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American soul music vocal group

The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues vocal group that formed in Ferndale, Michigan in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with producer Thom Bell. The group continues to tour, without any original members, after Henry Fambrough retired in 2023. The group is also listed as the Detroit Spinners and the Motown Spinners, due to their 1960s recordings with the Motown label. These other names were used in the UK to avoid confusion with a British folk group also called the Spinners. On June 30, 1976, they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Spinners were inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.

In 1954, Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, C. P. Spencer, and James Edwards formed The Domingoes in Ferndale, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit. The friends resided in Detroit's Herman Gardens public housing project and came together to make music. James Edwards remained with the group for a few weeks and was replaced by Bobby Smith, who sang lead on most of the Spinners' early records and their biggest Atlantic Records hits. Spencer left the group shortly after Edwards, and later joined the Voice Masters and the Originals. George Dixon replaced Spencer, and the group renamed themselves the Spinners in 1961.

The Spinners' first single, "That's What Girls Are Made For", was recorded under Harvey Fuqua's Tri Phi Records. One source stated that Fuqua sang lead vocals on the recording. The group's follow up single, "Love (I'm So Glad) I Found You", Radio airplay for the B side led Atlantic to flip the single over, with "I'll Be Around" hitting number 3 and "How Could I Let You Get Away" reaching number 77. "I'll Be Around" was also the Spinners' first million selling hit single. It was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA on October 30, 1972. The 1973 follow up singles "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", (though producer Bell disputed this in a UK based interview, claiming Evette's line was actually group member Henry Fambrough – his voice sped up), and led to the nickname "Mister 12:45" for bass singer Jackson, after his signature vocal line on the song. Now at the height of their commercial and critical popularity, the band started a scholarship program to help send one student to college per year.

Conflict and egos began emerging in the group when member Philippé Wynne wanted the group's name changed to Philippe Wynne and the Spinners. When this was not done, Wynne left the group in January 1977 and was replaced by John Edwards, who had recorded a number of R&B hits as a solo singer. The group continued recording and scored some minor hits in 1977 and 1978. Thom Bell and the group parted ways. They contributed two songs to Bell's film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh and appeared in the film as a band. In 1979, Motown released a compilation album on both sides of the Atlantic. From the Vaults, (US Natural Resources label NR 4014 and in the UK on Tamla Motown STMR 9001), included the song "What More Could a Boy Ask For" (Fuqua & Bristol), which was recorded circa 1965. The group scored two major hits at the dawning of the new decade: in 1980 with "Working My Way Back to You"/"Forgive Me, Girl" (number two in March–April, number one UK) and "Cupid"/"I've Loved You for a Long Time" (number four in July–August, number four UK). Fambrough has led on several Spinners songs on which he sang or shared lead vocals, including: "I Don't Want to Lose You", "Ghetto Child", "Living a Little, Laughing a Little", "Ain't No Price on Happiness", "Smile We Have Each Other", "Just as Long as We Have Love", (a second Spinners duet with Dionne Warwick) and "Now That We're Together".

After their chart career ended, the Spinners continued touring for decades. They are big draws on the oldies and nostalgia concert circuits, playing the music that made them famous. In their box set, The Chrome Collection, the Spinners were lauded by David Bowie and Elvis Costello. They were inducted on October 4, 2015, into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and in The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. On July 27, 2006, the Spinners performed on the Late Show with David Letterman. G. C. Cameron rejoined the group as lead vocalist from 2000 to 2002 (replacing John Edwards, who left due to a stroke), but he left in 2003 to join The Temptations. Frank Washington, formerly of The Futures and The Delfonics, joined for a few years, before being replaced by Charlton Washington (no relation). In 2004, original member Billy Henderson was dismissed from the group after suing the group's corporation and business manager to obtain financial records. He was replaced by Harold "Spike" Bonhart. Henderson died due to complications from diabetes on February 2, 2007, at the age of 67. Another early member, C. P. Spencer, had already died from a heart attack on October 20, 2004. Original member Pervis Jackson, who was still touring as a member of the group, died from cancer on August 18, 2008. The group continued for a short time as a quartet before Jessie Robert Peck (born in Queens, New York, December 17, 1968) was recruited as the group's new bass vocalist in February 2009. In 2009, Bonhart left the Spinners and was replaced by vocalist Marvin Taylor. The group lost another member from their early days, when Edgar "Chico" Edwards died on December 3, 2011. The Spinners were put into the limelight again in 2003 when an Elton John track was re issued featuring them on backing vocals. In 1977, the Spinners had recorded two versions of "Are You Ready for Love" at the Philadelphia studios. One had all of the Spinners, the other with only lead singer Philippé Wynne on backing vocals. Elton John was not happy with the mixes and sat on the tapes for a year before asking for them to be remixed, so they would sound easier on the ear. Finally, in 1979, the Wynne version was released as a single, but it only made it to number 42 in the UK. The track was then remixed by Ashley Beedle from Xpress 2 in 2003 after becoming a fixture in the Balearic nightclubs, and being used by Sky Sports for an advertisement. It then went to number one on the UK Singles Chart after being released on DJ Fatboy Slim's Southern Fried Records. In September 2011, 57 years after forming in Detroit and 50 years after "That's What Girls Are Made For", the group was announced as one of 15 final nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, their first nomination, they were also nominated in 2014, 2015, and 2023. Lead singer Bobby Smith died on March 16, 2013. In 2017, the Spinners were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. Charlton Washington left the group in 2020 to pursue a solo career and was replaced by C. J. Jefferson. After years without new music, The Spinners released Round the Block and Back Again on August 27, 2021, the first with the current lineup and the final before Fambrough's retirement. The album had three singles: "Cliché", "In Holy Matrimony", and "Vivid Memories". In early 2023, Fambrough retired from the group, after almost 70 years as a member. On May 3, 2023, after three previous nominations, the Spinners—with its classic 1970s lineup of Fambrough, Smith, Jackson, Henderson, Edwards and Wynne—were picked as inductees for the 2023 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, nearly 70 years after the group had first formed. In May 2023, the group donated hundreds of items for their performing and recording history to Motown Museum in Detroit. On February 7, 2024, Henry Fambrough, the last original member, died of natural causes at 85.

The following singles reached the top 40 on the US or UK charts. + List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions US US R&B chart UK "That's What Girls Are Made For"1961 27 5 — "I'll Always Love You"1965 35 8 — "It's a Shame"1970 14 4 20 "How Could I Let You Get Away" (A side)"I'll Be Around" (B side)1972 773 141 —— "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" 4 1 11 "One of a Kind (Love Affair)"1973 11 1 — "Ghetto Child" 29 4 7 "Mighty Love"1974 20 1 33 "I'm Coming Home" 18 3 — "Then Came You" 1 2 29 "Love Don't Love Nobody" 15 4 — "Living a Little, Laughing a Little"1975 37 7 — "Sadie" 54 7 — "Games People Play" 5 1 –"Love or Leave" 36 8 — "Wake Up Susan"1976 56 11 29 "The Rubberband Man" 2 1 16 "Body Language"1979 — 35 40 "Working My Way Back to You" / "Forgive Me, Girl" 2 6 1 "Cupid" / "I've Loved You for a Long Time"1980 4 5 4 "I'll Be Around"1995 39 37 30 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.