The Spinners ~ It's A Shame 1970 Disco Purrfection Version

"Rubberband Man" got me thinking about the very first Spinners song I ever heard, "It's A Shame" from 1970. Looking back, "It's A Shame" could have been construed as a lament for the neglect the talented Spinners suffered while under the aegis of Berry Gordy. Written by Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright and Lee Garrett with Wonder producing, it was released on the VIP imprint, considered a third rate label in the Motown stable. Wonder wrote the song about his breakup with Syreeta and turned it into gold. It peaked at #14 Pop and #3 R&B, but the label did nothing to ride the wave of popularity and the Spinners remained hitless after that. Their first hit on the charts was in August 1961 with "That's What Girls Are Made For", peaked at number 27. They spent their first ten years in Detroit recording and foundering on Motown, but moved on when they realized that Berry Gordy did not have their back. Their soon to be Atlantic label mate was none other than the Queen Of Soul. Aretha Franklin put in a good word for the band and they were signed to the label. Their initial recordings, helmed by Ex-Motown producer, Jimmy Roach were not remarkable and were shelved on the advice of label head Henry Allen who then approached hot producer Thom Bell and offered him a production deal for any artist he wanted who was in the Atlantic stable. From a hastily typed listing, Bell noticed the word "Spinn" as the last artist on the very last page and asked if it was the Spinners. Once it was confirmed, he brought them to Sigma Studios and the first song they recorded was "I'll Be Around" which spent five weeks at #1 on the R&B chart and peaked at #3 Pop. They had finally arrived.