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Stylistics


tpj1965

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The Stylistics was one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and comprised lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love (second lead on "You Make Me Feel Brand New"), James Smith, and James Dunn.

They had their first U.S. hit in 1971 with "You're a Big Girl Now".

Signing to Avco Records, The Stylistics began working with producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, and songwriter Linda Creed. Bell imported the sweet soul techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics, and his arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto. The bittersweet lyrics from Creed were a key factor in creating hugely memorable music.

Their hits — distilled from three albums — from this period included "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up To Make Up", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring a double lead with Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" and "You Are Everything". "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at #2 for two weeks in the spring of 1974, and was one of five U.S. gold singles the Stylistics collected. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path onto adult contemporary airwaves than other soul artists, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly Wow!," "You Make Me Feel Brand New," and "You'll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10.

The group split with Thom Bell in 1974, and the split proved devastating commercially to the group's success in the U.S. Just as with The Delfonics, The Stylistics were to some extent a vehicle for Bell's own creativity. They struggled hard to find producers who could come up with the right material, and partnerships with Hugo & Luigi and Van McCoy were notably less successful.

Rockin' Roll Baby

Stylistics - Betcha By Golly Wow

THE STYLISTICS .You Make Me Feel Brand

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All this soul music used to play on the radio in my neck of the woods - they probably wouldn't get airtime today. Gotta love those 70s suits :)

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Love it!! Used to do some of my best shit-talking to these songs at the high school dances!!

:kiss3:

You mean dancing/grinding on the dance floor :lol:

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