Song of the Day 2/2: The Spinners, “It’s a Shame”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on February 2, 2023

The Rock Hall of Fame released its nominees for the class of 2023 yesterday. As usual, the contenders fall into a few predictable categories:

* Superstars whose fame has nothing to do with rock (rap icon Missy Elliott, country institution Willie Nelson)
* Actual rockers who didn’t sell enough records to make them shoo-ins (Iron Maiden, Soundgarden)
* Acts that sold enough records to make them likely shoo-ins (Sheryl Crow, George Michael)
* Critical darlings who have no chance but whose nominations make the Foundation’s board of fuddy-duddies seem cooler (Joy Division/New Order, A Tribe Called Quest, Rage Against the Machine)
* Cult figures of long standing (Kate Bush, Cyndi Lauper, Warren Zevon)
* An early soul/R&B act (the Spinners).

People can debate which artists and groups deserve the honor, but I’m not going to pass up a chance to play the Spinners, who’ve been nominated three times before. Originally the Domingoes, the group formed in 1954 and had a couple of small hits in the early ’60s, but for most of the decade they were an afterthought at Motown.

They recorded this Stevie Wonder-Syreeta Wright tune, with Wonder doing his first outside production job, as their Motown contract was expiring in 1970. It was a surprise hit, reaching No. 14, but when the group departed for Atlantic later that year, G.C. Cameron, who sang lead on the song, stayed behind (he was dating Berry Gordy’s sister). The rest of the group started working with Philly soul pioneer Thom Bell, who steered them to a long string of Top 40 hits.

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