*Henry Fambrough, the last original surviving member of the Motown group The Spinners, has passed away at 85 from natural causes.
Rolling Stone reports that the vocalist died Wednesday at his Virginia home following a month in hospice care.
Born in Detroit in 1938, Fambrough co-founded The Spinners in 1954 with Pervis Jackson, Billy Henderson, Bobby Smith, and C.P. Spencer. The group launched numerous pop chart hits after signing with Tri-Phi Records, which Berry Gordy acquired for Motown Records. They created hits such as “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “It’s a Shame,” “I’ll Be Around,” and “Then Came You,” with Dionne Warwick.
Fambrough’s final public appearance was in November alongside fellow member John Edwards as The Spinners were inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.
“He got to experience those accolades. He was able to bask in the accomplishment, and that was something he was really happy about,” the Spinners’ spokeswoman, Tanisha Jackson, told the Detroit Free-Press. “He was glad to represent the ones who had gone before him.”
The Spinners were on Motown from 1963 to 1972. EUR’s Cherie Saunders reported previously that the group was “named after the spinner chrome hubcap on group member Bobbie Smith’s Cadillac.” They “left the label in 1972 to sign with Atlantic Records, where their career was nearly cut short before it skyrocketed. The label placed the group with producer Jimmy Roach, who recorded four songs with them that went nowhere. Executives were considering dropping The Spinners to cut their losses, but Atlantic had just started working with Philadelphia producer Thom Bell, who had backed The Spinners on piano during one of their Philly gigs back in the day. Bell asked Atlantic for a shot with The Spinners, and the rest is history.”
The group continued to work extensively with Bell, and several new band members were in and out of rotation. Fambrough remained in the group until he retired in April 2023.
Fambrough is survived by his wife, Norma.
READ MORE: Why The Spinners Skyrocketed Only After Leaving Motown | EUR Video Throwback
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