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 level 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 a 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 assistence, 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 Thom Bell recorded a number of soul classics, including "I'll Be Around," "Could It Be I'm Fallin 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 Spinners formed when the quintet 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. Four years later, they came to the attention of producer Harvey Fuqua, who began recording the group -- who were now called the Spinners -- for his Tri-Phi Records. The band's first single, "That's What Girls Are Made For," became a Top 10 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 By that time, Edwards had been replaced by G.C. Cameron.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, 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.
Phillip 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. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine
01. Pipeline to My Pad 02. Skags Row 03. Barracuda 04. Tube and I 05. Early Surfer Catches the Wave 06. Shootin' the Pier |
07. Surfin' Unlimited 08. Bailing Out 09. Spinner's Bounce 10. Makin' the Makaha 11. Surfer's Party 12. Soup Is Cold |
01. Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind 02. Just You And Me Baby 03. Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You 04. I Could Never (Repay Your Love) 05. I'll Be Around |
06. One Of A Kind (Love Affair) 07. We Belong Together 08. Ghetto Child 09. How Could I Let You Get Away 10. Could It Be I'm Falling In Love |
01. Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music 02. It's A Shame 03. I've Got To Find Myself A Brand New Baby 04. I'll Always Love You 05. We'll Have It Made |
06. Bad, Bad Weather (Til You Come Home) 07. My Whole World Ended (The Moment ou Left Me) 08. Truly Yours 09. Sweet Thing 10. O-O-H Child |
01. Since I Been Gone 02. Ain't No Price on Happiness 03. I'm Glad You Walked into My Life 04. I'm Coming Home 05. He'll Never Love You Like I Do 06. Love Has Gone Away |
07. Love Don't Love Nobody 08. Mighty Love 09. (Oh Lord) I Wish I Could Sleep 10. I Just Gotta Make It Happen 11. Mr. Big Man 12. You Sure Are Nasty |
01. Sitting on Top of the World 02. Smile, We Have Each Other 03. Then Came You 04. There's No One Like You |
05. Living a Little, Laughing a Little 06. Sadie 07. Lazy Susan 08. I've Got to Make It on My Own |
01. Honest I Do 02. I Don't Want to Lose You 03. Love or Leave 04. Sweet Love of Mine |
05. All That Glitters Ain't Gold 06. You Made a Promise to Me 07. Games People Play 08. Just as Long as We Have Love |
01. Now That We're Together 02. You're All I Need in Life 03. If You Can't Be in Love 04. Rubberband Man |
05. Toni My Love 06. Four Hands in the Fire 07. The Clown 08. Wake up Susan |
01. Me and My Music 02. I Found Love (When I Found You) 03. I'm Riding Your Shadow (Down to Love) 04. You're the Love of My Life |
05. I Must Be Living for a Broken Heart 06. Honey, I'm in Love With You 07. Just to Be With You 08. You're Throwing a Good Love Away |
01. I'm Gonna Getcha 02. I'm Tired Of Giving 03. Painted Magic 04. You Got The Love That I Need 05. Heaven On Earth (so fine) |
06. Back In The Arms Of Love 07. (Love Is) One Step Away 08. Easy Come, Easy Go 09. Baby I Need Your Love (You're The Only One) |
01. It's A Natural Affair 02. Don't Let The Man Get You 03. A Plain And Simple Love Song 04. Are You Ready For Love |
05. I Love The Music 06. One Man Wonderful Band 07. If You Wanna Do A Dance (All Night) 08. Once You Fall In Love |
01. I'll Be Around 02. How Could I Let You Get Away 03. One Of A Kind (Love Affair) 04. Mighty Love 05. Ghetto Child |
06. Then Came You 07. Sadie 08. Could It Be I'm Falling In Love 09. They Just Can't Stop It (Games People Play) 10. The Rubberband Man |
01. Disco Ride 02. Body Language 03. Let's Boogie, Let's Dance |
04. Medley: Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me Girl 05. With My Eyes 06. One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue |
01. It's a Shame 02. We'll Have It Made 03. Truly Yours 04. Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music 05. What More Could A Boy Ask For |
06. I'll Always Love You 07. For All We Know 08. In My Diary 09. Message From A Black Man 10. That's What Girls Are Made For |
01. Love Trippin' 02. Heavy on the Sunshine 03. Medley - Cupid 04. I've Loved You for a Long Time 05. I Just Want to Be With You 06. Streetwise 07. Working My Way Back to You |
08. I Just Want to Fall in Love 09. Now That You're Mine Again 10. Split Decision 11. I'm Takin' You Back 12. Pipe Dream 13. Body Language |
01. Long Live Soul Music 02. Standing on the Rock 03. Yesterday Once More 04. Nothing Remains the Same 05. Almost All the Way to Love |
06. Winter of Our Love 07. Be My Love 08. Give Your Lady What She Wants 09. A Man Just Don't Know What a Woman Goes Through 10. The Deacon |
01. Working My Way Back To You 02. They Just Can't Stop It (Games People Play) 03. I Just Want To Fall In Love 04. Now That You're Mine Again 05. One Of A Kind (Love Affair) 06. How Could I Let You Get Away 07. The Rubberband Man |
08. Cupid/I've Loved You For A Long Time 09. Then Came You 10. I'll Be Around 11. Be My Love 12. Could It Be I'm Falling In Love 13. Yesterday Once More/ Nothing Remains The Same 14. Mighty Love |
01. City Full of Memories 02. Magic in the Moonlight 03. If I Knew 04. I'm Calling You Now 05. So Far Away |
06. Just Let Love In 07. Funny How Time Slips Away 08. Loverboy 09. No Other Love |
01. I'm Happy Baby 02. We Got Business 03. Heal Me 04. So Hard to Let You Go 05. I Wanna Love You Forever |
06. My Lady Is My Best Friend 07. We Dance to Love Songs 08. Can I Depend on You 09. Memories of Allison 10. Time Can Do Magic |
01. That's What Girls Are Made For 02. I'll Always Love You 03. It's a Shame 04. (Oh Lord) I Wish I Could Sleep 05. How Could I Let You Get Away 06. I'll Be Around 07. Could It Be I'm Falling in Love 08. One of a Kind (Love Affair) 09. Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You 10. Ghetto Child 11. Mighty Love 12. I'm Coming Home 13. He'll Never Love You Like I Do 14. Love Don't Love Nobody 15. Then Came You |
16. Living a Little, Laughing a Little 17. Sadie 18. Games People Play 19. I Don't Want to Lose You 20. Honest I Do 21. Love or Leave 22. Sweet Love of Mine 23. How Could I Let You Get Away [live] 24. Wake up Susan 25. The Rubberband Man 26. Me and My Music 27. You're Throwing a Good Love Away 28. Heaven on Earth (So Fine) 29. Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me Girl 30. Funny How Time Slips Away |
01. Fascinating Rhythm 02. I've Got To Make It On My Own 03. Living A Little, Laughing A Little 04. One Of A Kind (Love Affair) 05. Then Came You 06. Sadie 07. How Could I Let You Get Away |
08. Could It Be I'm Falling In Love 09. Superstar Medley: It's Not Unusual / Don't Mess With Bill / Paper Doll / Stop! In the Name of Love / If I Didn't Care / Hound Dog / Hello Dolly 10. Love Don't Love Nobody 11. Mighty Love |