1. A soul group of the early '70s, creating a body of work that defined the lush, seductive sound of Philly soul. In the UK they were known as "The Detroit Spinners" to avoid confusion with British band The Spinners. The band's roots lay in Detroit, where they formed as a doo wop group during the late '50s. Throughout the '60s, the Spinners tried to land a hit by adapting to the shifting fashions of R&B and pop. By the mid-'60s, they had signed with Motown Records, but the label never gave the group much consideration. "It's a Shame" became a hit in 1970, but the label continued to ignore the group, and dropped the band two years later. Unsigned and featuring new lead singer Phillipe Wynne, the Spinners seemed destined to never break into the big leagues, but they managed to sign with Atlantic Records, where they began working with producer Thom Bell. With his assistance, the Spinners developed a distinctive sound, one that relied on Wynne's falsetto and the group's intricate vocal harmonies. Bell provided the group with an appropriately detailed production, creating a detailed web of horns, strings, backing vocals, and lightly funky rhythms. Between 1972 and 1977, the Spinners and Bell recorded a number of soul classics, including "I'll Be Around," "Could It Be I'm Fallin in Love," "Mighty Love," "Ghetto Child," "Then Came You," "Games People Play," and "The Rubberband Man." Wynne left in 1977 and the Spinners had hits for a few years after his departure, but the group will always be remembered for its classic mid-'70s work. Originally, called the Domingoes, the Spinners formed when the quintet were high school students in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale in 1957. At the time, the group featured Bobbie Smith, Pervis Jackson, George W. Dixon, Billy Henderson, and Henry Fambrough. Four years later, they came to the attention of producer Harvey Fuqua, who began recording the group -- who were now called the Spinners -- for his Tri-Phi Records. The band's first single, "That's What Girls Are Made For," became a Top Ten R&B hit upon its 1961 release and featured Smith on vocals. Following its release, Dixon was replaced by Edgar "Chico" Edwards. Over the next few years, the group released a series of failed singles, and when Tri-Phi was bought out by Motown in the mid-'60s, the Spinners became part of the larger company's roster. By that time, Edwards had been replaced by G.C. Cameron. Though the Spinners had some R&B hits at Motown during the late '60s, including "I'll Always Love You" and "Truly Yours," they didn't have a genuine crossover success until 1970, when Stevie Wonder gave the group "It's a Shame." Motown never concentrated on the Spinners, and they let the group go in 1972. Before the band signed with Atlantic Records, Phillipe Wynne replaced Cameron as the group's lead vocalist. Wynne had previously sung with Catfish and Bootsy Collins. At Atlantic Records, the Spinners worked with producer Thom Bell, who gave the group a lush, seductive sound, complete with sighing strings, a tight rhythm section, sultry horns, and a slight funk underpinning. Wynne quickly emerged as a first-rate soul singer, and the combination of the group's harmonies, Wynne's soaring leads, and Bell's meticulous production made the Spinners the most popular soul group of the '70s. Once the group signed with Atlantic, they became a veritable hit machine, topping the R&B and pop charts with songs like "I'll Be Around," "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," "One of a Kind (Love Affair)," "Ghetto Child," "Rubberband Man," and "You're Throwing a Good Love Away." Not only were their singles hits, but their albums constantly went gold and charted in the Top 20. Wynne left the band to pursue a solo career in 1977; he was replaced by John Edwards. Though none of Wynne's solo records were big hits, his tours with Parliament-Funkadelic were well-received, as were his solo concerts. In October 1984, he died of a heart attack during a concert in Oakland, CA. The Spinners, meanwhile, had a number of minor hits in the late '70s, highlighted by their disco covers of "Working My Way Back to You" and the medley "Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long Time." During the early '80s, they had several minor hits before fading away from the charts and entering the oldies circuit, reprising their earlier material for 1999's new studio effort At Their Best. Long time founding members Billy Henderson and Pervis Jackson have since deceased.
2. The Spinners were a folk group from Liverpool, England, that formed in September 1958. The group was unusual for its time in having a multiracial membership.
They variously had four albums in the UK Albums Chart between September 1970 and April 1972. One of them, Spinners Live Performance (1971), spent three months in the listing and peaked at No. 14.
