"Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" is a

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). It was co-written by Melvin and Mervin Steals, two songwriter brothers working for

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, who were sometimes credited as "Mystro and Lyric." It was produced by

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) 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 ...

, recorded at Philadelphia's

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was a recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.. It was founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, it was one of the first studios in the United States to ...

and the house band

MFSB MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bel ...

provided the backing. Bobby Smith sings lead through most of the song while

Philippé Wynne Philippé Wynne (''aka'' Philippe Escalante Wynn; ''né'' Walker; April 3, 1941 – July 14, 1984) was an American singer, best known for his role as a lead vocalist of The Spinners (a role he shared with fellow group members Bobby Smith and H ...

handles vocal duties on the outro. Released as the follow-up single to the group's first hit for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, "I'll Be Around," "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" would equal the success of its predecessor, peaking at #1 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and #4 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart and selling over one million copies. The song also found success in the UK, peaking at #11 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Reception

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' named it the 184th best song of the 1970s, saying "every time lead vocalist Smith is offered the opportunity to go loud, he goes soft, letting Bell's dulcet accompaniments do the singing for him. The '70s yielded countless songs about falling in love, but few are as blissful as this."

The Spinners version credits

*Lead vocals by Bobby Smith and

*Background vocals by Bobby Smith, Philippé Wynne,

Pervis Jackson Pervis Jackson (May 17, 1938 – August 18, 2008) was an American R&B singer, noted as the bass singer for The Spinners, and was one of the group's original members as well as their spokesman. His deep timbered voice and calm swagger garnered h ...

Henry Fambrough Henry Lee Fambrough (born May 10, 1938) is an original vocalist and current member of the R&B quintet The Spinners (aka The Detroit Spinners and also The Motown Spinners). He is the last surviving original member of the Spinners. The group ...

and Billy Henderson *Additional Background vocals by

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), 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 19 ...

and

The Sweethearts of Sigma The Sweethearts of Sigma, sometimes known simply as The Sweethearts or The Sweeties, were an American female vocal trio comprising Carla Benson, Evette Benton and Barbara Ingram. Primarily backing vocalists, they were heard on many recordings ma ...

(

Barbara Ingram Barbara Jane Ingram (February 9, 1947 – October 20, 1994) was an American R&B singer and songwriter who was active throughout the early 1970s until the mid-late 1980s, enjoying modest success as a backup singer for almost two decades. ...

, Carla Benson, and Evette Benton) *Instrumentation by

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Trivia

This song was used on the soundtrack of the 2005 movie

Beauty Shop ''Beauty Shop'' is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Bille Woodruff. The film serves as a Spin-off (media), spin-off of the ''Barbershop (film), Barbershop'' film franchise, and stars Queen Latifah as Gina, a character first introduced in t ...

Cover versions

The song has been covered many times over the years, including a duet by David Grant and

Jaki Graham Jacqueline Graham (born 15 September 1956) is a British singer-songwriter. Following her hit version of "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" with David Grant in 1985, Graham scored a further five UK top 20 hits over a two-year period. In 1994, her ...

(which peaked at #5 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985) and versions by

Regina Belle Regina Elaine Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles " Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both with ...

, El Barrio,

Messenjah Messenjah is a Canadian-based reggae group that flourished to become one of the most successful and popular reggae groups in the history of Canadian music. History Messenjah was formed in 1980 in Kitchener, Ontario and released their first album ...

, Worlds Apart, Peter White,

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...

Jeff Kashiwa Jeff Kashiwa (born 1963) is saxophonist with the jazz fusion band the Rippingtons and one of three with the Sax Pack, as well as having recorded several albums under his own name. Life and career Jeff Kashiwa was born in 1963 in Louisville, Kent ...

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

Earl Klugh Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He has won one Grammy award and thirteen nominations. Klugh was awarded the “1977” Best Recording Award For Performance and Sound” for his album “Fi ...

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

, Todd Alsup,

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...

and

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular ...

References

External links

* {{authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles 1985 singles 1994 singles The Spinners (American R&B group) songs Atlantic Records singles Cashbox number-one singles Male–female vocal duets