PERVIS JACKSONPervis Jackson, who died on 18 August, 2008, aged 70, was a member of the 1970s soul sensations The Spinners, known for his deep bass vocal parts.The Spinners, known in the UK as The Motown Spinners to distinguish them from a British folk group, had been active since the mid-fifties and Mr Jackson was one of three founding members.But despite being signed to Motown in 1963, their hits were sporadic during the 1960s. It was only in the following decade after moving to Motown's rivals Atlantic that they began to see consistent success with six R&B number ones and numerous other hits, plus a Billboard number one duet with Dionne Warwick.Pervis Jackson was born on 16 or 17 May, 1938, in Los Angeles and attended Ferndale High School in Michigan along with Billy Henderson and Henry Fambrough. Together they formed their first vocal group, The Domingoes, a portmanteau of contemporary idols The Flamingos and The Dominoes.They recruited Bobbie Smith as their lead singer and in 1961 renamed themselves The Spinners after a type of hubcap that was fashionable at the time. They first signed with Tri-Phi Records (founded by Harvey Fuqua) and charted with the doo-wop ballad That's What Girls Are Made For, but it would be 1965 before they reached either the R&B chart or the Billboard top 40 again.By then Tri-Phi had been acquired by Motown but their smooth, mid-tempo style didn't really fit in with the 'Motown Sound' and they suffered from a lack of promotion compared to The Temptations, Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Motown's other leading male groups.Yet as the soul genre diversified and evolved around the turn of the decade, the perseverance of The Spinners paid off. They returned to the charts in 1970 with a Stevie Wonder number, It's a Shame, but it was their move to Atlantic in 1972 that finally brought them deserved success.There they teamed up with Thom Bell, a songwriter who would be instrumental in what came to be known as Philadelphia soul. They immediately topped the R&B charts with I'll Be Around, a funky but tender love song, and further Bell songs like Could It Be I'm Falling in Love (1972), One of a Kind (Love Affair) (1973) and Mighty Love (1974) reaped similar rewards, while Then Came You (1974), their collaboration with Dionne Warwick, was a mainstream international smash and received a Grammy nomination.Their 1975 hit They Just Can't Stop It (Games People Play) featured a well-balanced three-part vocal with Bobby Smith singing the verses, session singer Barbara Ingram taking the honey-like chorus and Pervis Jackson putting his unmistakable bass voice on the middle eight.A rumbling vocal was in vogue in the wake of Barry White's sexy hits of the early '70s and similar interjections from Mr Jackson featured on later Spinners' hits suchas their successful cover of the Four Seasons' Working My Way Back to You (1980).The Spinners funk-soul style, plus their spangled outfits and energetic stage routines, ensured they continued to thrive during the disco revolution of the late '70s and they last featured on the R&B charts in 1984, after which they continued to tour as a popular nostalgia act.Pervis Jackson last performed with The Spinners a month before his death and was hoping to return to the stage, but his health declined quickly after being diagnosed with brain and liver cancer. He was survived by his wife of 40 years Claudreen Jackson and their four children.
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