The band began as a skiffle group with a mainly American repertoire, until they were prompted by Redd Sullivan, a seaman, to include sea shanties and English folk songs. They started out as the Gin Mill Skiffle Group, which included guitarist Tony Davis and washboard player Mick Groves. The group played the Cavern Club, Liverpool for the first time on Friday 18 January 1957, with the Muskrat Jazz Band and the Liverpool University Jazz Band. They played there on a number of occasions on Friday 24 May; Sunday 26 May; Wednesday 5 June; Wednesday 3 July and Friday 16 August 1957. In September 1958 they became the Spinners. They founded a folk club in Liverpool, the 'Triton Club', but soon were performing in London at places such as 'the Troubadour'. Their first album, Songs Spun in Liverpool, was recorded by Bill Leader from live performances. In 1962 Peter Kennedy of the English Folk Dance & Song Society recorded an album with them called Quayside Songs Old & New. In 1963 Philips Records signed them, and they recorded eight more albums over the next eight years. They signed for EMI Records in the early 1970s.
They became popular by reviving some of the greatest folk music and singing new songs in the same vein. Although sounding like traditional English folk songs, some of their material was in fact composed by Jones, such as "The Ellan Vannin Tragedy" and "The Marco Polo". One of their best known songs, particularly in their native Liverpool, was "In My Liverpool Home", written by Peter McGovern in 1962. Cliff Hall also introduced traditional Jamaican songs to their repertoire. One of their albums was called Not Quite Folk.
They produced over forty albums, and made numerous concerts and TV appearances. In 1970, they were given their own television show on BBC One that ran for seven years. They also had their own show on BBC Radio 2. They retired in 1988, after thirty years together, although they led the community singing at the 1989 FA Cup Final and played some Christmas shows in the early 1990s. Members of the group still perform, although Cliff Hall retired to Australia, where he died in 2008.
Their version of the Ewan MacColl song, "Dirty Old Town", was included in the Terence Davies' 2008 memoir/documentary of Liverpool, Of Time and the City. A biography of the group 'Fried Bread and Brandy-O' (the title of their signature tune) was written by Liverpool journalist David Stuckey (with a foreword by Pete Seeger) to coincide with their 25th anniversary, and published by Robson Books.
In 2009 The Liverpool Barrow Boys from Songs Spun in Liverpool was included in Topic Records 70 year anniversary boxed set Three Score and Ten as track 19 on the 6th CD.
Band members
Tony Davis (born 24 August 1930, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, died 10 February 2017)
Mick Groves (born Salford, Lancashire, England)
Cliff Hall (born Clifford Samuel Hall, 11 September 1925, Oriente Province, Cuba, died 26 June 2008, Adelaide, South Australia)
Hughie Jones (born Liverpool, England)
3. The Spinners were a female punk band from Turkey, active in the late 80's and early 90's. They released a demo called “Lalala” in 1991.
Maggie May
The Spinners Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I think I got something to say to you.
It's late September and
I really should be back at school.
I know I keep you amused,
But I feel I'm being used.
Oh, Maggie, I couldn't have tried any more.
You led me away from home
You stole my heart, and that's what really hurts.
The morning sun, when it's in your face,
Really shows your age.
But that don't worry me none.
In my eyes, you're everything.
I laughed at all of your jokes.
My love you didn't need to coax.
Oh, Maggie, I couldn't have tried any more.
You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone.
You stole my soul, and that's a pain I can do without.
All I needed was a friend
To lend a guiding hand.
But you turned into a lover, and, mother, what a lover!
You wore me out.
All you did was wreck my bed,
And, in the morning, kick me in the head
Oh, Maggie, I couldn't have tried any more.
You led me away from home
'Cause you didn't want to be alone.
You stole my heart. I couldn't leave you if I tried.
I suppose I could collect my books
And get on back to school.
Or steal my daddy's cue
And make a living out of playing pool.
Or find myself a rock 'n' roll band
That needs a helping hand.
Oh, Maggie, I wish I'd never seen your face.
You made a first-class fool out of me.
But I'm as blind as a fool can be.
You stole my heart, but I love you anyway.
The Spinners' song Maggie May is a heart-wrenching tale of a young man who is struggling in his relationship with his lover Maggie. He wakes up and tells Maggie that he has something to say to her. He reveals that it is already late September, and he should have already been back in school. Although she kept him amused, he feels like he is being used. She persuaded him to leave his home, and as a result, he lost his heart to her, and that is what really hurts. The morning sun reveals Maggie's age, but to the singer, she is everything. He laughed at all her jokes. However, Maggie turns into a lover, and it becomes too much for him to handle. All he needed was a friend, but Maggie became a lover, and she wore him down until he was nothing but a wreck. Maggie destroyed him, but he still loved her and her face remains permanently marked in his memory.
