Spyder Turner (born Dwight David Turner, February 4, 1947, Beckley, West Virginia) is an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer. Turner was raised in Detroit, and sang in doo wop groups and high school

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

s while young. He first began

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

after winning a contest at the Apollo Theater in New York City, recording some solo sides and singing backup for groups called The Stereophonics and The Fabulous Counts. In 1966, record producer Clay McMurray had Turner's group do a recording session, and soon after Turner signed to MGM Records and released a single, a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the soul number " Stand by Me," imitating not only

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

, but Smokey Robinson,

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

and

Billy Stewart William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist who was popular during the 1960s. Biography Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James ...

, among others. The tune climbed to No. 3 on the US Billboard R&B Singles chart and No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart early in 1967.

Billboard Singles A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large out-of-home advertising, outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboard ...

AllMusic Soon after, a full-length album was released, peaking at No. 14 on the R&B Albums chart and No. 158 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Billboard AllMusic A second single from the album, "I Can't Make it Anymore", peaked at No. 95 on the Hot 100 pop chart. Turner left his management after dissatisfaction with MGM's soul division (which consisted only of

Howard Tate Howard Tate (August 13, 1939 – December 2, 2011) was an American soul singer and songwriter. His greatest success came with a string of hit singles in the late 1960s, including "Ain't Nobody Home" and "Get It While You Can," the latter of wh ...

and himself), and played regionally in the South in the early 1970s. Later that decade, Turner began working with

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Mo ...

, and wrote the tune "Do Your Dance" for

Rose Royce Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B group. They are best known for several hit singles during the 1970s including "Car Wash", " I Wanna Get Next to You", " I'm Going Down", "Wishing on a Star", and " Love Don't Live Here Anymore". Career ...

, which was a top ten R&B hit. He continued recording in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including a song for the movie ''

The Last Dragon ''The Last Dragon'' (sometimes listed as Berry Gordy's ''The Last Dragon'') is a 1985 American martial arts comedy film produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy and directed by Michael Schultz. The film stars Taimak, Vanity, Julius Carry, C ...

'' (billed on the soundtrack as Dwight David). He did some acting as well. He continues to perform in Michigan, and released his most recent album in 2006 through CD Baby. In March 2008 Turner appeared on English man Carl Dixon's BandTraxs session at Studio A/Detroit, where he provided vocals and writing skills to complete the songs, along with singers Pree, Gayle Butts and other Detroit musicians including

Dennis Coffey Dennis James Coffey (born November 11, 1940) is an American guitarist. He was a studio musician for many soul and R&B recordings, and is well known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " Scorpio". Biography Coffey learned to play guitar at the ...

(co producer) and

Uriel Jones Uriel Jones (June 13, 1934 – March 24, 2009) was an American musician. Jones was a recording session drummer for Motown's in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s. Biography Jones was first hired by Motown as a ...

.Turner performed lead and backing on "Tell me (crying over you)","Glory fleeting" and in addition backing vocals on "Suddenly there's you", and as group personnel of 'BandTraxs' singing on the funk/rap styled "Detroit (city by the river)". The session was arranged by ex Motown arranger David J. Van De Pitte. 15% of the cover price of Spyder's single "I'm Gonna Miss You", penned by

Frances Nero Willie Frances Nero (née Peak; March 13, 1943 – November 28, 2014) was an American soul music, soul and jazz singer. She recorded for Motown after winning their 1965 talent contest and had a UK hit single in 1991 with "Footsteps Following Me". ...

and released on February 1, 2010, is being donated to the Haiti Recovery Fund.

Discography

*''Stand By Me'' ( MGM Records, 1967; reissued on CD, 1996) *''Music Web'' (

Whitfield Records Whitfield Records was a record label, founded in 1975 by former Motown producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield and active until 1982. Whitfield Records was distributed throughout its entire existence by Warner Bros. Records. Selected Discograph ...

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, 1978) *''Only Love'' (Whitfield) *''Spyder Turner'' EP (Self-released, 2006) *''Tell me (crying over you)'' (BandTraxs Records) 2009

References

An interview with Spyder Turner in 2010 at Soul Express
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Spyder 1947 births Living people American soul musicians Musicians from Michigan Musicians from West Virginia People from Beckley, West Virginia