began to
draw to a close. The group’s next two singles, “You’re Throwing A Good
Love Away” and “Heaven On Earth (So Fine)” both failed to reach the Top
40, and Philippe Wynne left the Spinners after one too many arguments
with producer Thom Bell. Wynne was replaced by John Edwards. After the “If You Wanna Do A Dance" single failed to make the Top 40
in 1978, the Spinners parted ways with Thom Bell. They remained on good
terms with their former producer, however, and the group contributed two
songs and appeared as a band in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, a sports comedy film that Bell was involved with.
(L to R): P. Jackson, B. Henderson, H. Fambrough, J. Edwards. and B. Smith.
The Spinners had a brief resurgence at the start of the new decade,
scoring two big hits with new producer Michael Zager. The medley of
“Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl” spent two weeks at # 2 on
the Hot 100 in early 1980. The group followed it up with
another medley, “Cupid/I’ve Loved You For A Long Time”, five months
later. It was also a solid hit, reaching # 4 on the Hot 100. Both medleys were also Top Ten R&B hits.
Success began to wane in the years that followed, however. The Spinners’ last chart entry in the Hot 100
was a remake of Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away”, which
peaked at # 67 in 1983. The following year, the group had their final R&B hit with “Right or Wrong” which reached # 22. The group would go on to perform the title track to the 1987 hit film Spaceballs, but their time as commercially successful recording artists had come to an end.
The Spinners continue to be a popular attraction on the “oldies”
circuit, but the only surviving member of the group is Henry Fambrough.
Although the Spinners became part of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in
1999, they have yet to be inducted into the much more prestigious Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2017, the Spinners were selected as one of the Historical
Inductees to the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Internet Hall of Fame.
The best account of the Spinners’ early years can be found in Bill Dahl’s excellent book, Motown: The Golden Years. Most of the information regarding the group’s recordings on the Tri-Phi and Motown labels was taken from Dahl’s research.
The Spinners are an American rhythm and bluesvocal group that formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s. The group continues to tour, with Henry Fambrough as the only original member.
The group is also listed as the Detroit Spinners and the Motown Spinners, due to their 1960s recordings with the Motown label. These other names were used in the UK to avoid confusion with a British folk group also called The Spinners.[1] On June 30, 1976, they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[2] In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[3]
James Edwards remained with the group for a few weeks and was replaced by Bobby Smith, who sang lead on most of the Spinners' early records and their Atlantic Records hits. Spencer left the group shortly after Edwards, and later joined the Voice Masters and the Originals. George Dixon replaced Edwards, and the group renamed themselves the Spinners in 1961.[5]
Early recording years: 1961–71
The Spinners' first single, "That's What Girls Are Made For", was recorded under Harvey Fuqua's Tri-Phi Records. The single peaked at number 27 on the Top 100 chart in August 1961.[4]Smith sang lead vocal on this track, coached by Fuqua.[6]
The group's follow-up single, "Love (I'm So Glad) I Found You", also
featured lead vocals by Smith. This song reached number 91 that
November, and was the last Tri-Phi Records' single to reach the Top 100
charts.
Sources debate the extent to which Fuqua became a member of the
group during its stay at Tri-Phi. Fuqua sang lead on some of the singles
and considered himself a Spinner. In the credits on Tri-Phi 1010 and
1024, the artist was credited for the first two singles and listed as
"Harvey (Formerly of the Moonglows and the Spinners)". However, most sources do not list him as an official member.
James Edwards' brother, Edgar "Chico" Edwards, replaced Dixon in
the group in 1963, at which time Tri-Phi and its entire artist roster
was bought out by Fuqua's brother-in-law, Berry Gordy of Motown Records.
In 1964, the Spinners made their debut at the Apollo Theater and were received with high favor. "I'll Always Love You" hit number 35 in 1965.[4] From 1966 to 1969, the group released one single a year, but only the 1966 single "Truly Yours" peaked on the Billboard 100 R&B chart at number 16.[4] With limited commercial success, Motown assigned the Spinners as
road managers, chaperones, and chauffeurs for other groups, and even as
shipping clerks. G. C. Cameron replaced Edgar "Chico" Edwards in 1967, and in 1969, the group switched to the Motown-owned V.I.P. imprint.
In 1970, after a five-year absence, they hit number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 with writer-producer Stevie Wonder's composition, (the Cameron-led) "It's a Shame" (co-written by Syreeta Wright)
and again charted the following year with another Wonder song the
composer also produced, "We'll Have It Made" (led by Cameron), from
their new album, 2nd Time Around. However, these were their last two singles for V.I.P.
