(CNN) -- Bobbie Smith, who as a member of the Spinners sang lead on such hits as "I'll Be Around" and "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," has died. He was 76.
Smith died Saturday of complications of pneumonia and the H1N1 flu virus, according to a statement from Nat Burgess, the Spinners' manager.
The Spinners were one of the longest-lived bands in pop music, with the core of the group having formed in the 1950s. Three members of the group -- Smith, Willy Henderson and Pervis Jackson -- met in a Detroit-area high school, and were later joined by Henry Fambrough and C.P. Spencer.
It was Smith who came up with the name, he told Gary James of classicbands.com.
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"All my life I loved cars," he said. People "would round off the front, the hood or change the grille. They would lower 'em in the back. They called 'em bubble skirts and in the front they would have these big chrome hub caps. Cadillac hubcaps, and they called 'em spinners. So that's how we got the name ... from a hubcap."
The group was signed to a small local label, Tri-Phi, by R&B legend Harvey Fuqua and his soon-to-be wife, Gwen Gordy. Tri-Phi was later taken over by Motown, owned by Gordy's brother, Berry.
An early hit, "That's What Girls Are Made For," featured Smith on lead vocals.
But the Spinners never found their niche at Motown, often working around the office while other male vocal groups on the label -- including the Four Tops, the Temptations and the Miracles -- went on to major success.
"When we were at Motown and we had a hit, we wouldn't get another record released for another year. So now you're playing catch-up," Smith told James. "When you get a hit, you gotta keep popping 'em out there, you know. And so, we felt like we got lost in the shuffle at Motown."
Musicians knew who they were, though, thanks to the group's showmanship. In the liner notes to "The Chrome Collection," a 2003 boxed set, David Bowie credits the group with the best show he ever saw.
Even a Stevie Wonder-produced 1970 hit, "It's a Shame," didn't help the group at Motown, which had by then assigned them to a minor subsidiary called VIP. The label let them go not long after.
Thanks to advice from fan Aretha Franklin, the Spinners soon got another chance, with Atlantic Records. More importantly, in Thom Bell they had a producer who catered to their musical strengths. Bell was also responsible for arranging or producing a huge number of songs at the Philadelphia International label, owned by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
"His way of producing was top of the line," Henderson told CNN in 2003. (Henderson died in 2007.) "With Bell, everything was designed for us."
For the next several years, it was hit after hit: "I'll be Around," "One of a Kind (Love Affair)," "Then Came You" (with Dionne Warwick), "The Rubberband Man," and "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love." Smith split the lead vocal duties with Philippe Wynne.
"We had always been promised (by Motown) that, 'This is your year,' " Henderson recalled. Atlantic "moved us into a new circle."
Critics agreed.
"The Spinners were the greatest soul group of the early '70s, creating a body of work that defined the lush, seductive sound of Philly soul," wrote Stephen Thomas Erlewine on Allmusic.com.
Despite occasional changes, the band was remarkably long-lived. After Wynne left the band in 1977 (he died in 1984), various combinations of Smith, Henderson, Jackson, Fambrough and "It's a Shame" vocalist G.C. Cameron toured with the Spinners into the early 2000s.
Overall, the band had seven top 10 singles and five gold albums. The Spinners were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 and have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Smith was diagnosed with lung cancer last November, according to the statement. Among his final requests was "to make people aware of his cancer, so as to once again bring to the forefront the many dangers of smoking."
People we lost in 2013: The lives they lived
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Jeanne Cooper, who played Katherine Chancellor, the "Dame of Genoa City," on "The Young and the Restless," died on May 8. She was 84.
Ray Harryhausen, the stop-motion animation and special-effects master whose work influenced such directors as Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and George Lucas, died on May 7 at age 92, according to the Facebook page of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation.
Grammy-winning guitarist Jeff Hanneman, a founding member of the heavy metal band Slayer, died on May 2 of liver failure. He was 49.
Chris Kelly, one-half of the 1990s rap duo Kris Kross, died on May 1 at an Atlanta hospital after being found unresponsive at his home, the Fulton County medical examiner's office told CNN.
