The Intro

After the state-of-the-nation address of Going Underground by The Jam, we’re back onto more familiar fare at the top of the hit parade. 26 years after their formation, soul group The Detroit Spinners were at number 1 with their cover of a Four Seasons hit from 1966.

Before

R’n’B outfit The Detroit Spinners, so-called in the UK to avoid confusion with the folk group The Spinners, were formed in the suburb of Ferndale, Michigan in 1954. Back then, the quintet, known as The Domingoes, consisted of tenor/baritone Billy Henderson, baritone Henry Fambrough, bass Pervis Jackson, lead tenor CP Spencer and co-lead tenor James Edwards. All five were friends who lived in Detroit’s Herman Gardens public housing project.

There quickly followed a number of line-up changes, as Edwards left after a few weeks to be replaced by Bobby Smith. Soon after, Spencer departed and George Dixon filled the gap. They renamed themselves The Spinners in 1961, which is when they released their debut single, That’s What Girls Are Made For on Harvey Fuqua’s Tri-Phi Records. It performed respectably for a first shot at the charts, reaching 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Some sources suggest it was Fuqua on lead vocal.

Change was afoot in 1963, when Dixon was replaced by Edwards’ brother, James – known as Chico. Tri-Phi was then bought out by Fuqua’s brother-in-law, Berry Gordy, and The Spinners joined Motown Records, where they became billed as The Detroit Spinners here in the UK. I’ll Always Love You reached 35 in the US in 1965, but they were struggling, releasing one single per year for the rest of the 60s, while Gordy used the group as road managers and even chauffeurs for other, more successful Motown acts. GC Cameron joined The Detroit Spinners when Chico left in 1967.

After spending most of the last decade in the doldrums, Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright and Lee Garrett saved The Detroit Spinners with the classic It’s a Shame. Returning them to the Hot 100, where it peaked at 14, it was also their first UK hit, climbing to 20.

Finally, The Detroit Spinners were succeeding at Motown, but their contract was coming to a close. Aretha Franklin told them to sign with Atlantic, but Wonder was producing an LP for them as their contract winded up. It was never released, as The Detroit Spinners jumped ship. Due to contractual obligations, Cameron remained with Motown, and yet another line-up change occurred as he persuaded his cousin, Phillipé Wynne, to sign up in his place.

Franklin’s advice was spot on. Teamed up with Philly soul songwriter/producer Thom Bell, The Spinners became one of the biggest soul groups of the decade. In 1972 they reached 11 in the UK with Could It Be I’m Falling in Love? and a year later Ghetto Child peaked at seven. In 1974 Dionne Warwick joined them on Then Came You, which finished up at 29.

With fame came ego clashes. Wynne believed his lead vocals were why the group were now doing well, and wanted to change the name to Phillipé Wynne and the Spinners. The others refused, and so The Rubberband Man was their last hit with Wynne on board, who went solo and then teamed up with George Clinton. You can hear him on the Funkadelic classic (Not Just) Knee Deep. John Edwards filled his spot in The Detroit Spinners.

Following two years of dwindling chart positions, The Detroit Spinners and Bell parted ways, and they set their sights on a disco sound, with help from Michael Zager, who’s Michael Zager Band had a hit in 1978 with Let’s All Chant. Coming several years after the genre had been considered new and exciting, this might have seemed desperate and out of touch. But not for long, because in 1980, their cover of Working My Way Back to You (written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell) was combined with a new bridge by Zager. In some countries this hit single was billed as Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl (medley).

Working My Way Back to You details a serial cheater’s attempt to get back with his girl after too much time having his cake and eating it. In 1966 and 1980, this character might have gained more sympathy than he’ll get from listening in 2023. Particularly the cheater’s confession that he used to get off on making his ex cry.

Review

The Detroit Spinners’ UK number 1 is an average dose of dated disco. The tune is an earworm, working its way into your head and staying there a fair while, but not in a very welcome way. The disco element seems tacked on in an attempt to update their sound. It’s no Rock Your Baby, where it’s at the heart of the song. The bass vocal line from Jackson is laughably old-fashioned. ‘Work’ is the operative word here, as workmanlike sums up this single. In a year of great chart-toppers, this is… well, it’s OK. It’ll do.

After

The next single by The Detroit Spinners nearly gained them two chart-toppers in a row, when Cupid/I’ve Loved You for a Long Time (medley) peaked at four. But from there it was downhill all the way, with no further charting singles here or in the US top 40s. Wynne died of a heart attack in 1984 aged 43, the same year that the group and Atlantic parted ways. Three years later the group released Spaceballs on the Mel Brooks’ film soundtrack of the same name.

The Detroit Spinners became regulars on the nostalgia circuit, and old age took its toll. Dixon died in 1994. Edwards left after a stroke in 2000, and Cameron rejoined as lead vocalist for a while, but jumped ship to The Temptations in 2003.

In 2003 The Detroit Spinners sort-of returned to the top of the charts, thanks to an old collaboration with Elton John. In 1977 the group recorded backing vocals for two versions of John’s Are You Ready for Love – one featuring them all, the other, just Wynne. The latter version was released as a single in 1979 but it bombed. 24 years later the track was remixed by Ashley Beedle and thanks in part to its use on a Sky Sports advert, it gave John his sixth number 1. It’s functional, pleasant enough 70s soul, so good enough to stand out in the charts of 03.

Further line-up changes ensued, and Henderson was dismissed in 2004 over a legal battle. That same year Spencer died of a heart attack at the age of 66. Henderson died from diabetes three years later, aged 67. Jackson, who was still touring with the group, died at the age of 70 from cancer in 2008. Smith died of complications from pneumonia and flu in 2013, aged 76.

In 2021 The Detroit Spinners released a brand new album – Round the Block and Back Again. Two years later, Fambrough, the sole surviving member from 1954, retired. The classic line-up, consisting of Fambrough, Smith, Jackson, Henderson, Edwards and Wynne, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Spinners name continues, albeit without anyone from before 2009.

The Outro

Working My Way Back to You became Boyzone’s debut single in 1994. I could only manage about a minute of it, because it sounds exactly as you’d expect it to.

The Info

Written by

Sandy Linzer & Denny Randell

Producer

Michael Zager

Weeks at number 1

2 (12-25 April)

Trivia

Births

15 April: Actress Natalie Casey
25 April: Snooker player Lee Spick

Deaths

13 April: Physician Sir Arthur Massey
15 April: Actress Catherine Salkeld
16 April: Plant pathologist Lawrence Ogilvie 
17 April: Physicist John Saxton
19 April: Actor Tony Beckley
20 April: Diplomat Sir Stephen Holmes
23 April: Businessman Sir John Methven/Politician David Cleghorn Thomson

Meanwhile…

18 April: Zimbabwe becomes independent of the UK.

22 April: Unemployment is at 1.5million – a two-year high.