‘This Was Our Time’: The Spinners’ Surviving Founder on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction

The Spinners were nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times before finally getting the nod on Wednesday morning. The legendary R&B group will become the 21st Detroit artist inducted into the rock hall since it was established in 1983. The Spinners will join Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, and Rage Against the Machine as the class of 2023 in the Performer category.

“This has been a lifelong dream, I never imagined back in Ferndale, when we all started in 1954, that we’d be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Henry Fambrough, the sole founding member of the Spinners, said in a statement. “I do wish my original guys were around to celebrate this with me, but I’m happy to share this with my current bandmates CJ, Jessie, Ronnie, and Marvin. We’re so grateful for this acknowledgement, I really believe that everything happens in succession, at the right time.”

In 1961, the group had their first hit with “That’s What Girls Are Made For,” and went on to spend a few years on the Motown label where they achieved only minimal success. Upon the recommendation of Aretha Franklin, the Spinners signed with Atlantic records and helped shape the Philly sound throughout the Seventies through their work with Thom Bell.

With Bell, the Spinners released five gold albums that included singles “I’ll Be Around”, “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “The Rubberband Man,” and “Then Came You” with Dionne Warwick, which topped the Billboard Hot 100.