Kelly, right, and Chris Smith shot to stardom in 1992 with the hit "Jump."
George Jones, the country music legend whose graceful, evocative voice gave depth to some of the greatest songs in country music -- including "She Thinks I Still Care," "The Grand Tour" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today" -- died on April 26 at age 81, according to his public relations firm.
Actor Allan Arbus poses for a portrait with his daughter photographer Amy Arbus in 2007. Allan Arbus, who played psychiatrist Maj. Sidney Freedman in the M*A*S*H television series, died at age 95, his daughter's representative said April 23.
Folk singer Richie Havens, the opening act at the 1969 Woodstock music festival, died on April 22 of a heart attack, his publicist said. He was 72.
Australian rocker Chrissy Amphlett, the Divinyls lead singer whose group scored an international hit with the sexually charged "I Touch Myself" in the early 1990s, died on April 21 from breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, her husband said. She was 53.
Pat Summerall, the NFL football player turned legendary play-by-play announcer, was best known as a broadcaster who teamed up with former NFL coach John Madden. Summerall died April 16 at the age of 82.
Comedian Jonathan Winters died on April 11 at age 87. Known for his comic irreverence, he had a major influence on a generation of comedians. Here he appears on "The Jonathan Winters Show" in 1956.
Sir Robert Edwards, a "co-pioneer" of the in vitro fertilization technique and Nobel Prize winner, died April 10 in his sleep after a long illness, the University of Cambridge said. He was 87. He is pictured on July 25, 1978, holding the world's first "test-tube baby," Louise Joy Brown, alongside the midwife and Dr. Patrick Steptoe, who helped develop the fertility treatment.
Annette Funicello, one of the best-known members of the original 1950s "Mickey Mouse Club" and a star of 1960s "beach party" movies, died at age 70 on April 8. Pictured, Funicello performs with Jimmie Dodd on "The Mickey Mouse Club" in1957.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a towering figure in postwar British and world politics and the only woman to become British prime minister, died at the age of 87 on Monday, April 8.
Designer Lilly Pulitzer, right, died on April 7 at age 81, according to her company's Facebook page. The Palm Beach socialite was known for making sleeveless dresses from bright floral prints that became known as the "Lilly" design.
Film critic Roger Ebert died on April 4, according to his employer, the Chicago Sun-Times. He was 70. Ebert had taken a leave of absence on April 2 after a hip fracture was revealed to be cancer.
Jane Nebel Henson, wife of the late Muppets creator Jim Henson and instrumental in the development of the world-famous puppets, died April 2 after a long battle with cancer. She was 78.
Shain Gandee, one of the stars of the MTV reality show "Buckwild," was found dead with two other people in Kanawha County, West Virginia, on April 1. He was 21.
Music producer and innovator Phil Ramone, right, with Paul Shaffer, left, and Billy Joel at the Song Writers Hall of Fame Awards in New York in 2001. Ramone died March 30 at the age of 72.
Writer/producer Don Payne, one of the creative minds behind "The Simpsons," died March 26 at his home in Los Angeles after losing a battle with bone cancer, reports say. He was 48.
Gordon Stoker, left, who as part of the vocal group the Jordanaires sang backup on hits by Elvis Presley, died March 27 at 88.
Deke Richards, center, died March 24 at age 68. Richards was a producer and songwriter who was part of the team responsible for Motown hits such as "I Want You Back" and "Maybe Tomorrow." He had been battling esophageal cancer.
Legendary publisher, promoter and weightlifter Joe Weider, who created the Mr. Olympia contest and brought California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the United States, died at age 93 on March 23.
Playboy magazine's 1962 "Playmate of the Year," Christa Speck Krofft, died March 22 of natural causes at the age of 70.
Rena Golden, who held top positions at CNN, died at age 51 after battling lymphoma for two years on March 21.
Harry Reems, the porn star best known for playing Dr. Young in the 1972 adult film classic "Deep Throat," died March 19, according to a spokeswoman at a Salt Lake City hospital. Reems, whose real name is Herbert Streicher, was 65.
