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The Spinners

March 30th, 2008 Posted in Music

The Spinners have been delighting audiences the world over for more than fifty years now. While their first official “hit” wasn’t until 1961, the group has known each other and been performing together since they were in high school in Michigan.

A string of classics follow them through the musical ether, including what the charts would consider their greatest successes in smashes like “Then Came You” (with Dionne Warwicke), #1 on Billboard, “The Rubberband Man” and “Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl” which both occupied the number 2 spot on the big charts. Literally dozens of other hits from the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts alike can be credited to this classic Motown musical act from Detroit, who are now ready and able to serve a range of corporate and special events clients hosting private events of varying kinds.

As amateurs, the act started out in the fifties because three of the original members went to school together. Back then groups who were popular consisted of the Moonglows, Flamingos and The Dominos. On every corner you could find kids harmonizing. The Spinners got their first chance as “pros” in 1961 in Tri-Phi Records. The first song the label pressed was their “That’s What Girls Are Made For.”

Bobbie Smith, one half of the pair of voices that made the group famous gives American Entertainment Magazine an exclusive interview and insight into how and what the band is doing now, and how their incredible drive and flawless work ethic helped to get the where they are today.
One of the overwhelming keys to The Spinners success has always been their wide appeal to a variety of audiences. No matter age or race, social or ethnic background, the music that has entertained for ages is still one hot ticket no matter who you are. “We just played an opera house style theater and is was great,” says Bobbie Smith, who is a founding member of the group. “The place was packed mostly with people in their 40’s and on up who were all crazy about the Spinners, but we can turn right around and go draw a huge crowd at a Six Flags or fair full of youngsters. A lot of the young people get into the music because they tell us it was what they heard growing up in their household – thank you very much parents (laughs). There are a lot of kids out there who like 70’s music, and just to prove it, many of the contemporary acts in R&B and other styles of music are doing remakes of these classic songs. Not only that but everywhere I go there is almost always a couple of radio stations that play nothing but 70’s music.” It just goes to show that music from bands like The Spinners really do have a timeless appeal almost any audience will find engaging.”

Every artist and musician wants to reach a larger and wider demographics as they progress and the Spinners are no different, though they aren’t about to compromise on their integrity or style just to draw in new listeners. “We just always keep making the same type of Spinners music. We won’t change that to try and reach a certain age because if we do that, we may as well just try to get into the Hip-Hop bag or something like that. No, we just keep putting it out there and if it is good, if it’s a hit, people will like it too. Take R. Kelly for example. He is an artist that writes music that appeals to audiences both young and old and that’s what we try for as well.”

A new more technological marketing asset lies in the internet for The Spinners, a tool which certainly hasn’t been around for a majority of their careers. Reaching out to this new resource is another way in which the Spinners certainly think they can further diversify their audience and tap into younger listeners. “We are planning a new album, (part of which is written) that we are shopping around. We are waiting to see if any of the major labels will pick it up and what type of support they are willing to give the album if they do. But if things don’t work out that way, we fully intend to distribute the record ourselves online. We will still go for the radio play and other major sources of exposure, but our main avenue will be the Internet. Kids listen to their music and find new music now on the internet like they used to on the radio. Just look at Prince, who left his major label because he believed he could do all of his promotions and distribution himself online.”

Bobbie also relates the ever-increasing hesitancy for artists to continue padding large record companies’ wallets for only a piece of the action. “ If we sell 100,000 copies through a record label, that is considered a ‘flop.’ But on the internet, that can generate $1 million in revenue. Most artists who work with record companies now are willing to give up the lion’s share of revenue because the label and the advertising related to it should be able to get them more work. That is not exactly what we are looking for now. We enjoy corporate audiences and theatre dates because we can schedule them to allow us to spend more time at home.”

The Spinners have paid their dues and Bobbie explains they love to perform but carefully select the dates they want to play. “The ideal situation for us is to be home during the week and play on the weekend. We’re not really looking for any long extended tours.”
But there is more involved in the record company vs. the internet for The Spinners and other artists.

“‘That’s What Girls Are Made For’ was a hit for us nationwide but after that we had a bunch of misses. But that’s part of turning professional.

“When we came along, all the artists were brainwashed. All they wanted us to do was sing.They’d get you a producer and put you in the studio, they paid for the session, they promoted it, they made you a hit but they didn’t want you to have anything to say. They just wanted you to sing. When they hooked you up with a good producer, you were popping out the hits, and they didn’t want you rocking the boat. But I would never go that way again because that mentality is not all that important to me. It’s a new day now and I would have a whole lot to say. It’s not that we want complete control, but we do want enough to maintain the integrity of the group.”

