Airrion Love (from left), Jason Sharp, Barrington “Bo” Henderson and Herb Murrell make up The Stylistics, a longtime soul group who will perform on Maui on Saturday. Photo courtesy of The Stylistics
With 50-plus years of entertaining audiences, soul legends The Stylistics return to the Maui Arts & Cultural Center for a concert on Saturday. Consistent hit-makers during their peak years in the 1970s, they released an array of top-selling singles from “Betcha By Golly Wow,” “You Are Everything” and “Ebony Eyes,” to “People Make the World Go Round,” and “I’m Stone in Love with You.”
Still thrilling audiences today, The Stylistics feature founding members Airrion Love and Herb Murrell, with former Temptations’ lead vocalist Barrington “Bo” Henderson and Jason Sharp.
Formed in the late 1960s, and guided by acclaimed producer Thom Bell, The Stylistics were champions of what became known as smooth Philly soul, along with groups like the O’Jays, the Spinners, and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
“We’ve been friends since junior high school,” recalled Love about co-founding member Murrell. “We got together in 1968 and at that time the Motown sound was big. We were a five-member group, so we patterned ourselves after the Temptations. We were just singers, and it wasn’t until we started working with Tom Bell that he guided up in the direction we’re known for today.”
Released in 1971, the band’s self-titled debut album was hailed as a sweet soul masterpiece. With its combination of lead vocalist Russell Thompkins Jr.’s silky falsetto, rich harmonies and lush symphonic production, it contained a feast of memorable tracks by Bell and co-writer Linda Creed, including “You Are Everything,” “Stop Look Listen” and “Betcha By Golly Wow.”
“We were surprised,” said Love about their immediate success. “Things happened so fast for us. We had five songs released as successful singles from the first album. The record company milked it.”
While they tended to focus on romantic ballads, their masterful song “People Make the World Go Round,” on their debut album, addressed social and economic ills and environmental pollution. Stretched over six minutes, it sounds as topical as ever today.
Their follow up, “Round Two,” was equally memorable, including the classics “Break Up To Make Up,” “I’m Stone in Love With You” and a cover of “You’ll Never Get to Heaven.” Then their third album, “Rockin’ Roll Baby,” earned them their first number one crossover hit, “You Make Me Feel Brand New.”
When Bell decided to stop working with The Stylistics in 1974, the group’s fortunes diminished. It wasn’t until 1981 when they returned to their Philadelphia roots, joining celebrated hit-makers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records label, that they scored their first U.S. hit in years with the haunting “Hurry Up This Way Again.”
When lead vocalist Thompkins suddenly left the group in the midst of a concert in 2000, the other members wondered if the Stylistics could continue. “We were worried initially, but everything worked out,” said Love. Former Delfonics’ vocalist Eban Brown stepped in, and was later replaced by Henderson, who performed with the Temptations from 1998 to 2003.
Their most recent album, “That Same Way,” was hailed as a great return to form and the group’s best album in a quarter century. A Soul Tracks review proclaimed, “the Stylistics continue to be the personification of sweet soul music.”
The musicians are currently contemplating compiling a new album.
“You can basically record at home and put it out yourself,” Love noted. “There are a couple of irons in the fire, and hopefully there will be a product by next year.”
Among the artists who have covered Stylistics’ hits are Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart and Michael McDonald, while their songs have been sampled by Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez and Jay-Z.
As far as their enduring popularity, Love said: “Our fans grew up on the music and had children with our music. We’ve run into some of the kids who said our father said, ‘I was conceived to your records.’ We have a large age area. People still love to hear those love songs and the way we express these emotions musically. We give people everything that they want to hear as close as possible to the records.”
The Stylistics perform in the MACC’s Castle Theater at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25, $45, $55 and $65, with a limited number of $125 Gold Circle seats, plus applicable fees. Prices increase on the day of show. Tickets are available at mauiarts.org.
- Airrion Love (from left), Jason Sharp, Barrington “Bo” Henderson and Herb Murrell make up The Stylistics, a longtime soul group who will perform on Maui on Saturday. Photo courtesy of The Stylistics
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