The Spinners

R&B vocal group The Spinners kicked around Tri-Phi Records, and then Motown, for a decade starting in 1961 before finding success in the ’70s on Atlantic. • The group began in 1954 when five friends from a housing project in suburban Detroit began singing together. By the early ’60s, the lineup had solidified into Henry Fambrough, Billy Henderson, Pervis Jackson, Bobby Smith and George Dixon, and The Spinners began releasing songs on Tri-Phi. • The Spinners’ debut single, 1961’s “That’s What Girls Are Made For”, reached No. 5 on the R&B chart and peaked at No. 27 on the Hot 100 pop ranking. They wouldn’t have another Top 40 song until 1965’s “I’ll Always Love You”. • Dixon left The Spinners in 1963 and was replaced by Edgar “Chico” Edwards, whose brother, James Edwards, was one of the founding members. Edwards left in 1967, and was replaced by G.C. Cameron. • After their first two albums, in 1967 and 1970, made little impression on the charts, The Spinners jumped to Atlantic Records for a self-titled album in 1973. The LP topped the R&B chart and peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 albums chart—the first in a string of six consecutive Top 40 pop albums, three of which went to No. 1 on the R&B chart. • Cameron left in 1972, to be replaced by Phillipé Wynne, just as The Spinners were reaching their pop peak. The group sent 11 songs into the Top 20 between 1972 and 1980, starting with “I’ll Be Around” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love”, which went to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. • The Spinners had their sole No. 1 pop hit in 1974 on “Then Came You”, a collaboration with Dionne Warwick. The song, also Warwick’s first to top the pop charts, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. • The group’s last Top 10 hits came with 1979’s “Working My Way Back to You” (No. 2) and the 1980 medley “Cupid/I’ve Been Loving You a Long Time” (No. 4). • Though The Spinners haven’t released an album of new material since 1989’s Down to Business, the band has continued to tour, with Fambrough remaining as the lone original member.