Spyder Turner (born February 4, 1947) – I Just Can't Stop Loving You (1980)
Turner's early records are Northern Soul faves, yet this masterpiece remains virtually unknown, with a lineup that featured several Funk Brothers plus Junior Walker on sax.
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Would you believe there is an unsung soul artist whose early records became Northern Soul favorites, yet one of his greatest songs remains virtually unknown to this day? A track mixed by Norman Whitfield, with strings and horns arranged by Gene Page? One that featured a backing band with Motown legend Junior Walker and Funk Brothers Melvin “Wah Wah” Watson, Eddie “Bongo” Brown and Jack Ashford, plus members of Rose Royce and Nytro, and background vocals by Rochelle Runnells and Debra Anderson of Stargard?
If someone told you all that, you might say they were crazy! With such a bananas lineup, a street should have been named after this track. Or at least after Spyder Turner, who wrote, produced and sang it.
Born Dwight David Turner in West Virginia, and raised in Detroit, Turner began his music career after he won a singing contest at The Apollo. In 1963 he co-wrote and recorded his first single, “You’re Alone,” for the small Detroit label Cha-Tok. It was released under the name DeWight (Spider) Turner and The Sterophonics, produced by label owner Charles Stokes and came out in 1964. His voice was a powerhouse to be reckoned with, evident from this first record onwards.
His big hit came in 1967, by which time he had signed to MGM Records’ tiny soul division, which consisted of him and Howard Tate. Early that year, his cover of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” (1966) hit #3 R&B and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Shortly afterwards he released an album by the same name, arranged by Mike Theodore and Funk Brother Dennis Coffey.
Both tracks from its second single, “I Can’t Make it Anymore” b/w “Don’t Hold Back” (1967) were destined to become Northern Soul classics. Another track from the album, the sublime, upbeat “I'm Alive With A Lovin' Feeling” only appeared on 45 when it was featured on a French EP, and also as the B-side on a very rare reissue of “I Can’t Make it Anymore.” In 2019, a copy of the latter sold for $810 on eBay.
Eventually, Turner left MGM and spent the early seventies performing around the South. A few years later, he was signed by Norman Whitfield to his record label Whitfield Records, formed in 1975 after Whitfield left Motown.
Turner then wrote the classic song “Do Your Dance” for Rose Royce, which was released as the first single off their second album, In Full Bloom (1977). It hit #4 R&B and helped the album top the R&B charts.
The following year, Whitfield produced Turner’s second solo LP, Music Web (1978). It only featured one track written by Turner, with the rest of the album penned by Whitfield and other songwriters on his roster.
In 1980, for Turner’s final solo LP Only Love, the roles were reversed with Turner writing or co-writing all of the songs but one and producing everything except for one track produced by Whitfield. One of the tracks Turner wrote, arranged and produced (with strings and horns arranged by Gene Page) was the album's masterpiece, the phenomenal upbeat jam “I Just Can't Stop Loving You.”
Only Love was a much stronger, more coherent album than Music Web, and featured an amazing cast of session musicians. Motown legend Junior Walker was on saxophone, and Earnest "Pepper" Reed Jr. of Nytro played guitar. Three of the Funk Brothers were present - Jack Ashford on percussion, Eddie "Bongo" Brown on congas, and "Wah Wah" Watson (aka Melvin Ragin) also on guitar.
Victor Nix and Michael Nash of Rose Royce played keyboards. Backing vocalists included Rochelle Runnells and Debra Anderson of Stargard plus another Nytro member, Robert “Frankie” Justice. Gene Page arranged all strings and horns, and the album was mixed by Whitfield.
#soul #funk #disco #FunkBrothers #GenePage #NormanWhitfield #SpyderTurner