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Today, I continue the third anniversary celebration of my "Great Songs of the '70s" blog by revisiting some of my earliest posts.
Today, I'm updating my post from 11/3/19.
In 1968, two groups from Philadelphia merged into what turned out to be a ballad powerhouse of the '70s. The Percussions and the Monarchs became The Stylistics...and starting in 1971, they rattled off 12 Top 10 songs in a row on Billboard Magazine's Soul Chart. Many were also Top 20 hits on the Hot 100.
All 12 of those songs were ballads...and all featured the incredible falsetto voice of Russell Tompkins, Jr.
One of the BEST of the 12 is today's "Great Song of 1972."
"I'm Stone in Love with You" was--and still is--a prime example of the smooth and lush "Philadelphia Sound."
In addition to reaching #4 on on the Soul Chart and #10 on the Hot 100. The song was also an international hit: #8 in Canada, #9 in the UK and France, and #10 in New Zealand.
Trivia: Songwriters Thom and Tony Bell and Linda Creed used the word "Stone" on purpose. In the slang of the day, the word "Stoned" was usually a drug reference.
"Stone" (without the "D) however, meant "utterly devoted." That explains its usage in the song quite nicely.
In 1975, Johnny Mathis released a cover that reached #4 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in Canada and #16 in the US on Billboard's matching chart.
"I'm Stone in Love with You:" a "Great Song of 1972" by the Stylistics, and a solid hit in 1975 by Johnny Mathis.
Stylistics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j7qRCqvltU
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