"I'll Be Around" is a song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). It was co-written 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 ...

and

Phil Hurtt Phil Hurtt is a musician, singer, songwriter and arranger who has written hits for The Detroit Spinners, The Ritchie Family and many others. His compositions have been recorded by many artists and he has worked as an arranger on recordings by w ...

and produced by Bell. 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 ...

, 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 ...

provided the backing. The production of the song gives it a smooth, mid-tempo feel, with the signature guitar riff (in octaves) played by Norman Harris at the forefront and punctuation from female background singers, the MFSB horns & strings and conga-playing from Larry Washington. Bobby Smith handles lead vocals on the song. The song was included on the group's 1973 self-titled album on

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 im ...

, their first album release for the label. It was initially released as the B-side of the group's first single on

, with "

How Could I Let You Get Away "How Could I Let You Get Away" is a song recorded by the American vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). Produced by Thom Bell and recorded at Philly's Sigma Sound Studios, the lush, string-augmented production of th ...

" being the A-side. Radio deejays, however, soon opted for "I'll Be Around" which led to

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 ...

flipping the single over and the song became an unexpected hit, eventually spending five weeks at No.1 on the U.S. R&B chart (the group's first No.1 on the R&B chart), and reaching No.3 on the U.S. Pop chart in the fall of 1972. It also reached sales of over one million copies, The Spinners' first record ever to do so. The success of "I'll Be Around" would be the first in a series of chart successes The Spinners and Bell would have together during the 1970s.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by Bobby Smith * Background vocals by Bobby Smith,

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 ...

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 hi ...

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 1 ...

and the Sigma Sweethearts (

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

** The signature bassline which underpins the song is played by Ronnie Baker

Cover versions

"I'll Be Around" has been covered by many artists. Among them are The Moments,

The Afghan Whigs The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001 and have since reformed as a band. The group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John Cu ...

Devon Allman Devon Allman (born August 10, 1972) is an American guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the son of musician Gregg Allman and has appeared occasionally as a guest musician for Gregg Allman and The Allman Brother ...

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

The Rippingtons The Rippingtons are an American contemporary jazz group, mainly relating to the genres smooth jazz, jazz fusion, jazz pop, and crossover jazz. Formed in 1985 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman, their career has spanned more than three de ...

featuring

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

Funk, Inc. Funk, Inc. was an American jazz funk/ soul jazz group, founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, in 1969 by Bobby Watley, Eugene Barr, Steve Weakley, Jimmy Munford and Cecil Hunt. During the 1970s they were signed to the Prestige Records ...

Doug Parkinson Douglas John Parkinson (30 October 1946 – 15 March 2021) was an Australian pop and rock singer. He led the bands Strings and Things/A Sound (1965), the Questions (1966–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1968–1970, 1971), Fanny Adams (1970� ...

Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...

and

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

, whose version reached No.6 on the U.S.

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. The song was sampled in the 1973 break-in record, "

Super Fly Meets Shaft "Super Fly Meets Shaft" is a break-in record co-written by Dickie Goodman and recorded by John & Ernest. It consists of lines from popular R&B/soul songs of the day, which tell a story about the main characters from the films '' Super Fly'' (1 ...

" (US #31). Jamaican reggae artist Otis Gayle also recorded a rocksteady version of "I'll Be Around" for the Studio One label in the early 1970s, that features the recognizable organ playing of Jackie Mittoo. Like many Jamaican recordings, the instrumental track for this song went on to be the foundation for many Jamaican singles to this day, notably Johnny Osbournes 1979 hit We Need Love. US singer Terri Wells had a hit in 1984 with her version, which reached No.17 in 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 ...

. In 1985, a cover by the American new wave group

What Is This? What Is This (known prior to 1980 as Anthym) was an American rock band that originated in Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, California. Formed by guitarist Hillel Slovak, drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Alain Johannes, and bassist Todd Strassm ...

, produced by

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

, reached No. 62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1995, rapper

Rappin' 4-Tay Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, 1968), better known by his stage name Rappin' 4-Tay, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. Early life Anthony Forte was born March 2, 1968 and grew up in San Francisco's Fillmore District. He has ...

released his own version of the song as the second single from his second album. This rendition replaced the song's original lyrics with those written by Rappin' 4-Tay, though it sampled the original and retained the chorus, for which The Spinners were credited as featured artists. It became a top-40 hit in the United States, peaking at No.39 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Also that same year, the Spinners' original version was featured in the film ''

Dead Presidents ''Dead Presidents'' is a 1995 American crime film co-written, produced and directed by the Hughes Brothers. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate and his experienc ...

.'' In 1999, rap group TRU, featuring

Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...

sampled it on their single "Tru Homies", from their album ''

Da Crime Family ''Da Crime Family'' is the fifth studio album by New Orleans hip-hop group, TRU, released June 1, 1999, via Priority Records and Master P's No Limit Records. It was produced by Beats By the Pound, Ke'Noe, Meech Wells and Battlecat. ''Da Crim ...

''. "Tru Homies" peaked at No.6 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

and No.61 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 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 ...

. In 2015, the German group, Hotlane (Agnes Lindström & Jack Tennis) sampled "I'll Be Around" on the song "Whenever", featured on their first album titled "The EP".

Chart performance

;The Spinners

Weekly charts

;Hall & Oates version

Year-end charts

Notes

References

# ''A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul'' by John A. Jackson, (Publication: New York Oxford University Press (U.S.), 2004) # "I'll Be Around"

song review A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

website

External links

* {{authority control 1972 singles 1995 singles The Spinners (American R&B group) songs Songs written by Thom Bell Torch songs 1972 songs Atlantic Records singles Cashbox number-one singles