When it comes to soul balladry at its most lush and melodic, the sounds that came out of Philadelphia in the early 1970s are where you want to turn first. And if you’re looking for a single group that epitomized that sound, look no further than The Stylistics.
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The Philly group hooked up with a top-notch cadre of producers and writers and delivered some of the most heartfelt and affecting slow songs of the era. Here are five that still can make you swoon after these years.
“You Are Everything” from The Stylistics (1971)
The other four songs on this list are all superb, but it’s fair to argue The Stylistics’ first big hit might have been their greatest achievement. It certainly established the formula. Written by Linda Creed and Thom Bell, those masters of the quiet-storm sound, and produced by Bell, “You Are Everything” slows everything down to a stroll and puts some supple harmonies and lush strings on the periphery. Then it gets out of the way so that masterful lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr. can unleash his falsetto and carry all the listeners away.
“Betcha by Golly, Wow” from The Stylistics (1971)
Even though the song sounds tailor-made for The Stylistics, this hit ballad was actually first given to Connie Stevens, an actress and occasional recording artist. Another track written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, “Betcha by Golly, Wow” is a good example of how a unique title can make an attention-grabbing difference. There is such an ease to this recording, as if no one involved was under any pressure at all while making it. They’re all playing and, in Thompkins’ case, singing, as if doing something as natural as drawing a breath.
“I’m Stone in Love With You” from Round 2 (1972)
It’s at this point we should note one of the unique biographical traits of The Stylistics. Although they had a relatively set lineup in their early years, it was later revealed the other members of the group besides Russell Thompkins Jr. rarely performed on the records, instead letting studio pros take even the backing vocal slots. (The others would perform when the group played live). Probably a marketing thing, but you wonder if Thompkins would be more of a household name had he been allowed to release classic love songs like “I’m Stone in Love With You” under his own name.
“Break Up to Make Up” from Round 2 (1972)
Very few artists or bands of any stripe could boast the run of success The Stylistics achieved with their first two albums. “Break Up to Make Up,” yet another Thom Bell/Linda Creed creation (with help in this case from Kenneth Gamble, another legend of Philly Soul), gave them four Top-10 singles out of five tries. (“People Make the World Go Round,” the only one that didn’t get that high, hit No. 25, not too shabby.) On this track, Thompkins captures all the agony of a love affair that can’t seem to sustain any momentum, what with all the turmoil it endures.
“You Make Me Feel Brand New” from Let’s Put it All Together (1974)
On their 1974 album Let’s Put it All Together, The Stylistics moved away from working with Thom Bell and Linda Creed. But “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” a holdover from that halcyon era, was included on the record and gave them their last big single. They had recorded it as an album track on their previous LP, and then shortened it to make it more palatable for radio. It’s notable in that one of the other members of the band gets a little time on the mic, as Airrion Love trades vocals with Thompkins in the verses.
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
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