# The Spinners (American group)
The Spinners are an American soul vocal group formed in 1954 in Ferndale, Michigan, originally called the Domingoes, best known for a run of 1970s hits made with producer Thom Bell at [Atlantic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-records), including "I'll Be Around," "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," and "The Rubberband Man."[1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316) • [2](https://concord.com/artist/the-spinners/) In the United Kingdom they were billed as the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners because a Liverpool-based folk band had already taken the name in Britain.[3](https://www.soulmusicarchive.com/p/the-spinners.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed 1954 at Ferndale High School, near Detroit, as the Domingoes; renamed the Spinners in 1961[1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316) • [3](https://www.soulmusicarchive.com/p/the-spinners.html) |
| Motown years | Signed by Berry Gordy in 1964; first big hit "It's a Shame" (1970), produced and co-written by Stevie Wonder, No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100[4](https://www.motownmuseum.org/artist/the-spinners/) • [1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316) |
| Classic lineup | Henry Fambrough (baritone), Billy Henderson (tenor), Pervis Jackson (bass), Bobbie Smith (tenor), Philippé Wynne (tenor), with producer Thom Bell[5](https://www.thespinners.com/bio) |
| Atlantic peak | Nonstop hit streak from 1972 to 1976: twelve gold records and six Grammy nominations[2](https://concord.com/artist/the-spinners/) |
| Biggest hit | "Then Came You," a duet with Dionne Warwick, No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974[1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316) |
| Recognition | Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023[5](https://www.thespinners.com/bio) |
| Later years | Last surviving original member Henry Fambrough died February 7, 2024, aged 85; the group continues touring with new members[1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316) • [5](https://www.thespinners.com/bio) |
## Origins and early years
The group began in 1954, when students at Ferndale High School, just outside Detroit, came together as a doo-wop ensemble called the Domingoes. The founding members were Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, C.P. Spencer, and James Edwards; Edwards lasted only a few weeks and was replaced by Bobbie Smith, who sang lead on most of the group's early records.[3](https://www.soulmusicarchive.com/p/the-spinners.html) Spencer later left and was replaced by [George Dixon](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-dixon).[3](https://www.soulmusicarchive.com/p/the-spinners.html)
The name change came about through lead singer Bobbie Smith, an auto enthusiast who suggested "the Spinners" because the large hubcaps on Cadillacs were called spinners, a nod to their Motor City home. They renamed themselves the Spinners in 1961.[6](https://classic.motown.com/artist/the-spinners/) Producer Harvey Fuqua, formerly of the Moonglows, signed them to his Tri-Phi label and their single "That's What Girls Are Made For" became a hit, reaching No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the R&B Singles chart.[7](https://www.rhino.com/article/essential-atlantic-the-spinners-the-spinners)
## The Motown years
When Fuqua sold Tri-Phi to Motown in 1963, the Spinners went with it, and [Berry Gordy](https://www.edgepedia.org/berry-gordy) offered them a new contract in 1964. Their official Motown debut came that year at the [Apollo Theater](https://www.edgepedia.org/apollo-theater).[4](https://www.motownmuseum.org/artist/the-spinners/) Success on record was limited; between 1966 and 1969 the group released one single a year without a Hot 100 chart entry, and members took other jobs at Motown as road managers, chauffeurs, chaperones, and salesclerks to supplement their income.[3](https://www.soulmusicarchive.com/p/the-spinners.html) • [4](https://www.motownmuseum.org/artist/the-spinners/) They did score R&B hits with "I'll Always Love You" in 1965 and "Truly Yours."[2](https://concord.com/artist/the-spinners/) • [3](https://www.soulmusicarchive.com/p/the-spinners.html)
__"It's a Shame"__ changed their fortunes. [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder) wrote and produced the song for the group in 1970, his first production for another act, and it peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 4 on the R&B Singles chart, the group's first genuine crossover success.[1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316) • [7](https://www.rhino.com/article/essential-atlantic-the-spinners-the-spinners) • [8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-spinners-mn0000578141/awards) Even so, Motown never concentrated on the Spinners, and their contract expired in 1972.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-spinners-mn0000578141/awards)
## The Atlantic years and the Thom Bell sound
The turning point came through [Aretha Franklin](https://www.edgepedia.org/aretha-franklin), who recommended the group to Atlantic Records as their Motown contract was ending. Before the move, lead singer G.C. Cameron, who remained at Motown, was replaced by Philippé Wynne, a tenor who had sung with Catfish and [Bootsy Collins](https://www.edgepedia.org/bootsy-collins).[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-spinners-mn0000578141/awards) • [6](https://classic.motown.com/artist/the-spinners/)
