| 8 | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 1977 | |||
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| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 40:06 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Thom Bell | |||
| The Spinners chronology | ||||
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| The Spinners studio albums chronology | ||||
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8 is a studio album by American soul vocal group The Spinners, released in 1977. The recording represents a transition in the band's make-up that led to a commercial and critical decline.
8 was recorded and released after Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow , a studio album made up of two distinct sessions: one recorded during the making of Happiness Is Being with the Spinners in 1976, representing the last recordings with Philippé Wynne and the other with the first recordings featuring his replacement, John Edwards. [1] Wynne departed to pursue a solo album and music business career [2] and the remaining group continued recording with producer Thom Bell through 1978, but neither Wynn nor The Spinners would achieve the critical and commercial success they had during their run of 1970s albums. The Spinners promoted this album with a tour that included a brief residency in Los Angeles at Pantages Theater that included several fellow soul music acts; they also did radio promotions, an album-signing event, and a string of television appearances. [3]
The editors of AllMusic Guide scored 8 two out of five stars, with reviewer Jason Elias noting that the loss of Wynne as a vocalist negatively impacted The Spinners, with their producer Bell having "no idea what to do" with Edwards; he notes that several tracks are successful, but "the bad outweighs the good here, making Spinners/8 the most problematic album Bell produced for the group". [4]
The Spinners
(Early Sessions) Additional musicians (see MFSB)
Technical personnel
Domestically, 8 entered the Billboard R&B chart on December 17, 1977 at 47 [5] and peaked at 34 during a 10-week run; [6] it reached 57 on the Billboard 200 [7] and spent 13 weeks on the chart (it does not appear in the March 25, 1978 issue). [8] In Canada, it topped out at 72, according to RPM . [9]
The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues vocal group that formed in Ferndale, Michigan, in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with producer Thom Bell. The group continues to tour, without any original members, after Henry Fambrough retired in 2023.
Thomas Randolph Bell was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and producers ever, Bell found success crafting songs for Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
Spinners is the third studio album recorded by American R&B group The Spinners, produced by Thom Bell and released in April 1973 on the Atlantic label. The album was the group's first for Atlantic after leaving Motown.
Song Bird is the second studio album by American singer Deniece Williams. It was produced by Maurice White and released on October 28, 1977, by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 23 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 5 on the UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums chart.
My Melody is the fifth studio album by American singer Deniece Williams, released in March 1981 by ARC/Columbia Records. The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard Top Soul LPs chart. My Melody was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Blue Gardenia is the twenty-fifth studio album by Etta James, released through the record label Private Music. It was produced by John Snyder, who had worked with James on five of her previous studio albums. Blue Gardenia contains thirteen jazz standards from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. All of the standards were arranged by pianist Cedar Walton, with the exception of "Love Letters", which was arranged by Josh Sklair. Between November 2000 and February 2001, Snyder and Walton assembled musicians to record tracks while James was recovering from a flu; her vocals were added following her recovery. In addition to Walton, artists appearing on the album included Red Holloway on tenor saxophone and Dorothy Hawkins, James' mother, who provided vocals on the title track. Hawkins died in May 2002, less than a year after the album's release.
Happiness Is Being with the Spinners is the seventh studio album recorded by American R&B group The Spinners, released in July 1976 on the Atlantic label. It was produced by Thom Bell and recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia and Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle.
LeRoy Bell is an American singer and songwriter. He and his friend Casey James played in Special Blend, and then went on to form their own duo Bell and James, also composing songs that were hits for other artists most notably two charting hit singles for Elton John. Later Bell became a member of the trio Only Friends. In 2011, Bell applied for the American The X Factor and was chosen for the Final 16 and went on to the live shows being mentored by Nicole Scherzinger. He was eliminated after the fifth live show being the sixth contestant eliminated in the inaugural season of the American The X Factor when he was in bottom three with Marcus Canty and Lakoda Rayne.
Splashdown is a studio album by Philadelphia funk soul band, Breakwater.
At the Top is a 1978 studio album by American soul music vocal group Four Tops, released by ABC Records. The album was the last the group recorded for ABC and was followed by a brief hiatus from recording. Four Tops had experienced a decline in their album sales in the 1970s and also had difficulty booking touring dates, so they initially planned to team up with former Motown associates Holland–Dozier–Holland, but they instead recorded this album with Philadelphia soul producer Norman Harris at his Sigma Sound Studios.
Angel in the Dark is a 2001 album from American singer-songwriter Laura Nyro, released after her death and made up of recordings from 1994 and 1995.
Live: The Loom's Desire is a posthumous live double album from American singer-songwriter Laura Nyro released by Rounder Records in 2002. The recordings are made up of Christmas Eve shows that she performed in 1993 and 1994 at The Bottom Line and received positive reviews from critics.
Spinners Live! is a 1975 live album from American soul act The Spinners. The release was a modest commercial success and has received positive critical assessment.
Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow is a studio album by American soul vocal group the Spinners, released in 1977.
The Best of the Spinners is a 1973 greatest hits album from American Philly soul vocal group The Spinners, released on Motown.
The Best of the Spinners is a 1978 greatest hits album from Philly soul vocal group The Spinners, released on Atlantic Records.
From Here to Eternally is a 1979 studio album from American Philly soul vocal group the Spinners, released on Atlantic Records. This album represents their last collaboration with producer Thom Bell and marks a decline in the critical and commercial success of the group.
Dancin' and Lovin' is a 1979 studio album from Philly soul vocal group The Spinners, released on Atlantic Records. This album comes after a long-time association with producer Thom Bell and marks a shift to disco, resulting in a commercial success after a short string of decline.
Love Trippin' is a 1980 studio album from rhythm and blues vocal group The Spinners, released on Atlantic Records. This album comes after a shake-up in the band's sound, shifting from their Philly soul roots and a series of successful albums produced by Thom Bell to a disco sound recorded with several New York-based jazz musicians on 1979's Dancin' and Lovin'. That album's producer Michael Zager returned for this release which was a modest commercial and critical success and brought the musicians back to a more familiar soul sound.
Tonight! is a 1981 studio album by American soul music vocal group Four Tops, released by Casablanca Records. This was the first album the group recorded for this label followed a short period of commercial a decline in the 1970s, as well as a failed experiment at recording with former Motown associates Holland–Dozier–Holland. This release resulted in much higher chart performance than Four Tops had experienced in several years and the hit single "When She Was My Girl".
