Over the weekend came news of the death of Bobby Smith, the long-time lead singer of the Spinners. For the youngsters out there, the Wikipedia listing reads as follows:
Robert "Bobby" Smith (sometimes spelled Bobbie; April 10, 1936 – March 16, 2013[2]) was born in Detroit, Michigan and was an American R&B singer, the principal lead singer of the classic Motown group, The Spinners, also known as the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners, throughout its history. The group was formed circa 1960 at Ferndale High School in Ferndale, Michigan, just north of the Detroit border.
Smith had been the group's main lead singer since its inception, having sung lead vocals on The Spinners first hit record in 1961, "That's What Girls Are Made For" (which has been inaccurately credited to the group's mentor and former Moonglows lead singer, the late Harvey Fuqua). Smith also sang lead on most of their Motown material during the 1960s, such as the charting singles like "Truly Yours" (1966) and "I'll Always Love You" (1965); almost all of the group's pre-Motown material on Fuqua's Tri-Phi Records label, and also on The Spinners' biggest Atlantic Records hits, such as "I'll Be Around", "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "They Just Can't Stop It the (Games People Play)". In 1974 they scored their only #1 Pop hit with "Then Came You" (a collaboration with superstar Dionne Warwick). Despite the fact that Smith led on many of the group's biggest hits, many have erroneously credited much of the group's success to its other lead singer, the late Philippé Wynne.
Wynne was many times inaccurately credited for songs that Smith actually sang lead on, such as by the group's label, Atlantic Records, on their Anthology double album collection (an error corrected in the group's later triple CD set, The Chrome Collection). Throughout a succession of lead singers (Wynne, Jonathan Edwards, G. C. Cameron etc.), Smith's lead voice had always been The Spinners' mainstay.
With the 2013 death of Smith, as well as fellow Spinners members Billy Henderson in 2007, and bass singer Pervis Jackson in 2008, Henry Fambrough and G C Cameron are now the last remaining original members of the group. Fambrough is still performing with a current day line-up of Spinners.
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For those of us from the "Old School", Spinners music is still alive. Here's a taste of one of Bobby Smith's best.
And here is the song that I would listen to while driving (for the first time) over the San Rafael bridge during my commute from a temporary home in Novato to UC Berkeley Law.
Ah, the memories. Thank you, Bobby Smith. May you truly rest in
Peace,
The man who gave the R&B band its name died Saturday in Orlando of complications from pneumonia and the flu. He was 76.
DETROIT — Bobby Smith, longtime lead singer of The Spinners, died Saturday in Orlando of complications from pneumonia and the flu, his family said. He was 76.
Smith had been diagnosed with lung cancer in November.
Funeral details are not set, but services are expected to take place Monday in Detroit, said the group's Jessie Peck.
Smith's final performance came in mid-February during the Soul Train Cruise, said Peck. Smith, who had missed several gigs since his cancer diagnosis, was present on the cruise but not expected to perform during The Spinners' set. Then the group began to perform its 1974 hit Then Came You.
"Like something out of a movie, Bobby shoots right out onstage and, showman that he is, grabs a mike and sings right on cue," Peck recounted. "The audience went bananas."
Smith joined the group in 1956 when it was known as the Domingoes. Frustrated with frequent misspellings, group members soon sought a new name, and it was the suggestion of Smith, a lifelong car buff, that won the day: "Spinners" was a nickname for high-end hubcaps.
Smith, whose first name was periodically spelled Bobbie, was lead voice on the group's first hit, 1961's That's What Girls Are Made For, produced with Harvey Fuqua, a link that led the group to Motown Records two years later.
Smith and the Spinners enjoyed only minimal success during their Motown tenure, but broke big after signing with Atlantic Records in 1971 at the suggestion of Aretha Franklin. A stream of hits followed with Smith's prominent vocals: I'll Be Around, Could It Be I'm Falling in Love, One of a Kind (Love Affair), Then Came You, Games People Play.
As the group maintained a busy touring and recording schedule, Smith left Detroit for New Jersey in the 1980s, later settling in Florida.
Henry Fambrough, the group's lone surviving original member, warmly remembered his friend and groupmate of more than half a century.
"Bobby was a regular, down-to-earth, good-natured person, the kind of guy who'd give you his shirt," Fambrough said. "And ever since I've known him, he was just a natural showman."
The man who gave the R&B band its name died Saturday in Orlando of complications from pneumonia and the flu. He was 76.
DETROIT — Bobby Smith, longtime lead singer of The Spinners, died Saturday in Orlando of complications from pneumonia and the flu, his family said. He was 76.
Smith had been diagnosed with lung cancer in November.
Funeral details are not set, but services are expected to take place Monday in Detroit, said the group's Jessie Peck.
Smith's final performance came in mid-February during the Soul Train Cruise, said Peck. Smith, who had missed several gigs since his cancer diagnosis, was present on the cruise but not expected to perform during The Spinners' set. Then the group began to perform its 1974 hit Then Came You.
"Like something out of a movie, Bobby shoots right out onstage and, showman that he is, grabs a mike and sings right on cue," Peck recounted. "The audience went bananas."
Smith joined the group in 1956 when it was known as the Domingoes. Frustrated with frequent misspellings, group members soon sought a new name, and it was the suggestion of Smith, a lifelong car buff, that won the day: "Spinners" was a nickname for high-end hubcaps.
Smith, whose first name was periodically spelled Bobbie, was lead voice on the group's first hit, 1961's That's What Girls Are Made For, produced with Harvey Fuqua, a link that led the group to Motown Records two years later.
Smith and the Spinners enjoyed only minimal success during their Motown tenure, but broke big after signing with Atlantic Records in 1971 at the suggestion of Aretha Franklin. A stream of hits followed with Smith's prominent vocals: I'll Be Around, Could It Be I'm Falling in Love, One of a Kind (Love Affair), Then Came You, Games People Play.
As the group maintained a busy touring and recording schedule, Smith left Detroit for New Jersey in the 1980s, later settling in Florida.
Henry Fambrough, the group's lone surviving original member, warmly remembered his friend and groupmate of more than half a century.
"Bobby was a regular, down-to-earth, good-natured person, the kind of guy who'd give you his shirt," Fambrough said. "And ever since I've known him, he was just a natural showman."
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