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Spinners is the third studio album recorded by American R&B group The Spinners, produced by Thom Bell and released in April 1973 on the Atlantic label. The album was the group's first for Atlantic after leaving Motown.

Spinners
Studio album by The Spinners
Released	April 1973
Recorded	1972-1973 at Sigma Sound Studios (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre	Philly soul R&B
Length	40:14
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Thom Bell
The Spinners chronology
2nd Time Around (1970) Spinners (1973) Mighty Love (1974)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
BBC	(favorable)[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	A−[3]
Tom Hull – on the Web	A−[4]

History

Spinners includes their first American top-ten and R&B number-one hit "I'll Be Around", along with the successful songs "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "One of a Kind (Love Affair)", "Ghetto Child", and "How Could I Let You Get Away". The album was also the second of fourteen straight studio albums to make the Billboard 200, and their first in the Top-twenty, as it reached #14 on the charts. Additionally, it was their first of three consecutive R&B albums chart-toppers - and the second to hit those charts overall.

Thom Bell created a sound for the group that was "lush" yet gritty. Bell's insistently soulful orchestral arrangements played perfectly to their harmonic strengths. "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" (later a hit for David Grant and Jaki Graham) is the keynote; sung by Smith, it is beautiful, optimistic and upbeat. Often cited as the birth of the Philadelphia Sound, Spinners yielded five American top 100 hits, and two UK chart successes."[5]

Track listing

Personnel

• Billy Henderson, Bobby Smith, Philippé Wynne, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson – vocals
• Roland Chambers, Norman Harris, Bobby Eli – guitars
• Thom Bell – pianos
• Ronnie Baker – bass guitar
• Don Renaldo – strings
• Earl Young – drums
• Larry Washington – congas, bongos
• Vince Montana – vibes, marimbas
• MFSB – orchestration
  • Jack Faith – alto saxophone, flute
  • Rocco Bene, Bobby Hartzell – trumpet
  • Joe DeAnglis, Robert Martin– French horn
  • Freddie Joiner, Bobby Moore, Richie Genevese, Eddie Keskarella – trombone
• Linda Creed, Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson, Yvette Benton – backing vocals

Production

• Thom Bell – producer, arranger, conductor
• Joe Tarsia – recording engineer, re-mix engineer
• Merrill A. Roberts, Jr. – photography
• Loring Eutemey – album design

Charts

Chart (1973)	Peak [6]
U.S. Billboard Top LPs	14
U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs	1

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US [6]	US R&B [6]	US A/C [6]	UK [7]
1972	"How Could I Let You Get Away"	77	14	—	—
	"I'll Be Around"	3	1	31	—
	"Could It Be I'm Falling in Love"	4	1	14	11
1973	"One of a Kind (Love Affair)"	11	1	19	—
	"Ghetto Child"	29	4	20	7

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1973 (U.S.)

References

External links

• Spinners at Discogs (list of releases)

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