Robert Steel Smith (April 10, 1936 – March 16, 2013), professionally known as Bobby Smith, also spelled Bobbie, was an American R&B singer notable as the principal lead singer of the classic Motown/Philly group, The Spinners (also known as the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners), throughout its history. The group earned nearly a dozen gold records and half a dozen Grammy award nominations.
Smith was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. The Spinners' story began in 1954 when a group of friends in Ferndale High School, Michigan came together to make music. While the original line-up comprised Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, C.P. Spencer and James Edwards, within a few weeks Edwards left and was immediately replaced by Bobbie Smith. Frustrated with frequent misspellings, group members soon sought a new name, and it was the suggestion of Smith, a lifelong car buff, that won the day: "Spinners" was a nickname for high-end hubcaps.
Smith, who had been the group's lead singer since its inception, sung lead vocals on The Spinners first hit record in 1961, "That's What Girls Are Made For." produced with Harvey Fuqua. This link led the group to Motown Records two years later when Smith sang lead on most of their Motown material during the 1960s, such as the charting singles like "Truly Yours" (1966) and "I'll Always Love You" (1965). Almost all of the group's pre-Motown material on Fuqua's Tri-Phi Records label hits were sung by Smith. Berry Gordy's Motown label took over Tri-Phi in 1965, but the group struggled to make a big impact on the charts.
Interestingly, while the Spinners had not garnered much commercial success during their Motown years, they had earned the interest of a young producer named Thom Bell, who felt that the Spinners' tight harmonies and smooth delivery could be the perfect vehicle for his brand of sophisticated soul music. Along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Bell was the architect of the "Philadelphia Sound," a new style of orchestral soul music that borrowed as much from the big bands of the 40s and 50s as from the Motown sound of the 60s, all wrapped up in exquisite production that appealed to adults as much as to the teenagers that AM radio targeted.
Smith and the Spinners broke big after signing with Atlantic Records in 1971 at the suggestion of Aretha Franklin. A stream of hits followed with Smith's prominent vocals: I'll Be Around, Could It Be I'm Falling in Love, One of a Kind (Love Affair), Then Came You, Games People Play. In 1974, they scored their only #1 Pop hit with "Then Came You" (sung by Smith, in collaboration with superstar Dionne Warwick). All four of these Bobby Smith-led songs were Certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
Despite the fact that Smith led on many of the group's biggest hits, many have erroneously credited most of the group's success to its other lead singer, the late Philippé Wynne, who did not join The Spinners until well over a decade after they had formed. (Henry Fambrough also sang lead on some of the Spinners' songs.) The confusion between Smith and Wynne may be due to the similarities in their voices and the fact that they frequently shared lead vocals on many of those hits.
In fact, Wynne was many times inaccurately credited for songs that Smith actually sang lead on, such as by the group's label, Atlantic Records, on their Anthology double album collection (an error corrected in the group's later triple CD set, The Chrome Collection). In 1977 Wynne left the group and was replaced by John Edwards. In 1979, with the dance craze in full bloom, The Spinners changed direction, teaming with Michael Zager, a moderately successful dance producer whose style was as straightforward and blunt as Bell's was subtle and sophisticated. Their second single, an unlikely dance remake of the Four Seasons'"Working My Way Back to You," hit the radio and zoomed to the top of the charts. This led to a smash remake of Sam Cooke's "Cupid" in 1980.
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| Bobby Smith, Henry Fambrough, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Henderson & Pervis Jackson |
Smith's final performance came in mid-February 2013 during the Soul Train Cruise, said group member Jesse Peck. Smith, who had missed several gigs since his cancer diagnosis in November 2012, was present on the cruise but not expected to perform during The Spinners' set. Then the group began to perform its 1974 hit Then Came You. "Like something out of a movie, Bobby shoots right out onstage and, showman that he is, grabs a mike and sings right on cue," Peck recounted. "The audience went bananas."
Smith, who battled lung cancer, died of pneumonia and influenza on March 16, 2013, at the age of 76. John Edwards (Wynne’s 1977 replacement) suffered a debilitating stroke in 2002.
(Edited from Wikipedia & Newsome, USA Today & Soultracks)