The Stylistics (album)

Last updated
The Stylistics
Thestylisticsalbum.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 6, 1971
Recorded1970–1971
Studio Sigma Sound Studios
(Philadelphia)
Genre R&B, soul, Philadelphia soul
Length29:24
Label Avco
Producer Thom Bell
The Stylistics chronology
The Stylistics
(1971)
Round 2
(1972)
Singles from The Stylistics
  1. "You're a Big Girl Now"
    Released: 1971
  2. "Stop, Look, Listen (to Your Heart)"
    Released: March 4, 1971
  3. "You Are Everything"
    Released: May 13, 1971
  4. "Betcha by Golly, Wow"
    Released: February 17, 1972
  5. "People Make the World Go Round"
    Released: 1972
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
BBC (favorable) [2]
Christgau's Record Guide A− [3]
Tom Hull – on the Web A− [4]

The Stylistics is the debut album by American R&B group the Stylistics, released in November 1971 on the Avco record label. It was produced by Thom Bell and recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. The album has been called "a sweet soul landmark." [5]

Contents

Group members Airrion Love, Herb Murrell, James Dunn, and James Smith can be heard on "You're a Big Girl Now," recorded and released as a single prior to the beginning of production on the album, but according to lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr., they're absent from the album's other eight songs aside from Love's harmony vocals on "You Are Everything." [6] In John A. Jackson's book A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul (2004), Sigma Sound Studios founder and engineer Joe Tarsia says, "I don't care if it was the Stylistics or Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, or whoever. All the backgrounds on all those songs were sung not by the groups, but by either Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Thom Bell, Carl Helm [or] Bunny Sigler," while Sigler says that "most" of the male background vocals on the Stylistics' hit songs were provided by himself, Gamble, Bell and Helm. [7]

History

The Stylistics reached No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on Billboard's R&B albums chart. It features the hit singles "Betcha by Golly, Wow," "You Are Everything," "People Make the World Go Round," "Stop, Look, Listen (to Your Heart)," and "You're a Big Girl Now." All five singles reached the top ten on the R&B chart, beginning a stretch of 12 top-ten hits in a row. "Betcha by Golly, Wow" and "You Are Everything" also reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stop, Look, Listen (to Your Heart)" 2:54
2."Point of No Return" 2:45
3."Betcha by Golly, Wow" 3:47
4."Country Living" 2:57
5."You're a Big Girl Now"Marty Bryant, Robert Douglas3:14
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."You Are Everything"2:55
7."People Make the World Go Round"6:26
8."Ebony Eyes"2:21
9."If I Love You"2:05

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1971/72)Peak
[8]
Australia (Kent Music Report) [9] 23
U.S. Billboard Top LPs 23
U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs 3
Singles
YearSinglePeak chart positions
US
[8]
US
R&B

[8]
US
A/C

[8]
UK
[10]
1971"You're a Big Girl Now"737
"Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)"396
"You Are Everything"91024
1972"Betcha by Golly, Wow"32713
"People Make the World Go Round"25625

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Stylistics</span> American music group

The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.

Thomas Randolph Bell was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer and songwriter for the 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.

Linda Diane Creed, also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betcha by Golly, Wow</span> 1970 single by Connie Stevens and 1972 hit for the Stylistics

"Betcha by Golly, Wow" is a song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, originally titled "Keep Growing Strong" and recorded by Connie Stevens under the Bell label in 1970. Stevens' recording runs two minutes and thirty seconds. The composition later became a hit when it was released by the Philadelphia soul group the Stylistics in 1972 under its better known title, "Betcha by Golly, Wow".

"Stop, Look, Listen " is a soul song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed that was originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group the Stylistics.

<i>Spinners</i> (album) 1973 studio album by The Spinners

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Are Everything</span>

"You Are Everything" is a soul song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed and originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics.

<i>Phyllis Hyman</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Phyllis Hyman

Phyllis Hyman is the self-titled solo debut studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Phyllis Hyman. It was released by Buddah Records in 1977. The album charted at number 107 on the Billboard 200 chart, and of the singles released from the album, "No One Can Love You More" was the most successful, charting at number 58 in the Billboard Hot Soul singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everything (Mary J. Blige song)</span> 1997 single by Mary J. Blige

"Everything" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written and produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for Blige's third album, Share My World (1997). The song contains samples from "You Are Everything" (1971) by American soul group The Stylistics and "The Payback" (1973) by American singer James Brown, also incorporating elements from "Sukiyaki" (1961) by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto. Due to the inclusion of the samples, Brown, Hachidai Nakamura, Rokusuke Ei, Linda Creed, Thom Bell, John Starks, and Fred Wesley are also credited as songwriters.