Shortly after the release of 2nd Time Around,[7] Atlantic Records recording artist Aretha Franklin
suggested the group finish their Motown contract and sign with
Atlantic. The group made the switch, but contractual obligations
prevented Cameron from leaving Motown, so he stayed on there as a solo
artist and urged his cousin, singer Philippé Wynne, to join the Spinners in his place as one of the group's three lead singers, with Henry Fambrough, and Bobby Smith.
Peak commercial success
When
the Spinners signed to Atlantic in 1972, they were a respected but
commercially unremarkable singing group who had never had a Top Ten pop
hit — despite having been a recording act for over a decade. However,
under the helm of producer and songwriter Thom Bell, the Spinners charted five Top 100 singles (and two Top Tens) from their first post-Motown album, Spinners (1972), and went on to become one of the biggest soul groups of the 1970s.
The Bobby Smith-led "I'll Be Around", their first top ten hit, was actually the B-side of their first Atlantic single, (the Wynne-led) "How Could I Let You Get Away".[8]
Radio airplay for the B-side led Atlantic to flip the single over, with
"I'll Be Around" hitting number 3 and "How Could I Let You Get Away"
reaching number 77. "I'll Be Around" was also the Spinners' first
million-selling hit single.[9] It was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA on October 30, 1972.[10] The 1973 follow-up singles "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" (led by Smith and Wynne), which was another million-seller,[10] "One of a Kind (Love Affair)"
(led by Wynne), and "Ghetto Child" (led by Fambrough and Wynne)
cemented the group's reputation, as well as further that of Bell, a
noted Philly soul producer.
Following their Atlantic successes, Motown also issued a "Best of
the Spinners" LP which featured selections from their Motown/V.I.P.
recordings. They also remixed and reissued the 1970 B-side "Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music"
(led by Smith, originally co-led by Cameron) as a 1973 A-side. In the
midst of their Atlantic hits, it crawled to number 91 in the US.
The group's 1974 follow-up album, Mighty Love, featured three Top 20 hits, "I'm Coming Home", "Love Don't Love Nobody", and the title track. Their biggest hit of the year, however, was a collaboration with Dionne Warwick, "Then Came You" (led by Smith, Warwick, and Wynne), which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming each act's first chart-topping "Pop" hit. The song also reached the Top 3 of Billboard′s R&B and Easy Listening charts.
The Spinners hit the Top 10 twice in the next two years with the Smith and Jackson-led "They Just Can't Stop It (The Games People Play)" (Billboard number 5) and the Wynne-led "The Rubberband Man" (Billboard number 2). "Games People Play" featured guest vocalist Evette L. Benton[11]
(though producer Bell disputed this in a UK-based interview, claiming
Evette's line was actually group member Henry Fambrough – his voice sped
up),[12] and led to the nickname "Mister 12:45" for bass singer Jackson, after his signature vocal line on the song.
The post-Wynne years
Philippé Wynne left the group in January 1977 and was replaced by John Edwards,
who had recorded a number of R&B hits as a solo singer. Though this
version of the group had minor hits from 1977 to 1979, they failed to
hit the pop Top 40 for three years and parted ways with Thom Bell. They
contributed two songs to Bell's film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh and appeared in the film as a band.[13] In 1979, Motown released a compilation album on both sides of the Atlantic. From the Vaults, (US Natural Resources label NR 4014 and in the UK on Tamla Motown STMR 9001), included the song "What More Could a Boy Ask For" (Fuqua & Bristol), which was recorded circa 1965.
The group did have a brief resurgence at the dawning of the new decade, scoring two big hits in 1980 with Michael Zager medleys of "Working My Way Back to You"/"Forgive Me, Girl" (number two in March–April, number one UK) and "Cupid"/"I've
Loved You for a Long Time" (number four in July–August, number four
UK). However, success once again waned in the years that followed. The
group's last Hot 100 hit was a remake of Willie Nelson's
"Funny How Time Slips Away", which peaked at number 67 in 1983. In
1984, the group had their last R&B hit with "Right or Wrong", from
that year's Cross Fire album. They would go on to release a pair of albums, in addition to performing the title track to the 1987 hit film Spaceballs, during the latter half of the 1980s, though none of these efforts were commercially successful.
After some years spent collaborating with Parliament/Funkadelic
and working solo, Wynne died of a heart attack while performing in
Oakland on July 14, 1984.
In a 2014 interview, Henry Famborough, the group's last surviving original member stated: "Bobby (Smith) was always our major lead singer for all those years. Had always been. Always will be,"[7]
despite the fact that Fambrough has received little credit for the many
Spinners songs on which he sang or shared lead vocals, including: "I
Don't Want to Lose You", "Ghetto Child", "Living a Little, Laughing a
Little", "Ain't No Price on Happiness", "Smile We Have Each Other",
"Just as Long as We Have Love", (a second Spinners duet with Dionne
Warwick) and "Now That We're Together".
