the Spinners

The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues (R&B) vocal group that became one of the greatest soul groups of the 1970s with a string of hit songs, including “It’s a Shame,” “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” and “Games People Play.” Formed in the suburbs of Detroit, the Spinners joined Motown Records’ roster of legendary R&B groups in the 1960s. After a label change to Atlantic Records, they came to epitomize what was called Philly soul, with lush musical arrangements and intricate vocal harmonies. Despite a number of lineup changes, the group has performed well into the 21st century and has influenced many contemporary music artists.

Formation

Calling themselves the Domingoes (also spelled Domingos, a mash-up of the names of two groups they admired, the Dominos and the Flamingos), high-school friends Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, C.P. Spencer, and James Edwards started a doo-wop group in 1954 in Ferndale, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Bobby Smith quickly replaced Edwards and became the group’s lead singer. Vocally, their lineup consisted of three tenors (Smith, Spencer, and Henderson), a baritone (Fambrough), and a bass (Jackson). In 1956 Spencer left the group and was replaced by George Dixon. Meanwhile, the group renamed themselves the Spinners. Smith, a car enthusiast, chose the name to signify an automobile’s hubcaps, which was also a fitting reference to the group’s home base in the “Motor City” of Detroit.

From Tri-Phi Records to Motown

In 1961 the Spinners released their first single, “That’s What Girls Are Made For,” through Harvey Fuqua’s record label, Tri-Phi Records. Written by Fuqua and his wife, Gwen Gordy, and featuring a young Marvin Gaye on drums, the single peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top five on the R&B chart. In 1963 Fuqua sold his label to his brother-in-law, Berry Gordy of Motown Records. The group began shifting to a more soulful sound and released a series of singles through Motown in the 1960s, but success eluded the songs. Two exceptions were “I’ll Always Love You” (1965), which reached number eight on the Billboard R&B chart, and “Truly Yours” (1966), which became a top 20 R&B hit. To help pay their bills, many of the group’s members moonlighted for Motown, performing jobs such as working in the company’s shipping department, chaperoning the young members of the Jackson 5, or chauffeuring the Temptations (both groups were among Motown’s more successful acts). In the meantime there were more lineup changes. James Edwards’s brother Edgar (“Chico”) Edwards replaced Dixon. Soon, however, G.C. Cameron took Chico Edwards’s spot.

“It’s a Shame” and move to Atlantic

Success finally came in 1970. That year the Spinners released the single “It’s a Shame” on Motown’s V.I.P. imprint. Produced by Stevie Wonder and written by Wonder, Syreeta Wright, and Lee Garrett, “It’s a Shame” reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the R&B chart. After the Spinners released the album 2nd Time Around (1970) on V.I.P., Aretha Franklin persuaded them to move to her label, Atlantic Records, in 1972, when the group’s contract with Motown was set to expire. As Cameron stayed with Motown, his cousin Phillipé Wynne joined the group as lead singer (alongside Smith). With his falsetto voice and talent for adlibs, Wynne brought a stirring new component to the group’s vocal melange.

Thom Bell and Philly soul

At Atlantic the Spinners’ fortunes changed when they partnered with songwriter and producer Thom Bell, an architect of the so-called Philly soul sound for groups such as the Delfonics. Bell crafted songs for the Spinners that highlighted each member’s vocal strengths. The group’s first album with Atlantic, Spinners (1973), produced five singles that charted in the Hot 100, including two that cracked the top five. Among these were what would become some of the group’s best-known songs, such as “I’ll Be Around,” “One of a Kind (Love Affair),” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love.” The album also snared them their first Grammy Award nominations; two years in a row they were nominated in the best R&B vocal performance by a group category, first for “I’ll Be There” and then for “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love.”

Number one with “Then Came You”

In 1974 the Spinners released Mighty Love, which garnered three top-20 songs, including the title track, and two more Grammy nominations. The single “Love Don’t Love Nobody” became a classic of the slow-burning “quiet storm” variety. In 1974 the group partnered with singer Dionne Warwick on “Then Came You,” which was produced by Bell. Featuring Smith on lead vocals in a playful back and forth with Warwick, the song closes with Wynne taking the lead in the outro verse. “Then Came You” was the first song for both Warwick and the Spinners to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The group’s successful run continued with the top-10 hits “The Rubberband Man” (1976; another Grammy-nominated single) and “They Just Can’t Stop It the (Games People Play)” (1975; a jazz-inflected track that showcases Jackson’s deep, resonant voice).

Final top 10 hits

Wynne left the group in 1977 for a solo career and was replaced by John Edwards, a high-tenor singer who had had some minor success as a solo artist. The group scored two more hits that reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their version of “Working My Way Back to You,” originally a hit for the Four Seasons in 1966 and retitled “Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl,” was a smash, climbing to number two. The Spinners’ last song to reach the top 10 was a remake of the Sam Cooke classic “Cupid (1961),” titled “Cupid/I’ve Loved You for a Long Time” (producer Michael Zager wrote an additional piece of music for the song). The remake earned the Spinners their sixth Grammy nomination, for best R&B performance by a group with vocal.

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Legacy

The group’s chart success declined in the 1980s, although they had a guest appearance on the hit sitcom Laverne & Shirley in 1983 and recorded the title track for Mel Brooks’s comedy film Spaceballs (1987). More importantly, many of the Spinners’ iconic songs were sampled on tracks by new generations of R&B performers and hip-hop artists, including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Boyz II Men, Tupac Shakur, LL Cool J, Lupe Fiasco, and Jay-Z.

The Spinners’ lineup continued to change as various members passed away or left the group and were replaced by new members. In 2021 the group released ’Round the Block and Back Again, which would be the last album to feature any of the Spinners’ original members—specifically, Fambrough, who retired in 2023 at the age of 84. That same year the Spinners were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.