Bobbie Smith, who as a member of the Spinners sang lead on such hits as "I'll Be Around" and "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," died on March 16 at age 76. Pictured clockwise from left, Spinners band member Pervis Jackson, Billy Henderson, Jonathan Edwards, Bobbie Smith and Henry Fambrough, 1977.
Sweden's Princess Lilian, the Welsh-born model who lived with her lover Prince Bertil for 30 years before they were married, has died at the age of 97, the Swedish Royal Court said in a statement.
Alvin Lee, the speed-fingered British guitarist who lit up Woodstock with a monumental 11-minute version of his song "I'm Going Home," died on March 6, according to his website. He was 68.
Hugo Chavez, the polarizing president of Venezuela who cast himself as a "21st century socialist" and foe of the United States, died March 5, said Vice President Nicolas Maduro.
Bobby Rogers, one of the original members of Motown staple The Miracles, died on Sunday, March 3, at 73. From left: Bobby Rogers, Ronald White, Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore circa 1965.
Actress Bonnie Franklin, star of the TV show "One Day at a Time," died at the age of 69 on March 1 of complications from pancreatic cancer.
Actor Dale Robertson, who was popular for his western TV shows and movies, died at age 89 on Thursday, February 28.
Richard Street, former member of the Temptations, died at age 70 on February 27. Street, second from the left, poses for a portrait with fellow members of the Temptations circa 1973.
Van Cliburn, the legendary pianist honored with a New York ticker-tape parade for winning a major Moscow competition in 1958, died on February 27 after a battle with bone cancer, his publicist said. He was 78.
Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop died on February 25. He was 96. Koop served as surgeon general from 1982 to 1989, under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Damon Harris, former member of the Motown group the Temptations, died at age 62 on February 18. Harris, center on the stool, poses for a portrait with fellow members of The Temptations circa 1974.
Lou Myers, a stage, film and TV actor who memorably portrayed Mr. Gaines on the comedy "A Different World," died on February 19 at the age of 75.
Los Angeles Laker owner Jerry Buss died February 18 at age 80. Buss, who had owned the Lakers since 1979, was credited with procuring the likes of Earvin "Magic" Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Lakers won 10 NBA championships and 16 Western Conference titles under Buss' ownership.
Country singer Mindy McCready was found dead on February 17 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. She was 37. During her career, McCready landed 14 songs and six albums on the Billboard country charts.
Ed Koch, the brash former New York mayor, died February 1 of congestive heart failure at 88, his spokesman said.
Patty Andrews, center, the last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters, died at her Northridge, California, home on January 30, her publicist Alan Eichler said. She was 94. Patty is seen in this 1948 photograph with her sisters Maxene, left, and Laverne.
Baseball Hall of Famer and St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial died on January 19, according to his former team. He was 92.
Baseball Hall of Fame manager Earl Sidney Weaver, who led the Baltimore Orioles to four pennants and a World Series title with a pugnacity toward umpires, died January 19 of an apparent heart attack at age 82, Major League Baseball said.
Pauline Phillips, better known to millions of newspaper readers as the original Dear Abby advice columnist, has died after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. She died January 16 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at age 94.
Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who co-wrote the initial specification for RSS, committed suicide, a relative told CNN on January 12. He was 26. Swartz also co-founded Demand Progress, a political action group that campaigns against Internet censorship.
Claude Nobs, the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, died aged 76 following a skiing accident.
Richard Ben Cramer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer whose 1992 book "What It Takes" remains one of the most detailed and passionate of all presidential campaign chronicles, died January 7, according to his longtime agent. He was 62.
Director and stuntman David R. Ellis died on January 7. He directed "Snakes on a Plane."
Tony Lip, who played mob figures in the hit cable show "The Sopranos" and several critically acclaimed movies, died January 4, a funeral home official said. Lip, whose real name was Frank Vallelonga, was 82.
Character actor Ned Wertimer, known to fans of "The Jeffersons" as the doorman Ralph Hart, died on January 2. He was 89.
Pop-country singer Patti Page died on January 1 in Encinitas, California. She was 85. Born Clara Ann Fowler, Page was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s and had 19 gold and 14 platinum singles.
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