At Atlantic the Spinners worked with the Philadelphia producer, songwriter, and arranger Thom Bell, who built the group a sound of sighing strings, a tight rhythm section, sultry horns, and a light funk underpinning beneath their harmonies.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-spinners-mn0000578141/awards) The result was a nonstop streak at Atlantic between 1972 and 1976 that produced twelve gold records and six Grammy nominations.[2](https://concord.com/artist/the-spinners/) The hits included "I'll Be Around," "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," "One of a Kind (Love Affair)," "Sadie," "Ghetto Child," "Mighty Love," "I'm Coming Home," "Love Don't Love Nobody," "Games People Play," and "The Rubberband Man."[2](https://concord.com/artist/the-spinners/) "I'll Be Around" reached No. 3 on Billboard's pop chart in 1972, with Bobbie Smith's warm tenor on lead.[9](https://tidal.com/magazine/article/spinners-history/1-92808/)
One habit set the Spinners apart from their Philadelphia contemporaries: they used multiple lead singers. Hits often traded leads between their two tenors, Smith and Wynne, while album tracks might feature Fambrough or the bass singer Jackson, a variety Wynne's colleagues credited for their range.[9](https://tidal.com/magazine/article/spinners-history/1-92808/) Their biggest single, "Then Came You," recorded with [Dionne Warwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/dionne-warwick), reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974.[1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316) Their fourth Atlantic album, *Pick of the Litter* (1975), became their most successful long-player.[10](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r18635)
## Later decades
Wynne left the group in 1977 and was replaced as lead singer by [John Edwards](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-edwards); Bell also stopped working with the group two years later. The Spinners nevertheless scored pop and R&B successes with the medleys "Working My Way Back to You"/"Forgive Me, Girl" and "Cupid"/"I've Loved You for a Long Time" in 1979 and 1980, though they never again matched their peak pop success.[11](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/spinners) In all, the group received six Grammy nominations and earned 18 gold and platinum albums.[5](https://www.thespinners.com/bio) A notable late resurgence came in 2018, when "The Rubberband Man," featured in the film *Avengers: Infinity War*, saw renewed popularity.[4](https://www.motownmuseum.org/artist/the-spinners/)
Deaths marked the passing of the classic era: Bobbie Smith died in 2013, Spencer in 2004, Henderson in 2007, Jackson in 2008, and Wynne collapsed and died of a heart attack on July 14, 1984, at age 43 while performing in [Oakland, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/oakland-california).[11](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/spinners) • [12](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/15/henry-famborough-obituary) Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member, died on February 7, 2024, at his home in northern Virginia at age 85, months after touring Motown's Studio A as part of a ceremony in which the group donated outfits to the Motown Museum.[1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316)
## Hall of Fame and legacy
The Spinners were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, in the Performer category, with [New Edition](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-edition) handling the induction; the six listed inductees were Bobby Smith, Henry Fambrough, William (Billy) Henderson, Philippé Wynne, John Edwards, and Pervis Jackson.[13](https://rockhall.com/inductees/spinners/) • [1](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316) The Hall describes their sound as an evolution from gritty, Motown-style late-1960s R&B to elegant, orchestrated Philly pop soul, built on the blend of five distinctive voices.[13](https://rockhall.com/inductees/spinners/)
Their influence runs through later R&B and pop: the Hall lists [Boyz II Men](https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-ii-men), New Edition, TLC, Maxwell, D'Angelo, John Legend, Tupac Shakur, and [Mary J. Blige](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-j-blige) among the artists they influenced, and Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates said at the induction that the Spinners "made a gigantic impact on pop and R&B music."[13](https://rockhall.com/inductees/spinners/) Today the group tours with members Jessie Peck, Ronnie Moss, CJ Jefferson, and Keith Patterson carrying forward the classic material.[5](https://www.thespinners.com/bio)
## References
1. [Henry Fambrough, last surviving original member of The Spinners, dies at 85, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/9bae87330f98436eddf8bef099964316)
2. [The Spinners, Concord](https://concord.com/artist/the-spinners/)
3. [The Spinners/Detroit Spinners, Soul Music Archive](https://www.soulmusicarchive.com/p/the-spinners.html)
4. [The Spinners, Motown Museum](https://www.motownmuseum.org/artist/the-spinners/)
5. [Biography, The Spinners Official Website](https://www.thespinners.com/bio)
6. [The Spinners, Classic Motown Artists](https://classic.motown.com/artist/the-spinners/)
7. [Essential Atlantic: The Spinners, Rhino](https://www.rhino.com/article/essential-atlantic-the-spinners-the-spinners)
8. [The Spinners Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-spinners-mn0000578141/awards)
9. [The Spinners: 'Our voices chose for us', TIDAL Magazine](https://tidal.com/magazine/article/spinners-history/1-92808/)
10. [Pick of the Litter review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r18635)
11. [Spinners, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians via Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/spinners)
12. [Henry Fambrough obituary, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/15/henry-famborough-obituary)
13. [The Spinners, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame](https://rockhall.com/inductees/spinners/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Choirs and vocal groups › Gospel, barbershop, and popular vocal groups › Soul, R&B, and Motown vocal groups*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license