"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 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) 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 prod ...

and Phil Hurtt and produced by Bell. Recorded at Philadelphia's

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was an American independent recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, Sigma Sound is closely associated with Philade ...

, 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 the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, 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" 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 oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

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, Pervis Jackson, Henry Fambrough 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, lyricist, background singer and record producer who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successfu ...

and the Sigma Sweethearts ( Barbara Ingram, 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 ...

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

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 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. (band), L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. B ...

, Funk, Inc., Doug Parkinson,

Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has a back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was signed to California-based Shrapnel Records from 1988 to ...

and

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist, while John Oates primarily supplied electric guitar and ba ...

, 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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. The song was sampled in the 1973 break-in record, " Super Fly Meets Shaft" (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 Donat Roy Mittoo (3 March 1948 – 16 December 1990), better known as Jackie Mittoo, was a Jamaican-Canadian keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a member of The Skatalites and musical director of the Studio One record label. ...

. 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. In 1985, a cover by the American new wave group What Is This?, produced by

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

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

Rappin' 4-Tay Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, 1968), known professionally as 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 a t ...

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, Hughes Brothers. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate a ...

.'' In 1999, rap group TRU, featuring

Master P Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967), better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relau ...

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 Crime ...

''. "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 statio ...

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 ...

. 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

Weekly charts

The Spinners version 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 reviewon

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 Mus ...

website {{authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles 1995 singles The Spinners (American group) songs Songs written by Thom Bell Torch songs Atlantic Records singles Cashbox number-one singles Song recordings produced by Thom Bell