The Spinners today
The Spinners in concert at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, on March 18, 2006
After their chart career ended, the Spinners continued touring for
decades. They are big draws on the oldies and nostalgia concert
circuits, playing the music that made them famous.
G.C. Cameron rejoined the group as lead vocalist from 2000 to
2002 (replacing John Edwards, who left due to a stroke), but he left
them in 2003 to join The Temptations. Frank Washington, formerly of The Futures and The Delfonics, joined for a few years, before being replaced by Charlton Washington (no relation).
In 2004, original member Billy Henderson was dismissed from the
group after suing the group's corporation and business manager to obtain
financial records. He was replaced by Harold "Spike" Bonhart. Henderson
died due to complications from diabetes on February 2, 2007, at the age of 67. Another early member, C. P. Spencer, had already died from a heart attack on October 20, 2004;[14][15] and another, George Dixon, died in 1994.[16] Original member Pervis Jackson, who was still touring as a member of the group, died from cancer on August 18, 2008.[17] The group continued for a short time as a quartet before Jessie Robert Peck (born in Queens, New York,
December 17, 1968) was recruited as the group's new bass vocalist in
February 2009. In 2009, Bonhart left the Spinners and was replaced by
vocalist Marvin Taylor. The group lost another member from their early
days, when Edgar "Chico" Edwards died on December 3, 2011.[18] The Spinners were put into the limelight again in 2003 when an Elton John track was re-issued featuring them on backing vocals. In 1977, the Spinners had recorded two versions of "Are You Ready for Love"
at the Philadelphia studios. One had all of the Spinners, the other
with only lead singer Philippé Wynne on backing vocals. Elton John was
not happy with the mixes and sat on the tapes for a year before asking
for them to be remixed so they would sound easier on the ear.[citation needed]
Finally, in 1979, the Wynne version was released as a single, but it
only made it to number 42 in the UK. The track was then remixed by
Ashley Beedle from Xpress-2 in 2003 after becoming a fixture in the Balearic nightclubs and being used by Sky Sports for an advertisement. It then went to number one on the singles chart after being released on DJ Fatboy Slim's Southern Fried Records.
In September 2011, 57 years after forming in Detroit and 50 years after "That's What Girls Are Made For", the group was announced as one of 15 final nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, their first nomination, they were also nominated in 2014 and 2015.
Lead singer Bobby Smith died on March 16, 2013.[19]
The group, which still tours actively, consists of Henry Fambrough (the
only surviving original member), Charlton Washington, Jessie Peck,
Marvin Taylor and Ronnie Moss.
In 2017, the Spinners were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.[20]
Billboard,
November 10, 1979, Vol. 91, No. 45: "The Spinners recently reteamed
with producer Thorn Bell to do two songs for his upcoming film score to The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. The group sings 'Do It Cause No One Does It Better,' a mid-tempo tune which may be a single, and...."
THE MUSIC OF THE SPINNERS: AN EXTENSIVE VIDEO OVERVIEW, A CROSS SECTION OF RECORDINGS, MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY, PLUS VARIOUS INTERVIEWS WITH THE SPINNERS:
Kofi Natambu, editor of and contributor to Sound Projections, is a writer, poet, cultural critic, and political journalist whose poetry, essays, criticism, reviews, and journalism have appeared in many literary magazines, journals, newspapers, and anthologies. He has written extensively about music as a critic and historian for many publications, including the Black Scholar, Downbeat, Solid Ground: A New World Journal, Detroit Metro Times, KONCH, the Panopticon Review,Black Renaissance Noire, the Village Voice, the City Sun (NYC), the Poetry Project Newsletter (NYC), and the African American Review. He is the author of a biography Malcolm X: His Life & Work (Alpha Books) and two books of poetry: The Melody Never Stops (Past Tents Press) and Intervals (Post Aesthetic Press). He was the founder and editor of Solid Ground: A New World Journal, a national quarterly magazine of the arts, culture, and politics and the editor of a literary anthology Nostalgia for the Present (Post Aesthetic Press). Natambu has read his work throughout the country and given many lectures and workshops at academic and arts institutions. He has taught American literature, literary theory and criticism, cultural history and criticism, film studies, political science, creative writing, philosophy, critical theory, and music history and criticism (Jazz, Blues, R&B, Hip Hop) at many universities and colleges. He was also a curator in the Education Department of Detroit’s Museum of African American History. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Natambu currently lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Chuleenan.
After their chart career ended, the Spinners continued touring for
decades. They are big draws on the oldies and nostalgia concert
circuits, playing the music that made them famous. 
