The Stylistics
Airrion Love and Herbert Murrell talk to 50Connect about forty years of singing sweet soul music.
In the 1970s Philadelphia soul quartet The Stylistics had 10 top-ten hits, including You Make Me Feel Brand New and I Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love).
Forty years on from forming in 1966, their sound lives on with original band members Herbie Murrell and Airrion Love, plus Harold ‘Eban’ Brown and Van Fields, who both joined the group in 2000, the year that lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr. quit.
Airrion and Herbie were in London, about to embark on their UK tour, when I met them. I asked about their relationship with Russell, which Airrion describes as a “bad marriage”.
“You see all the signs in the beginning, and hope that it would change or get better, but it just kept getting worse.”
Even so, it was a shock when Russell walked out.
“We were performing in Saint Louis and when we came off stage Russell said to our manager, “That’s it.” We got to his dressing room and he said, “Don’t ask me nothing,” and that was it.”
The group already had contracts for shows the following week. Fortunately they were able to carry on immediately by calling up Eban Brown, formerly of the Delfonics.
“Herbie had the insight to notice our now lead singer five years prior and mention it to him, saying, ‘We don’t know what is going to happen but just be prepared.’ Herb called Eban who came to Philly and we heard him, and then went on stage with the new act. We didn’t have the same uniform but we rented a tuxedo! We never stopped. It was a decision that we had to make - either that or retire, and neither Herb nor I were ready for retirement the way that it happened.”
The situation is bitter even today, as Airrion explains openly.
“Russell tried to do a couple of solo projects and it didn’t go well. I guess when he left the group he thought that we would just end, and it hasn’t, in fact we’re going stronger now without him than we did with him. That’s because of the whole attitude.”
Continuing the bad marriage analogy, Airrion believes splitting up was best.
“You can go through all these emotions but try to put on a front to let those outside of your marriage think that everything is ok, but people could tell. There was no communication, no nothing, and it affected us and the show. I’m sorry that it happened the way that it did, but I’m glad because I think had Russell stayed we would no longer have been together.”
The Stylistics are clearly free from such tension today, as school friends Airrion and Herbie share a sofa and joke together. Herbie explains that finding Eban with his falsetto voice was key to continuing The Stylistics.
“With Eban having that sound it made the transition much easier, because you close your eyes and you think that you’re listening to Russell sing. We’ve got that here, so in terms of the sound still being there it’s stayed intact, which allowed us to move on.”
“If it was anything other than that it couldn’t have worked,” says Airrion. “He had to be right for us.”
The group are currently touring the UK.
“We still have fun,” says Airrion. “I don’t party as much as I used to in those early days, so it’s a little more serious now, but as far as being out here with the guys we just have a great time.”
“Yeah, we still enjoy touring,” agrees Herbie. “Plus we anticipate going out to do the tour especially if we’ve added something new to the show like a new song, we anticipate going on stage and presenting that to the audience and seeing what happens. It’s fun, as long as there’s still that light at the end of the tunnel.”
The current line-up have been working on a new album too, recorded their way.
“A week before we came out we got a CD mixed. Normally you have a record company that pays for sessions and recording but we went about i little differently and paid for it ourselves.”
There is also a new CD for those who love the 1970s songs - The Very Best Of The Stylistics, featuring 21 of their greatest hits.
“That’s something to look forward to,” enthuses Herbie. “Of course we’re going to get our diehard fans but I think it will bring in those who heard their parents talk about or play the songs. Now they have a chance to get their copy.”
The Stylistics’ live audience already goes beyond the first generation of fans.
“We’re really blessed because now the audience contains second and third generation fans. Some of them coming to the show say they grew up listening to our songs because their parents played it all the time, and some say now their kids are listening to us.”
The appeal of the group’s music to a younger audience is evident. British pop trio Sugababes recorded Betcha By Golly, Wow for the Radio 1 Established 1967 40th anniversary album, following artists including Johnny Mathis, Prince, The Beautiful South and Smokey Robinson who covered Stylistics songs.
“It’s always a blessing that of all the songs out there, anybody chooses to cover one of yours, and just shows how great the song itself was. It’s an honour.”
Airrion feels such covers have boosted the group’s younger fanbase.
“It keeps the name out there. Because of our tunes being covered young people may be hearing the song for the first time and playing it when someone says, ‘Well do you know who did that song originally?’ Then they go and listen to our music and like it. We’ve got people at our show who say they were conceived to it!”
The romantic mood of The Stylistics’ music has much to do with its enduring appeal.
“It’s simple really - ‘I love you.’ There are all kinds of ways of saying that, and some people prefer to hear it said nicely rather than a bunch of curses. I think most people are romantics, so if you want to share some time with someone you love, you want to hear this. There was something magic about 70s music that people can relate to, so when they want to be romantic that’s what they put on.”
Airrion then does an impression of a thrashing guitar player, saying, “They don’t want to go and do that!”
The Stylistics’ string of smooth hits in the UK and Europe came after their American success, with different songs.
“It’s a good thing that the hits started happening here as late as they did because when those records were released we had already put two albums out, and the disco era was taking over in the United States so some of the clubs that we would work at were now discos. Things were quiet Stateside but then picked up overseas in places like England and Japan and we were working a lot here.”
However, this international triumph came at a price.
“It was a double edged sword. Everything took a nose dive at home. The record company started to concentrate on music that they knew would work in England, and back in the States we were kind of losing face - articles said, ‘The Stylistics turn their back on America.’”
The producers were responsible for their new sound. The group worked with Thom Bell from 1971 to 1974, then the record company team of Hugo & Luigi took over.
“It wasn’t our doing because we were still at a young age where we were taking direction from the producers. That was just the type of music that Hugo & Luigi started to do that took us away from that Thom Bell type.”
As with many chart-topping artists, original fans felt alienated by the group’s increasing popularity.
“If you were a black artist your album automatically went into the R & B instead of the pop chart. I remember Thom finally saying to go in the pop chart because we’d have a wider base, with white people and black people buying the music, which we did when Hugo & Luigi started doing us. The black community said we turned our backs and started doing music that was more geared towards the white audience, even though we had black arrangers doing it.”
Herbie is philosophical about events.
“Even though we closed certain doors for us as far as the charts were concerned back in the States, it opened up so many other doors for our lives. We started having hits throughout the UK, Australia and the Philippines. Songs that weren’t getting airplay in the US were becoming number ones in other parts of the world, so it worked hand in hand.”
He has no regrets.
“You have to take the pros and cons. Everything that happened did so for a reason. We all would love for things in our life to be better than they were or a little different - maybe I’d change how I spent my money over the years! However looking back at how things have evolved, I have no regrets along the way.”
“Yeah, I don’t,” agrees Airrion.
There was just time to pose for a photograph before he and Herbie got on with their still busy life as The Stylistics.
Listen To The Stylistics
I Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)
You can purchase The Very Best Of The Stylistics from all good record stores or online at Amazon.
Web Links
The Stylistics official website: www.thestylistics.org
Have your say...
I love love love Herb & Airrion. Good luck to you guys and I am glad you are back stronger than ever. I am from New York and moved to the B.V.I. and miss seeing your shows.
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