One of a Kind (Love Affair)
| "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Spinners | ||||
| from the album Spinners | ||||
| B-side | "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You" | |||
| Released | April 1973 | |||
| Format | 7 inch single | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length |
3:17 (censored version) 3:31 (uncensored version) | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Writer(s) | Joseph B. Jefferson | |||
| Producer(s) | Thom Bell | |||
| The Spinners singles chronology | ||||
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"One of a Kind (Love Affair)" is a song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). The song was written by Joseph B. Jefferson and produced by Thom Bell. Recorded at Philly's Sigma Sound Studios, the house band MFSB provided the backing. Philippé Wynne handles lead vocals, although Bobby Smith provides two lines during the bridge which follows the first verse.("I never thought about today would come"/"She wrote a line or two upon the wall.") Released as the third single from their 1972 self-titled album on Atlantic Records, "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" would become the group's third consecutive number one on the U.S. R&B Singles Chart, spending four weeks at the top spot. It also reached the number eleven position on Billboard Pop Singles chart[1] and was certified gold by the RIAA.
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Philippé Wynne and Bobby Smith
- Background vocals by Bobby Smith, Philippé Wynne, Pervis Jackson, Henry Fambrough and Billy Henderson
- Additional background vocals by Linda Creed, and the Sigma Sweethearts, Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson and Yvette Benton
- Instrumentation by MFSB
Controversy
When the single was first released, there was some confusion as to whether the song contained a curse word in the section that immediately followed the instrumental break of the song. Supposedly, some heard the lyric Philippé Wynne sang like this:
One of a kind love affair
Makes you want to love her
You just got to f*** her, yeah
However, there were others who heard the allegedly offensive line as "You just got to hug her, yeah". Regardless, Atlantic quickly responded to the complaints by reissuing the song with the three lines edited out and the "One of a kind love affair makes a lame man walk, makes a blind man talk about seeing again" lyric was moved up to right after the instrumental break. To add to the confusion, there are some lyrics web sites that have the line as "You just have to hurt her, yeah".[2] Over the years both the "censored" and the "uncensored" versions of the song have been used for the numerous CD appearances that "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" has made.
Chart history
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles | 1 |
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 545.
- ↑ The Spinners One of a Kind lyric on Yahoo! Music
External links
| Preceded by "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" by Barry White |
Billboard's Best Selling Soul number one single June 9, 1973 - June 30, 1973 |
Succeeded by "Doing It to Death" by Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s |
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