RIP (Picture: Getty Images)
Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of the Spinners, has died aged 85.
Fambrough died peacefully in his northern Virginia home on Wednesday, spokesperson Tanisha Jackson said in a statement.
He was the last original member of legendary R&B group The Spinners, who were responsible for hits including It’s A Shame, Could It Be I’m Falling in Love, and The Rubberband Man.
The group – comprised of Fambrough, Billy Henderson, Pervis Jackson, Bobby Smith, Philippé Wynne and John Edwards – was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November.
Formed in 1954 under the name The Domingoes, the band went on to earn 16 Grammy Award nominations and made 18 platinum and gold albums.
It was It’s A Shame, a song co-written for the Detroit band by Stevie Wonder, which rocketed them to fame in 1970 under Motown Records.
Fambrough was the last remaining original member of The Spinners (Picture: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
The Spinners made it big in 1970 with their hit It’s A Shame (Picture:RB/Redferns)
The Spinners were snapped up by Atlantic Records when their good friend Aretha Franklin, who was signed to the label, helped them get a deal in 1972.
Last May, Fambrough reflected on his younger years while taking a tour of Motown’s Studio A in Detroit. It was part of a ceremony in which the group donated 375 of their performance outfits to the Motown Museum.
‘I used to dream about this place,’ he told reporters, as he said it was a ‘long time ago’ he first stepped through the doors in the 1960s.
He also revealed how he had to convince his wife of 52 years, Norma, it was the studio he was heading for at 3am, for rehearsals and recording sessions when the group were in their prime.
Fambrough is survived by Norma and their daughter Heather Williams.
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