Spinners:
The songs play on

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

They have acquired 12 gold records with their hits, climbing to the top of both the pop and R&B charts.
Some of their hits include It’s a Shame, I’ll be Around, Could It Be I’m Fallin’ in Love, The Rubberband Man and many, many others.
Such is the legacy of The Spinners, one of the soul groups of the early ’70s that defined the lush, seductive Sound of Philly soul, even though the band’s roots lay in Detroit, where they formed a doo wop group in the ’50s.
High school friends Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson and Bobbie Smith joined voices and eventually became a quintet when George W. Dixon and Billy Henderson joined the group.
"We started our thing by doing close harmonies, patterning ourselves after groups like the Four Freshmen, The Platters, The Drifters and the Moonglows, who were one of our favorites, all the while developing our own style," explained Smith.
Today, original members Smith, Fambrough and Jackson (with two newer members) remain. And on March 29 the quintet will sing some of their greatest hits as they take the stage in the Theatre at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.
The Spinners originally signed with the Tri-Phil Label in 1961 and soon moved over to Motown, where their high hopes of making record history were overshadowed by other singers who were signed.
Struggling to become a success, The Spinners had a minor hit in 1965 with I’ll Always Love You, before spending the rest of the decade working behind the scenes at Motown.
Smith said they soon realized what they were up against.
"There were lots of groups of the same caliber joining Motown at the same time we did. We felt we just got lost in the shuffle," he said. "When you put out a hit record, you have to follow it up right away. But that didn’t happen. Before we left the label, our biggest song, It’s A Shame, written and produced by Stevie Wonder, stayed in the can for a year before it came out. So if as big a genius and writer as Stevie couldn’t even get the music out, what chance did we have?"
So they moved on, signing with Atlantic Records in 1972, and meeting Thom Bell, soon setting into motion an amazing recording career, one that’s lasted for decades.
But in addition to making music, The Spinners have taken the opportunity to use their name to give back to society through charity, making themselves known as "The Group with a Conscience."
They ran a highly successful benefit show in Philadelphia for the incapacitated Jackie Wilson, raising $60,000 and paying all expenses out of their own pockets. They have also made appearances on behalf of the NAACP, Urban League, Big Brother, Big Sister, Autistic Children and many others.
Additionally, in 1993, The Spinners performed at the White House for President and Mrs. Clinton in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Georgetown University Graduates, as well as performing later at the 2004 Republican National Convention for President George W. Bush.
"We really enjoy what we do," said Smith, who will be 72 in April. "And we still look forward to traveling around the world doing our thing."
Without "ego" to get in their way, Smith added that the group will not tolerate ego from anyone. "We are all friends after all this time and got the glamour out of our system early on after our first hit," he said. "Of course, we had lots of misses along the way and we call that paying our dues. We learned from that and the fact that you can’t take an ego to the bank." ••
For tickets, call 1-800-736-1420.