Most of The Spinners dates are private events. “We do a lot of corporate dates, theaters, arenas and casinos. We are getting ready to do a group of dates in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. We just came back from Hawaii and are getting ready to go to South Africa…we stay busy. We now do a lot of casinos. It used to be that you only had the choice of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, but now they are all over the country. These guys really know how to promote a show and they work with stations that play 70’s music to get the word out. But if you are asking me if I like one type of show over another, the answer would be ‘no’. We have great audiences that can really get into the music.”

But Bobbie does have one preference when it comes to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. “I would prefer Atlantic City over Vegas. The Atlantic City audiences are more down-to-earth. Everybody in Vegas seems a little ‘uppity’ and behind the scenes they are not as friendly. In Atlantic City they are more like ‘regular’ people.”

The Spinners travel with thirteen people in the entourage. They have a five piece rhythm section. “We do sometimes travel with horns but we do have two keyboards, so in many instances, we get the sound from those. I know the Temptations and the Four Tops travel with horns and we will do it if requested but we have to think of the producer who is pitching this show and the cost of five or six horns. It greatly reduces the cost and we can get the sound out of the keyboards. These are experienced musicians and we can even get decent string sounds from those keyboards. We know how to be flexible and we understand most producers are working with a budget.”

When it comes to custom tailoring a show for a specific audience, Bobbie says their biggest asset is the hits. “Unlike a magician or a speaker, our fans come out to hear the hits and that is what works best for them and us. Around Christmas time we do have some holiday songs we like to throw in, but even then, the audience wants to hear the hits. It’s a solid show that most audience members can relate to and are familiar with and that is what they want us to perform. We do throw in something new from time to time, but the audience wants to hear those hit records, so that is what you have to go with. It doesn’t make sense to change your show with something that is going to make it weaker.”

Bobbie does admit that their new album will be songs that have been written by the group. “We already have some things recorded that we really like. Spike, who is one of our newest members is an excellent writer. He is old enough to be familiar with the old school and young enough to be in-tune to what is happening today. I don’t think that Ronald Isely would be as successful as he is today without surrounding himself with younger guys like R. Kelly. Spike has some music that I think will have some hit value for the Spinners.”

One thing you can count on with The Spinners’ new album will be family music with good positive lyrics. “I think you update the lyrics to reflect what is happening today but not the profanity thing. We want to update these new songs to reflect what’s going on today but people will know it is The Spinners and it will sound like The Spinners.”

The upcoming tour of South Africa is not the first one for The Spinners. Bobbie explains, “We WILL be doing a song called ‘Throwing A Good Love Away.’ That was the last album they had there before Apartheid. When we were there before, we toured a lot of cities. That song was like a national anthem there. It was all you heard but we didn’t know this. We did our show but didn’t do that song. We got in the car to leave and they were throwing rocks and bottles and bricks at the guys taking down our equipment. We were really scared because we were unaware of the situation and didn’t do the song anymore. The promoter got us a copy of the song. We got back in the groove while we were on the plane traveling to the next city. At that show, we had to do that song at least THREE times. After that, the audience just loved us and the band. We could have done that song all night and you’d better believe that we will be performing it on our next trip to that country.”

But The Spinners are not strangers to foreign dates. They’ve played much of England, parts of Asia, Japan and Germany. The audiences have been extremely receptive and the shows well attended. Perhaps their biggest challenge was the food.

“The first time we went to England, I thought the food was terrible. But much of South Africa was just like being in the States. We were there during their winter and it was 75 degrees and beautiful every day. They told us that sometimes they even get a little snow. Johannesburg was very close to what we were used to in American culture. The only real difference was the money.”

The Spinners have lasted four decades and unlike many of the groups who are still performing from that era, they still have three of the original members.
“I’m very proud of The Spinners reputation. We have no smears on our record. We don’t tolerate drugs in our organization and it is just as important for us to be courteous and professional off-stage as it is on-stage. We don’t have any ego problems because that is the main thing that breaks up talented groups. We value our fans and we have had many who continue to follow us through the years.

“My advice to young people trying to break into this business is to be dedicated 150%. Learn how to keep your head on straight and learn how to be business people. Stay away from drugs because I don’t care how big you are, how good you are or how popular you are, drugs are going to bring you down.

“I have seen groups struggle for years to become popular and when they finally get a hit, they end up breaking up because of the ego thing. Believe me when I tell you, you can’t take an ego to the bank. No one and no group is indispensible. The road goes both ways and if you don’t treat people in this industry right, the same people you met on the road up you’ll pass on the road back down. Your longevity will be based on your reputation on stage and with your fans. For us as The Spinners, we don’t consider ourselves as stars - never did. It is our job to entertain that audience and make our fans happy.

“The younger crowd has changed what is expected of entertainers and it is most unfortunate. It used to be that a scandal would end your career. Now, for some strange reason, it boosts your career. There are so many train wrecks and they are destroying themselves and it is unfortunate because a lot of good entertainers will never see they kind of history that we have have been so fortunate to have experienced.”

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Bonnie Sugarman
APA -Nashville
(615) 297-0100