Well, we’ve come to the last 24 hours or so of voting in the 2023 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame “fan vote,” and I thought I’d start expanding my territory, so to speak, into talking more often about things other than politics, by taking a look at this year’s Rock Hall vote – in part because it’s a pretty fascinating class and the decision-making was definitely not easy.
Another very close call, and probably the most likely “sixth place” pick for me. For those unfamiliar, The Spinners were a vocal soul group in the 60’s through the early 80’s primarily (although a version of the group continues touring to this day), and represent the bridge between the past of doo-wop style harmony groups like the Drifters, the Platters and of Motown vocal groups such as The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Temptations, and their successors like the Commodores, DeBarge, TLC, Boyz II Men, and even the boy bands from Backstreet to BTS.
I should make it clear that this isn’t merely because the group were influenced by those predecessors and then influenced others; they were part of those predecessors, their history actually beginning in 1954 but their greatest commercial success not happening for another two decades. While their sound became strongly associated with “Philly Soul,” the fact is they hailed from the Detroit suburb of Ferndale and had a pretty heavy disco tinge to their biggest, best-known songs, and ironically spent a big chunk of the first decade and a half of their careers at Motown.
After struggling independently for years and then not really finding great success in a decade at Motown (during which they were often sent to chaperone other artists rather than being used as artists themselves), The Spinners finally hit their groove in 1972 when they signed with Atlantic Records and started working with songwriter Thom Bell, and immediately struck gold with the surprise b-side hit single “I’ll Be Around,” which shot up to number 3 on the Billboard Charts in spite of the fact that it wasn’t supposed to be the song getting airplay – the intended a-side single, “How Could I Let You Get Away,” peaked at 77 – and the group exploded from there to become one of the best known, highest-selling, and truly representatives soul groups of the 1970.
The hits, as I said, exploded after they broke through, and the list is intimidating – “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love,” “One Of A Kind Love Affair,” “Then Came You” (with Dionne Warwick), their last big hits “Cupid” and “Working My Way Back To You” charting in 1980, but probably the song they’re best known for outside of genre fans is their 70’s semi-novelty hit “The Rubberband Man.”
The influence of this band is incalculable, with artists from Bowie and Elton John to Paul Stanley and Tom Morello and Chris Cornell mentioning them as influence and references within their own work. They’re every bit as endemic a part of the world and feelings of the 70’s as were the BeeGees or Styx or Peter Frampton, and they deserve recognition. Unfortunately they’re up against a tremendous class of competitors this year, and with the slate I had in front of me I couldn’t quite get there. If any one of the artists I voted for weren’t on the ballot, The Spinners would likely be my fifth pick…if for no other reason than my vivid memories of watching Wonder Woman and The Muppets do “Rubberband Man.” That’s cultural impact, kids.
