The Spellbinders were a New Jersey–based soul group comprising Bobby Shivers, Elouise Pennington, Dee Grant, Jimmy Wright and McArthur Munford. Best known for their

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

with

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his c ...

, Ken Williams and David Kapralik, The Spellbinders had moderate chart success in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom, with their first single "For You" reaching No. 23 in the US

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R & B charts and No. 93 in the Pop charts. The band toured the US and Canada with acts like

Arthur Conley Arthur Lee Conley (January 4, 1946 – November 17, 2003), also known in later years as Lee Roberts, was an American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit " Sweet Soul Music". Early life Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia, U.S., an ...

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

and

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

, as well as the UK in 1965 and 1966, appearing at the legendary Northern Soul venue, the Manchester Twisted Wheel.

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

, who lived in London at the time, made the journey northwards to see them there. The group also appeared on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'', a UK pop TV program. Their recordings "Chain Reaction" and "Help Me" are very popular on the UK Northern Soul scene. The group split up in the late sixties and it was not until 2005 that Chris Lalor, a British citizen living in Belgium, contacted them to arrange a reunion. This resulted in The Spellbinders appearing at the New Jersey Soul Trip USA, organised by Kev Roberts. Their only album ''The Magic Of The Spellbinders'' is considered by many soul fans to be one of the finest soul albums of the 1960s. McArthur Munford died in September 2006 aged 63 and Dee Grant died in December 2007. Bobby Shivers owns the name Spellbinders and still performs with three backing singers in the US and the UK. The Spellbinders Help Me

Selected discography

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spellbinders American vocal groups