Old concert footage of the Spinners reveals them decked out in ruffles, periwinkle bell-bottomed suits, and platform shoes grooving in synchronized movements and belting out vocal harmonies.
The melodies may be familiar to many because they are played in restaurants, on the radio and over sound systems at the mall and in restrooms.
The Spinners are famous for their Motown style and their proliferation of hit singles, such as “The Rubberband Man,” “I’ll Be Around,” and “Could It Be I’m Fallin’ in Love.”
Members of the group are Bobbie Smith, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, Charlton Washington and Spike Deleon
Students have a rare opportunity to see a live performance from one of the soul and R&B groups of the early ’70s this Saturday in Marsee Auditorium at 8 p.m.
“The Spinners are true artists and their style is nothing like what goes on today,” Bruce Spain, executive director for the Center for the Arts, said.
The Spinners have been awarded 12 gold records and their hit songs placed in the top of both R&B and Pop charts.
“Younger people are just now starting to discover the Spinners,” Nathaniel Burgess, manager of the Spinners, said. “The audience is so varied, the ages range from people in their teens to people in their ’60s.”
The group was formed in 1957 when the members were high school students in Detroit. In the ’50s they began as a doo-wop group and later embraced the style of Motown, R&B and Pop in the ’60s, all the while maintaining the sound of Detroit soul.
They signed with Motown Records in the mid-1960s, but the label never granted them much acclaim despite their hit “What a Shame,” and their music potential.
“The fact that the Motown label ignored the Spinners had to do with the changes in the music industry at that time,” Lorraine Smith, singer Smith’s wife and jack-of-all-trades for the band, said. “I think they will be acknowledged sooner than later the way things are going now.”
The Spinners then signed with Atlantic Records and producer Thom Bell, where they developed a distinctive sound with lead singer Philip Wynne’s falsetto and the band’s vocal harmonies.
Bell also provided the group with proper production in terms of funky rhythms and a backing orchestra that rocked soul music.
From 1972-1977 the Spinners created their classics like, “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 and the Spinners separated in 1977 when Wynne left to pursue a solo career.
The Spinners continued to have minor hits through the ’70s and ’80s, but eventually they left the charts and began an oldies circuit, reworking past material in the studio for “At Their Best” in 1999.
Burgess described a recent performance in Philadelphia, where the Spinners have a large following.
“There was a standing ovation, and as people got up to leave, the Spinners’ music continued to play over the loudspeakers, so the audience danced right out the doors and into the night. It was fantastic,” he said.
The Spinners continue to influence and encourage people through the years with their music.
“The fans are inspired after each show,” Smith said.
Tickets are $30, $26, and a $15 rush ticket thirty minutes prior to the show with ASB card.
