The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs.[3] Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herb Murrell came from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records.[1] Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the song in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to No. 7 on the US BillboardR&Bchart in early 1971.[1]
Success: The Bell/Creed years
After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group.[4] The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed.[4] He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor and falsetto voice.[4] Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice.[4] On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.[4]
Their hits from this period — distilled from three albums — included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. No. 3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. No. 5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything" and the Top 20 pop chart hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. No. 14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New", the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks in 1974, was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.
The Stylistics also found a path on to adult contemporary airwaves, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several — "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" — were also Top Ten pop chart hits.[1] The group also enjoyed commercial success with hits with this material throughout Europe.
Changing style: Continuing international success
Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974,[1] and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S. They struggled to find the right material, although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well, with "Let's Put It All Together" (No. 18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (No. 4 R&B, No. 41 pop). Later singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased.[1] Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a U.K. No. 1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)".[1][6] Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity.[1][6] The Stylistics recorded "Disco Baby", "Love is the Answer" and "16 Bars" also. They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the U.K.[6]
The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976.[1] Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished; even a move to Mercury in 1978, for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo, failed to produce any major success. Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated, and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a song called "White Boys".
In 1980, the group reunited with Thom Bell and signed with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records. They released the single "Hurry Up This Way Again" that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at No. 18). Both James Dunn and James Smith departed due to conflicts over the direction of the group; Dunn left before the recording of the album Hurry Up This Way Again (1980) and Smith after the recording of Closer Than Close in 1981.[7][8][9] Nevertheless, the group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, but Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group as a trio. Love, Murrell and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Thompkins, Jr. left the group.
In 2000, singer Eban Brown (formerly of The Delfonics, The Manhattans, and Ray, Goodman and Brown) replaced Thompkins as lead singer. That same year, tenor singer Van Fields, who had previously sung with the A Cappella group "A Perfect Blend", joined, enabling The Stylistics to grow from a trio back to a quartet. The group was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam.[10]
In 2004, after having left The Stylistics in 2000, former lead singer Thompkins launched his own group called Russell Thompkins Jr, & The New Stylistics, returning with former member Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson.[11] They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBSMy Music series.[12]
In 2010, they released an album entitled, That Same Way by LAC Management.[13]
In 2011, Fields departed from the group after 11 years, due to creative differences, and was replaced by singer Jason Sharp.[14]
In January 2018, after 18 years with The Stylistics, Brown, who is also a jazz guitarist and composer, announced his departure to concentrate on his solo career. He since performed at venues in the States and overseas as a solo artist.[15] Brown was initially replaced by Michael Muse, and after a few months, he was replaced by former Temptation Barrington "Bo" Henderson.[16][17]
In 2018, The Stylistics celebrated their 50th. anniversary in the music industry. Their milestone was acknowledged at venues throughout the year during their 50th. Anniversary tour in the States and overseas.[18][19][20][21]
As of 2020, the remaining members of the original group, Love and Murrell were still performing, continuing the Stylistics' legacy with their unit, while Thompkins and his New Stylistics continue to perform as well.
