Forming out of two Philadelphia groups, they wasted no time in recording the song “You’re a Big Girl Now”, which was written by their tour manager Marty Bryant with Robert Douglas. It became a hit single for the band making it to number 7 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1971. The Stylistics had arrived.
They signed to a label called Avco who approached Thom Bell to work with the group. Unimpressed at first, he saw a lot of potential in Russell Thompkins Jr’s nasal voice. Bell had creative control over the Stylistics, and would give all of the solos to Thompkins. The first collaborative single “Stop, Look, Listen” released on March 4th 1971 made it to number 25 in the UK Singles Chart. It was this era that they released a slew of hits including “Betcha by Golly, Wow” which peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. “You Make Me Feel Brand New” gave the group their biggest hit maintaining the number 2 spot for two weeks. The single was certified Gold.
Unfortunately Bell ceased working with the Stylistics in 1974, which made it very difficult for the band to cut it in the US, as Bell was the driving force behind the band. Fortunately the band stumbled across producers Hugo & Luigi who after two singles that made the Top 40 gave the band their first UK number 1 in 1975 with the song “Can’t Give You Anything”. This made them one of the first US acts to achieve two chart topping greatest hits albums across the pond in the UK.
They reunited with Thom Bell and signed to Philadelphia International Records in 1980 and released the single “Hurry Up This Way Again” which peaked at number 18 in the R&B chart.
In October 2009, the band featured on the BBC One show, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
Don’t you just love R&B? You know those harmonic progressions paired with heartfelt lyrics that just make you melt? Lets talk about R&B super group veterans, The Stylistics, who has been doing their thing now for years and years. Their music has seen five decades, and a huge string of hits along the way. In the 70’s the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, and if we’re lucky, then tonight, we’ll hear most of them! The white suit-clad R&B group, walk out on stage to a huge amount of applause, and take their spots at the microphones. They blast into an a cappella version of “Break Up to Make Up”, which is completely riding the waves of applause, bouncing off the crowd who are supplying their energy through this complex and soulful section. This group rip through all of those top ten hits this evening, with the vibe being absolutely off the hook, backed by a live band who again, are a worthy source of energy for this band. A night to remember.
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