My father and grandmother lived in the Gardens for a time in the 50s. I get a kick out of thinking that the young Spinners might been neighbors with members of my family. Nevertheless, their very earliest sides were recorded for Harvey Fuqua's Tri-Phi label and former Moonglow Harvey may have even sang on a couple of their records. Harvey later became a producer and executive at Motown and brought the Spinners with him. They were plunked on the Motown VIP imprint, a home for second tier Motown acts. While at Motown, they recorded this Stevie Wonder composition which hit number 14 on the Billboard Pop Charts but hit number 4 on the RnB charts (then known as the Soul charts). Like the Temptations "Get Ready" which did not chart highly but became a classic, "It's A Shame" is much more fondly remembered as an oldie then it was during it's chart run. The lead singer of the group at that time was GC Cameron, and he sings both the tenor lead and falsetto lead on this exciting production. It is, in my opinion, one of the great Motown sides from 1970.
The Spinners, after cutting a couple of more sides, were dropped by the label. GC Cameron stayed with Motown as a solo artist without having any real success. The Spinners cuts some demos at Pac 3 studios (Greenfield and Warren-also my old neighborhood) and on the strength of those, got signed to Atlantic, hooked up with producer Thom Bell and had many, many hits, mainly with the ill-fated Phillipe Wynne as lead singer. They became one of the biggest acts of the 70's with a more dance-oriented, silkier sound. Old timers in the Ferndale area still proudly consider the Spinners their own, neighborhood boys who made good. Made great, in fact!
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