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Bobby (Bobbie) Smith - Spinners R I P

April 10, 1936 - March 16, 2013

By Roburt in News Archives
Updated on 28 Jun 2024 · Published 18 Mar 2013

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The death of the Spinners Bobby (Bobbie) Smith has been flagged up on his page on Wiki. It states there that he passed last Wednesday (March 13th)

 

Surely such a major happening on the soul music scene should have registered in the music press ?

added by site

Seems that this sad news has now been confirmed via various soul sites out there

Title photo (l to r)

Philippe Wynne, Billy Henderson, Pervis Jackson, Bobbie Smith and Henry Fambrough

Wikipeda Link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Smith_(rhythm_and_blues_singer)

Robert "Bobby" Smith (sometimes spelled Bobbie; April 10, 1936 - March 16, 2013[citation needed]) was born in Detroit, Michigan and was an American R&B singer, the principal lead singer of the soul vocal group, The Spinners, also known as the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners, throughout its history.

Smith had been the group's main lead singer since its inception, having sung lead vocals on The Spinners first hit record in 1961, "That's What Girls Are Made For" (which has been inaccurately credited to the group's mentor and former Moonglows lead singer, Harvey Fuqua). Smith also 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, and also on The Spinners' biggest Atlantic Records hits, such as "I'll Be Around", "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "They Just Can't Stop It the (Games People Play)", and the Billboard #1, "Then Came You" (with Dionne Warwick).

With the death of Smith on March 16, 2013 as well as fellow Spinners members Billy Henderson in 2007, and bass singer Pervis Jackson in August 2008, Henry Fambrough is the last remaining original member still performing with the Spinners

Blues and Soul Interview with Bobbie by Pete Lewis

http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/384/spinners_reaching_dizzy_heights/

 



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Roburt

Bobby Smith on lead on an early Spinners cut ...........

 

The Spinners have their own web site & there is no news of Bobby / Bobbie passing noted on that ....

The group have a show in Memphis in 6 days time, so you would think that this 'news' would have been posted up on their site.

Will they be able to fulfill the engagement if the info is indeed correct.

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Roburt

The group were due to play a show at Muckleshoot Casino, Auburn (Wa) last Thursday ......



The casino has a Facebook page ....... "https://www.facebook.com/muckleshootcasino"
and there are comments posted up there about the show being disorganised, so it seems that it must have gone ahead & the group went on (though they aren't actually mentioned in the posts).

SEEMS LIKE THE WIKI page ANNOUNCEMENT COULD BE INCORRECT !!!! 
But a few 'insider types' are reporting his passing on their Facebook pages.

........... CONFIRMATION ANYONE ??
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Roburt

Bruce Hawes has posted this on Facebook ............

 I pause this weekend to honor my great friend and the lead singer of the world famous singing group, 'The Spinners,' "Bobby Smith," who has passed away recently... 
 The loss of Bobby has deeply touched me! I have worked with so many artist in my career but, there has never been an recording-act quite like "The Spinners" for me!

 

So it does seem to be correct .......... RIP Bobby

Got to spend time with Bobby at Prestatyn and he was a truly nice guy (I interviewed the group & he just kept saying ... don't ask me all the questions, ask the other guys some as well).

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Chalky

I can't find anything official about Bobby's death other than the wikipage entry.  The Spinners apparently had a show the following week which apparently went ahead??

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Chalky

I've been told Bobby passed away Yesterday ?  .  RIP Bobby Smith .

 

 

Who by, there is nothing anywhere about it apart from the wiki entry.  Nothing even on the Spinners own page nor other news agencies in the US?

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Hitsville Chalky

Who by, there is nothing anywhere about it apart from the wiki entry.  Nothing even on the Spinners own page nor other news agencies in the US?

 

 

Dillion Gorman ..Freds son From The Originals ..  there plenty of tributes on Facebook  who was Friends with Bobby Smith so sadley it must be true .

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Chalky

It appears it was the H1N1 viruse that he died off but as of yet still no official statement, just the tributes from fellow artists and friend.

R.I.P. Bobby.

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Chalky

https://www.freep.com/article/20130318/ENT04/130318090/Bobbie-Smith-of-the-Spinners-dies

Bobby Smith, longtime lead singer of Detroit group the Spinners, died Saturday in Orlando of complications from pneumonia and the flu, his family said. He was 76.

Smith had been diagnosed with lung cancer in November.

Funeral details are not set, but services are expected to take place next Monday in Detroit, said the group’s Jessie Peck.

Smith’s final performance came in mid-February during the Soul Train Cruise, said Peck. Smith, who had missed several gigs since his cancer diagnosis, 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 mic and sings right on cue,” Peck recounted. “The audience went bananas.”

The Ferndale High School graduate had joined the group in 1956, when it was known as the Domingoes. 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, whose first name was periodically spelled Bobbie, was lead voice on the group’s first hit, 1961’s “That’s What Girls Are Made For,” produced with Harvey Fuqua – a link that led the group to Motown Records two years later.

Smith and the Spinners enjoyed only minimal success during their Motown tenure, but 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.”

As the group maintained a busy touring and recording schedule, Smith left Detroit for New Jersey in the 1980s, later settling in Florida.

Henry Fambrough, the group’s lone surviving original member, warmly remembered his friend and group-mate of more than half a century.

“Bobby was a regular, down-to-earth, good-natured person, the kind of guy who’d give you his shirt,” Fambrough said this afternoon. “And ever since I’ve known him, he was just a natural showman.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Spinners from a 1983 publicity photo. Former lead singer Bobby Smith, second from left, passed away Saturday at age 76. / Detroit Free Press file photo

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Mike
Detroit News has an article on the recently held funeral
 
Toward the end of his eulogy, Cousin spoke the lyrics to "I'll Be Around," prompting a spirited call and response with the assembled.
 
"Whenever you call me," Cousin thundered, " I'll be there!" the congregation answered.
 
"Whenever you want me" – " I'll be there!"
 
"Whenever you need me" – " I'll be there!"
 
Then together, " I'll be around!"
 
 
 
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