roducer Thom Bell wrote a song about his son, who was a little bit on the heavy side. However, when a group from Detroit named The Spinners put a new spin on the song, it became the band's first #2 single.

Bobbie Smith, Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, and Pervis Jackson had been friends in Detroit before teaming up as The Domingos in 1957. They quickly took on the name The Spinners, inspired by the chrome hubcap on Smith's car. While performing in their local area, the group members took to imitating their favorite acts. One of their more frequent influences were The Moonglows, who had reached #25 with the hit "See Saw" in 1956.

First charting on Oct. 2, 1976, "The Rubberband Man" was Detroit-based R&B vocal quintet The Spinners' 15th Billboard Top 40 hit, and their highest to date after reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 pop chart. It was taken from the group's fifth studio LP for Atlantic Records, Happiness Is Being With The Detroit Spinners, released on July 31, 1976 and peaking at No. 25 on the Hot 200 album chart. It was certified as a gold album for $1 million in sales by the RIAA on Oct. 12, 1976.

That act's lead singer, Harvey Fuqua, had moved on to producing other acts, and was impressed enough with The Spinners to sign them to his label, Tri-Phi. Fuqua also assumed lead vocals on the group's first hit, the #27 "That's What Girls Are Made Of." In 1965, The Spinners signed to Motown, but the association only gave them the #35 hit "I'll Always Love You." After another label change Stevie Wonder wrote their #14 "It's A Shame." But the group's most successful period came in 1971, when The Spinners signed with Atlantic Records, simultaneously acquiring new lead singer Phillipe Wynne.

Thom Bell and Linda Creed, who had worked with a number of Philadelphia acts, most notably The Stylistics, took an interest in the group and became its producers. The act's first Atlantic hit, "I'll Be Around," peaked at #3 in 1972. It's follow-up, "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love," did almost as well, climbing to #4. A one-off collaboration with Dionne Warwicke resulted in the #1 hit "Then Came You." Then, in 1976, Thom Bell wrote a song about his son Mark as a way to help him get over being teased by his classmates; Thom tried to shift his son's attention from being a fat man to a "big" man. Initially called "The Fat Man," the song's reference shifted again to being about the big man at a party, the center of attention, who Bell referred to as "The Rubberband Man." Bell had written songs about each of his children, but "The Rubberband Man" was the only one that got a chance to become a hit.

"The Rubberband Man" debuted at #84, and in its 13th week the song stretched The Spinners' chart career a little bit further, spending the first of three weeks at #2. On the R&B charts, it did one better, climbing to the #1 position. But just as The Spinners seemed headed for the top, their bottom dropped out. Lead singer Wynne left the group for a solo career, and the group's next three hits all missed the Top 40. Soon The Spinners found themselves attempting a comeback again, and they succeeded after acquiring a new producer, keyboardist Michael Zager, and a new gimmick, pairing a classic remake with an original composition. The result was the group's second #2 hit, "Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl," in March 1980.

The group repeated the formula with its next single, a medley of R&B singer Sam Cooke's #17 hit "Cupid" and Michael Zager's "I've Loved You For A Long Time," that peaked at #4. This combination song earned the group a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Group Performance, which it lost to the The Manhattans' "Shining Star." A third medley attempt, pairing The Carpenters' #2 hit "Yesterday Once More" with Zager's "Nothing Remains The Same," stalled at #52 and indicated that the formula was wearing thin. A couple of minor hits followed in the early 1980s, but after 1983's "Funny How Time Slips Away" stalled at #67, the group was reduced to a nostalgia act. Phillipe Wynne, The Spinners' former lead singer, died of a heart attack during a concert in Oakland on July 14, 1984, and it appeared obvious that the group's glory days were over. However, The Spinners enjoyed a brief chart resurgence in 1995 due to an unlikely collaboration with the rap act Rappin' 4-Tay, who remade the group's #3 hit "I'll Be Around" and took it to #39. In all, The Spinners racked up six Grammy Award nomination and earned 18 platinum and gold albums. Henry Farmbrough, the last surviving member of the iconic R&B group, died of natural causes on Feb. 7, 2024. He was 85.

- Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, Billboard, 2000.

 

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