The Spinners didn’t just outlast Motown, it outlasted Detroit.
It’s rare to see a band that formed before the South Shore Room was built.
The historic Spinners play in the venerable venue at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.
The group, which transformed doo-wop into R&B and soul, began in 1954, but took the name, the Spinners in 1961. Members came up with the handle because of Detroit hubcaps, not spinning vinyl.
Lead singer Bobby Smith died on March 16, leaving just one original member, Henry Fambrough. The modern-day spinners include Charlton Washington, Jessie Peck and Marvin Taylor.
Here’s a list of some of the Spinners’ greatest hits: “Rubberband Man,” “One of a Kind (Love Affair) ,” “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “It’s a Shame,” “Ghetto Child,” “Mighty Love,” “Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl,” “I Don’t Want to Lose You,” Sadie,” “I’ll Always Love You,” “So Far Away,” “Then Came You,” “I Love the Music,” “I Just Want to Be With You,” “Games People Play,” and “Cupid.”
The Spinners
Where: Harrah’s Lake Tahoe South Shore Room
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24
Tickets: $55
This photo from MorrisonHotel.com is of the Spinners in 1974 when the band was in Zaire, Africa at a festival promoting the world heavyweight boxing championship match between challenger Muhammad Ali and champion George Foreman. Ali went on to invent the rope-a-dope and win the title while the Spinners wrote “Rubberband Man,” which is about a bass player, not a boxer.
ABOUT Tim Parsons
Tim Parsons is the editor of Tahoe Onstage who first moved to Lake Tahoe in 1992. Before starting Tahoe Onstage in 2013, he worked for 29 years at newspapers, including the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Eureka Times-Standard and Contra Costa Times. He was the recipient of the 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive award for Journalism.
