Philippé Wynne

Detroit vocalist Philippe Wynne launched his career in gospel before rising to superstardom as the Spinners’ frontman in the early 1970s. His smooth yet emotionally charged and deeply soulful delivery helped keep the group among the era’s most dynamic and reliably popular acts. Before that breakthrough, Wynne had performed with Bootsy Collins’ Pacesetters in 1968 and later with James Brown’s JB’s. He remained the Spinners’ lead singer until 1977, when he accepted a solo contract from Cotillion. While he fronted the group, they tallied six R&B chart-toppers, six additional R&B Top Ten entries, and four pop Top Ten singles—including one that reached number one. His first solo album, Starting All Over, made little commercial impact, prompting him to align with George Clinton’s collective. There he contributed to Funkadelic’s “(Not Just) Knee Deep” single and cut sides for Uncle Jam, Sugar Hill, Fantasy, and Cotillion. Bunny Sigler wrote and produced his 1983 Sugar Hill release “You Ain’t Going Anywhere but Gone.” Wynne suffered a fatal collapse onstage in Oakland the following year.