Spinners (album)
# Spinners (album)

Professional ratings :

| Review scores ||
| - | - |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| BBC | (favorable) |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A− |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | A− |

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.

## 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."

## 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 |
| - | - |
| U.S. Billboard Top LPs | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 1 |

### Singles

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