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SPYDER TURNER
Born Dwight D Turner in Beckley, West Virginnia, his family moved regularly before settling in Detroit. Here Spyder was educated and got into singing at school. He formed a group, the Nonchalants and it
was at this time that he acquired the nickname Spyder and it just stuck. The group broke up but Spyder had caught the performing bug and he stayed the course as a solo singer. His first record release was on the
Cha-Tok label and then in 1964 he cut some tracks for Fortune ( Fortune # 570 "Ride In My 225" being released a couple of years later). Another single deal followed with the 2 part "Calling Girls", released on
Master.
Then in 1966, when Spyder was featuring as lead singer with the Counts, he was spotted performing his unique interpretation on Ben E King's 1961 hit "Stand By Me" by Clay McMurray (Butch). Clay immediately
realised that Spyder's version had real sales potential, took him into the studio to cut the song and commenced trying to secure a deal on the track. With some input from Arnold Geller, a deal was landed with MGM
Records. The song, on which Spyder imitated the singing of Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, Billy Stewart, Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson and Chuck Jackson, was quickly
released as a single and by Christmas 1966 it was a nationwide chart hit. The 45 went on to reach # 3 R&B, # 12 pop and in all, stayed on the national R&B chart for a period of 15 weeks. With Arnold Geller
acting as executive producer, Spyder, Clay, Mike Theodore & Dennis Coffey went into Terra Shirma Studios and cut enough tracks to allow MGM to release an album. The album, titled after the hit single, was
released and around the same time, another company, Good Time, put out a single ("I've Got To Get Myself Together" / "When I See You Baby") on Spyder. MGM then followed up his successful 45 by
releasing "I Can't Make It Anymore" in mid 1967. Unfortunately his 2nd MGM single didn't repeat the success of his earlier 45 and a 3rd single from the label suffered a similar fate when they tried with another cover, "For Your Precious Love".
Spyder, having reaped little financial gain from the deal with Arnold Geller and MGM, later teamed up with Miki Stokes for a release on Sounds of Soul and by 1973 he was signed to Kwanza Records who put out
"Since I Don't Have You". In 1977 Rose Royce cut his song "Do Your Dance" for Whitfield Records and it quickly became a national R&B (# 4) and pop hit. This success landed him a recording deal with Norman
Whitfield's label and 3 singles ("I've Been Waiting", "Get Down" and "Only Love") plus 2 LPs ('Music Web' and 'Only Love') followed but didn't garner much commercial success. In the 1980's
he teamed up with Johnny Bristol at Polydor but after that he seemed to drift out of the recording industry. Spyder however made a comeback in the late 1990's on his own Web Brothers Productions.
It's his MGM recordings and the Goodtime single, from over 25 years ago, that have stood the test of time the best, although "I've Been Waiting" on Whitfield is also sought after. It is the continued popularity of
these cuts with British northern soul fans that has helped set up his first UK visit.
JOHN SMITH; Oxford
Nov 2002
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