Flying High Together is an album by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label, released in 1972. It is noted as The Miracles' last studio album with original lead singer Smokey Robinson, who retired from the act to concentrate on his duties as Vice President of The Motown Record Corporation. The album charted at #46 on the Billboard Pop Album chart, and featured two singles: the appropriately named "We've Come Too Far to End It Now", which matched the parent album's chart position on the Billboard singles chart, charting at #46, and reached the Top 10 of the Billboard R&B singles chart, charting at #9, and "I Can't Stand to See You Cry", which charted at #45 Pop, and #21 R&B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Make Me Feel Brand New</span> 1974 single by The Stylistics

"You Make Me Feel Brand New" is a 1974 single by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. An R&B ballad, the song was written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed.

Billboard Hot Soul Hits is a series of compilation albums released by Rhino Records in 1995, compiling 50 hit soul music recordings, which were popular in the 1970s. Five albums were released, containing ten songs from a specific year from 1970 through 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Thompkins Jr.</span> American soul singer (born 1951)

Russell Allen Thompkins Jr. is an American soul singer. Best known as the original lead singer of the vocal group The Stylistics and noted for his high tenor, countertenor, and falsetto vocals. With Russell as lead singer, The Stylistics had 12 straight Top 10 Billboard R&B singles, and 5 gold singles from 1971 through 1974.

<i>You Are My Starship</i> 1976 studio album by Norman Connors

You Are My Starship is an album by the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania jazz drummer Norman Connors. Released in 1976 on Buddah Records, it featured bass player/vocalist Michael Henderson and Philadelphia vocalist Phyllis Hyman. The album reached number five on the US R&B chart and number one on the Jazz chart.

<i>Round 2</i> (The Stylistics album) 1972 studio album by The Stylistics

Round 2 is the second studio album recorded by American R&B group The Stylistics, released in October 1972 on the Avco label. It was produced by Thom Bell and recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia.

<i>Rockin Roll Baby</i> 1973 studio album by The Stylistics

Rockin' Roll Baby is the third studio album recorded by American R&B group The Stylistics, released in November 1973 on the Avco label. It was produced by Thom Bell and recorded at Sigma Sound Studio North in Philadelphia. This was the group's last album produced by Bell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Stone in Love with You</span> 1972 single by The Stylistics

"I'm Stone in Love with You" is a 1972 single by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. The song is noted for lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr.'s distinctive falsetto singing, which he employs through most of the record. The song was written by Thom Bell, Linda Creed, and Anthony Bell.

<i>The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)</i> (Johnny Mathis album) 1972 studio album by Johnny Mathis

The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis released on May 10, 1972, by Columbia Records and continues in the tradition set by his recent studio releases of covering mostly current chart hits. A trio of selections on side one ("Love Theme from 'The Godfather' (Speak Softly Love)", "Theme from 'Summer of 42' (The Summer Knows)", and "Brian's Song (The Hands of Time)") originated as film scores and had lyrics added later.

<i>Im Coming Home</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Johnny Mathis

I'm Coming Home is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 21, 1973, by Columbia Records and was mainly composed of material written by the songwriting team of its producer, Thom Bell, and Linda Creed. Unlike several of the Mathis albums before it, I'm Coming Home relied primarily on new songs and included only two covers of established chart hits, both of which were by The Stylistics.

"People Make the World Go Round" is a song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, originally recorded by The Stylistics and released in 1972 through Avco Records as the final single from their self-titled debut studio album, The Stylistics (1971). It reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, #25 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #6 on the Soul Singles chart in the United States.

References

  1. Wynn, Ron. The Stylistics review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
  2. Easlea, Daryl. "The Stylistics review". BBC Music . Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 13, 2019 via robertchristgau.com.
  4. Hull, Tom (June 22, 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  5. BBC Music Review by Daryl Easlea. The album was featured on Trevor Nelson's Radio 2 show, 1 December 2010
  6. Halliburton, Karen. "The Stylistics Russell Thompkins, Jr. is feeling brand new these days". 50Bold. Retrieved 21 December 2020. On the three albums, we did with Tommy Bell, they didn't sing on them. Only one of the guys sang on two songs. He sang on You Are Everything and You Make Me Feel Brand New. When we would go on the road people would say, "Ya'll don't sound like the record." The reason why we didn't sound like the record was that the group members weren't on the record!
  7. Jackson, John A. (2004). A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 157–158. ISBN   0-19-514972-6.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "US Charts > The Stylistics". Allmusic . Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 299. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  10. "UK Charts > The Stylistics". The Official Charts Company . Retrieved 2011-09-28.