Bobby Smith, Oral History
Title
Bobby Smith, Oral History
Description
Bobby Smith of the Spinners (b. April 10, 1936, Detroit, Michigan, d. March 16, 2013) principal lead singer and spokesperson for the group. Bobby and the group were in Birmingham as part of a southern tour, which also included Charlie Thomas’ Drifters. Here, he and Bob Friedman (Bobby D at the time) reminisce about the current group members and their early history in the late 1950’s as student singers at Ferndale High School near Detroit.
Creator
Bobby Smith
Bob Friedman
Publisher
Birmingham Black Radio Museum
Date
July 14, 1989
Contributor
Mark Usry
Emily Bibb
Format
MP3
JPG
PDF
Language
English
Interviewer
Bob Friedman
Interviewee
Bobby Smith
Transcription
Transcript of audio snippet:
Bob Friedman: But it was the same group, huh?
Bobby Smith: Yeah, same group that was at Tri-Phi. Went to, uh, Motown.
BF: Right. How did the group get together?
BS: Well, basically we all went to high school together.
BF: Oh, where?
BS: In Ferndale, Michigan.
BF: Oh, alright.
BS: We grew up in the same neighborhood and you know, back at that time groups of our caliber was very popular.
BF: Right
BS: And so that was really just a past time thing to do. Every street corner you found a group of guys harmonizing on the corner.
BF: Did you know other groups from Ferndale?
BS: Uh, we had two or three little groups. Yeah.
BF: I know that there was an SRC label up out of Ferndale. Uh, that produced The DeeJays. A group called The DeeJays.
BS: Uh huh
BF: Um, which was...it was the State Recording Company. But it was not the one that was...not the States label from Chicago.
BS: Mhm
BF: But there was a State Recording Company out of Ferndale, Michigan that had a group on it.
BS: Oh
BF: It's hard to find, of course.
BS: Oh, wow. I wasn’t familiar with that myself.
BF: Yeah. From about 1953-54. When did you guys start singing together in high school?
BS: Well...we was just playin' around on the corner.
BF: Mhm
BS: I guess about in the late 50s.
BF: Mhm
BS: And we...
BF: You have any specific....
BS: and Harvey Fuqua and Gwen Gordy about ’59…
BF: Right
BS: And that's when they formed Tri Phi records.
BF: Right
BS: And..."That's What Girls Are Made For" was the first record released on that label in 1961.
BF: Right. Right.
BS: So ...from there...we stay on the Tri-Phi label until '64. Tri-Phi label like, could never really get off the ground.
BF: Right
BS: After "That's What Girls Are Made For" we had some mediocre stuff.
BF: Right
BS: But after that, the company merged with Motown.
BF: Okay. Just like Harvey merged with Gwen, huh?
BS: Yeah, right. So.
BF: (laughs)
BS: That's how we got to Motown.
Bob Friedman: But it was the same group, huh?
Bobby Smith: Yeah, same group that was at Tri-Phi. Went to, uh, Motown.
BF: Right. How did the group get together?
BS: Well, basically we all went to high school together.
BF: Oh, where?
BS: In Ferndale, Michigan.
BF: Oh, alright.
BS: We grew up in the same neighborhood and you know, back at that time groups of our caliber was very popular.
BF: Right
BS: And so that was really just a past time thing to do. Every street corner you found a group of guys harmonizing on the corner.
BF: Did you know other groups from Ferndale?
BS: Uh, we had two or three little groups. Yeah.
BF: I know that there was an SRC label up out of Ferndale. Uh, that produced The DeeJays. A group called The DeeJays.
BS: Uh huh
BF: Um, which was...it was the State Recording Company. But it was not the one that was...not the States label from Chicago.
BS: Mhm
BF: But there was a State Recording Company out of Ferndale, Michigan that had a group on it.
BS: Oh
BF: It's hard to find, of course.
BS: Oh, wow. I wasn’t familiar with that myself.
BF: Yeah. From about 1953-54. When did you guys start singing together in high school?
BS: Well...we was just playin' around on the corner.
BF: Mhm
BS: I guess about in the late 50s.
BF: Mhm
BS: And we...
BF: You have any specific....
BS: and Harvey Fuqua and Gwen Gordy about ’59…
BF: Right
BS: And that's when they formed Tri Phi records.
BF: Right
BS: And..."That's What Girls Are Made For" was the first record released on that label in 1961.
BF: Right. Right.
BS: So ...from there...we stay on the Tri-Phi label until '64. Tri-Phi label like, could never really get off the ground.
BF: Right
BS: After "That's What Girls Are Made For" we had some mediocre stuff.
BF: Right
BS: But after that, the company merged with Motown.
BF: Okay. Just like Harvey merged with Gwen, huh?
BS: Yeah, right. So.
BF: (laughs)
BS: That's how we got to Motown.
Duration
Full interview: 12 minutes
Audio snippet: 2 minutes
Audio snippet: 2 minutes
Collection
Citation
Bobby Smith and Bob Friedman, “Bobby Smith, Oral History,” The Birmingham Black Radio Museum, accessed September 25, 2023, https://thebbrm.org/item/110.
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