The lyrics to the song show how the singer's love for Maggie began as something light-hearted, but then quickly spiraled out of control. He fell for her completely and lost himself in her, only to realize that she was leading him astray. Maggie took the singer away from everything he knew and loved, ruined his heart, and left him helpless. He still loves her, but he's had enough. The tone of the song is one of sorrow and regret, as the singer wishes he had never met Maggie.
Line by Line Meaning
Wake up, Maggie,
Addressing Maggie and attempting to get her to listen
I think I got something to say to you.
The singer has something important to say to her
It's late September and
Setting the time of the year
I really should be back at school.
The singer should be focused on school
I know I keep you amused,
The singer knows he entertains Maggie
But I feel I'm being used.
The singer feels like Maggie is taking advantage of him
Oh, Maggie, I couldn't have tried any more.
The singer has tried his best with Maggie
You led me away from home
Maggie took the singer away from his home
Just to save you from being alone.
Maggie wanted to avoid being by herself
You stole my heart, and that's what really hurts.
Maggie broke the singer's heart
The morning sun, when it's in your face,
Describing the sunlight on Maggie's face
Really shows your age.
The sunlight reveals Maggie's age
But that don't worry me none.
The singer doesn't care about Maggie's age
In my eyes, you're everything.
Maggie is everything to the singer
I laughed at all of your jokes.
The singer found Maggie's jokes funny
My love you didn't need to coax.
The singer didn't need to be convinced to love Maggie
You led me away from home
Maggie took the singer away from his home
Just to save you from being alone.
Maggie didn't want to be alone
You stole my soul, and that's a pain I can do without.
Maggie hurt the singer deeply
All I needed was a friend
The singer only wanted a friend
To lend a guiding hand.
The singer wanted someone to help him
But you turned into a lover, and, mother, what a lover!
Maggie became the singer's lover
You wore me out.
Maggie exhausted the singer
All you did was wreck my bed,
Maggie disrupted the singer's life
And, in the morning, kick me in the head
Maggie mistreated the singer
You stole my heart. I couldn't leave you if I tried.
The singer loves Maggie too much to leave her
I suppose I could collect my books
The singer considers going back to school
And get on back to school.
The singer could go back to school
Or steal my daddy's cue
The singer could take his father's pool cue
And make a living out of playing pool.
The singer could become a pool player
Or find myself a rock 'n' roll band
The singer could join a rock band
That needs a helping hand.
The band would benefit from his help
Oh, Maggie, I wish I'd never seen your face.
The singer regrets ever meeting Maggie
You made a first-class fool out of me.
Maggie made the singer look foolish
But I'm as blind as a fool can be.
The singer is blinded by love for Maggie
You stole my heart, but I love you anyway.
The singer still loves Maggie despite the pain she has caused him
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Martin Quittenton, Roderick Stewart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shirley W
I've loved this for almost 50 years! My grandmother used to play it for me on the gramophone :) Wonderful stuff.
ian haigh
THESE SONGS BRING BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES
MANY THANKS FOR UPLOADING
Mystery Vinyl
You are most welcome. Cheers.
Dorothy Kazer
I went to many Spinners concerts when they came to Preston. Always a good sing.But I could never understand why they were always on tv so late and so little.This brings so many memories back.
Aggie May
Saw them live in London! Only group I ever went to see (is that sad) but it was brilliant! Had most of their albums. Still love them 45 years later
jas20per
As a Liverpool lad growing up not far from the Liverpool docks, we kids where not allowed to sing this traditional sailors song in the 1940s and 50s. Well it is a song about a lady of horizontal entertainment robing a working sailor though now she is rehabilitated and sanitised a song that can be sung at anytime.
Philip Astley
The lads did a tour of Mid Wales many years ago. I had the pleasure of being sound engineer for the tour. Great days so sadly missed.
Philip Astley
Good social times.
Dave Brown
Love these lads great memories
Lorraine Pearson
Brings back lovely memories. Saw them many times in concert. Thank you for sharing.