Blue Moon Playlist Review Club - Season 2 - Episode 27 - Out on blue 6 - Gone Too Soon (pg 438)

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

Sad news was reported in the US last night that the last surviving original member of The Spinners, vocalist Henry Fambrough, had just passed on Wednesday.

The Spinners' Henry Fambrough, who helped take Detroit group to musical heights, dies at 85

Henry Fambrough, who co-founded the Spinners in Ferndale and was the group's last surviving original, died Wednesday of natural causes.

www.freep.com

The group is also listed as the Detroit Spinners and the Motown Spinners, due to their 1960s recordings with the Motown label. These other names were used in the UK to avoid confusion with a British folk group also called the Spinners.

On June 30, 1976, they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Spinners were inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.

In honor of this Detroit band and a childhood favorite of mine with their philly soul sound that hit it big in the 70's, today's selection is:

"The Rubberband Man" - The Spinners

Thanks to bassist Ronnie Baker on this track, who also was a member of The Trammps from Philly, another favorite.

This song was included in the Detroit Free Press's "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs" list, ranking 70th. It spent three weeks at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (blocked from the top spot by Rod Stewart's hit single "Tonight's the Night") and topped the U.S. R&B chart at the end of 1976. It was also a top-20 hit in the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 16 in October 1976.

This is but one of the great memorable sounds and tunes to groove to from my childhood years from the Spinners. "[They]'ll Be Around".

 

[threespires]

Just in case no one mentions Lemmy…

Motörhead - Motörhead

A great and pretty unique sound. I remember reading an interview with Robert Trujillo where he said something along the lines that he was terrified to go anywhere near Lemmy's famous 'Murder One' amp because it just looked like it might explode at a moments notice.

 

[NotThreeSpireshonest]

I'm still not convinced he's not a rag!

How very dare you. Amongst other things, I've been called

• A feckless would be Che Guevara (university tutor)
• That little shit from Wythenshawe (first girlfriend’s Dad)
• The most cavalier individual I’ve ever encountered (lead procurement officer Birmingham City Council)
• Lacking the common sense I was born with (me mum)

But never, ever, have I been called a rag.

Were I actually extant I would be deeply deeply wounded. So I fear I must leave you and your little clique to enjoy the likes of Alarmed Gerbil and Bifty Cyrus or whatever the hell they’re all called. The only one who seems to have any sense in these parts is that nice Robert chap and he appears not to be around at the moment. Before I go, not one of you wasters has nominated anything from one of Geddy Lee's heroes John Entwistle, which for a bass playlist is an outrage. I shall correct this with:

The Real Me - The Who

There are couple of ways to have stage presence, you can jump around like a loony like most of The Who did or you can just stand there and be so shit hot at what you do that you are mesmerising anyway which was the Entwistle approach.

 

[Out on blue 6]

Archie Bronson Outfit - Butterflies

 

[Coatigan]

How very dare you. Amongst other things, I've been called

• A feckless would be Che Guevara (university tutor)
• That little shit from Wythenshawe (first girlfriend’s Dad)
• The most cavalier individual I’ve ever encountered (lead procurement officer Birmingham City Council)
• Lacking the common sense I was born with (me mum)

But never, ever, have I been called a rag.

Were I actually extant I would be deeply deeply wounded. So I fear I must leave you and your little clique to enjoy the likes of Alarmed Gerbil and Bifty Cyrus or whatever the hell they’re all called. The only one who seems to have any sense in these parts is that nice Robert chap and he appears not to be around at the moment. Before I go, not one of you wasters has nominated anything from one of Geddy Lee's heroes John Entwistle, which for a bass playlist is an outrage. I shall correct this with:

The Real Me - The Who

There are couple of ways to have stage presence, you can jump around like a loony like most of The Who did or you can just stand there and be so shit hot at what you do that you are mesmerising anyway which was the Entwistle approach.

Can't help but chuckle at this. Well played Naespires.

 

[Coatigan]

It is 4pm on a friday, and I feel this song is excellent for the last hour of work which is probably where most of us are at, before the weekend. So I'll just put it up now, and if I need to skip sunday, will do that.

Snash - Pigs.

Soapbox's wee daft bus song was well recieved last week, better than I expected in fairness. I was going to put up their Mad Jungle Beats song which has a great deep bass. But given they only have 3 songs on sporify, anyone that was intrigued probably already heard it. So instead I'm putting up the band they supported when I first saw them, Snash. Who have a lot more material out (although all as singles), and it is all very thick-bass heavy. Really could have picked their Conspiracy Theories or WOTC for the bass, but went with Pigs, cause the bass is that particular frequency you almost feel in your chest. They are an excellent current band, who I hope will make it big.

 

[threespires]

Strikes me as a bit away with the fairies but knows what he's doing on the bass. I think some of the stuff he's done on other people's albums is probably his top work but he's worked with so many people it's hard to pick so going with one of his:

Thundercat - Them Changes

 

[Coatigan]

Next somewhat dwindling batch from yesterday and today.

Mikyung Sung – Bottesini: Elegy No 1 in D Major
Why do I lie - Luscious Jackson
Little Feat ‘Dixie Chicken
Amyl and the sniffers - Hertz
Motörhead - Motörhead
Ian Hunter - All American Alien Boy
The Rubberband Man - The Spinners
The Real Me - The Who
Archie Bronson Outfit - Butterflies
SNASH - Pigs
Thundercat - Them Changes

 

[BimboBob]

Grandmaster Mellie Mel - White lines

Fabulous start to a song.

 

[threespires]

Grandmaster Mellie Mel - White lines

Fabulous start to a song.

That baseline is from Doug Wimbush of Living Color, he was a session musician at Sugar Hill at the time. His mix of funk and rock was one of the things that made Living Color pretty interesting. Doesn't get mentioned anywhere near as much as he should when talking bassists.

He was one of four on my shortlist to narrow down to my last two picks but now he's featured it'll make it 2 from 3.