Inside Tracks #30: The Spinners, 1973, "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" by Joseph B. Jefferson w/covers by The MGs, The Velvelettes, Remixes
The Spinners are on a roll with this third hit from their 1973 self-titled LP, all produced, arranged, and conducted by the late Thom Bell. "One of a Kind," indeed!
The first sound you hear on the hit recording is MFSB session drummer, Earl Young, and his ground-breaking floor tom:
He put his stamp on dozens, if not hundreds, of ‘70s-era hits out of Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios, including the first handful of Spinners hits for their first album after leaving Motown and signing with Ahmet Ertegun’s Atlantic Records.
FR&B recently and thoroughly uncovered interviews and other documentation placing Earl Young at Disco’s literal Ground Zero: The Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around”:
Following the July 1972 release of “I’ll Be Around” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” four months later, “One of a Kind (Love Affair)” was released in April ‘73 as the third single from The Spinners’ self-titled 1973 album on Atlantic Records, their label debut.
All three topped the U.S. R&B chart, while the singles ended up at #3 (“I’ll Be Around”), #4 (“Could It Be”), and #11 on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart. The Spinners were on a roll that would continue the next four years. The common denominator for these hits? Producer/arranger/conductor, Thom Bell, and Philly’s Sigma Sound Studios:
Join the guys backstage, and follow them to the stage, opening their show with “One of a Kind (Love Affair)”:
She leaves without saying goodbye, leaving just a note on the wall: “I'm leaving you. Know I love you too. I can’t stay with you.” Such is the essence of the song, per Songfacts.
“According to the song’s writer, Joseph B. Jefferson, this really happened to him,” the site further asserts. A drummer, Jefferson was touring with The Manhattans in the early ‘70s. He was living with his girlfriend, and when he returned home after the tour, he found that message on the wall...she was gone.
Jefferson was working for Producer Thom Bell at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, and two days later, Bell asked him for a song. Jefferson came up with the title “One Of A Kind (Love Affair)” on the spot, and over the next few weeks, worked with Bell to finish the song, the lyric inspired by his heartbreaking turn of events.
Philippé Wynne is the lead singer on the track, with Bobbie Smith (aka Bobby Smith) getting two lines (“I never thought about today would come” and “She wrote a line or two upon the wall”) to provide some contrast. Smith is an original member; Wynne joined The Spinners in 1972 when they moved to Atlantic.
According to Thom Bell, Wynne improvised the lines at the end of the song, extending past where he originally had planned the ending.
Background vocals by Bobby Smith, Philippé Wynne, Pervis Jackson, Henry Fambrough and Billy Henderson
Additional background vocals by (frequent Thom Bell collaborator/lyricist) Linda Creed and The Sweethearts of Sigma (Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson, and Evette Benton)
Instrumentation by MFSB (Sigma Sound session players, Mother-Father-Sister-Brother)
A Tom Moulton Remix:
Mike Maurro Remix:
Motown’s The Velvelettes, from the 2006 CD compilation, Masters of Funk, Soul and Blues, as the girls represented Motown artists performing Philly hits:
The MGs (Bobby Manuel, Carson Whitsett, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr.), 1973, Stax Records (instrumental):
The Spinners’ Inside Tracks leading up to “One of a Kind (Love Affair)”:
"The kind of love that you read about in a fairy tale."
Marvelous '70s R&B at his finest.
What an amazing run of three singles, each amazing songs in their own right. On a roll indeed!!