One of a Kind (love Affair) - Spinners (1973) 6/18/22

We're heading back to Philadelphia today for another "Great Song" by the Spinners. This time, however, there's a bit of controversy involved.

In 1973, The Spinners--backed by the group of session musicians from Sigma Studios known as MFSB (Mother/Father/Sister/Brother), released the their third hit from their self-titled album, "Spinners."

"One of a Kind (Love Affair)" had everything you could ever want in a "Great Philadelphia-Style Song:" a nice beat, a lush and solid instrumental backing track and some smooth vocal harmonies.

It also had something you didn't want if you wanted your song played on the radio: a single F-Bomb. And it wasn't accidental...it was part of the lyrics.

(The guys in the group insisted they sang the word "HUG," but that is NOT what it sounds like!)

Being pro-active, Atlantic Records took the album cut, edited out the offending package, and moved a few other things around before releasing it.

The problem was, some radio stations were already playing the album version...so both versions were "out there." Atlantic worried there'd be some sort of backlash...but luckily, nothing really developed.

In fact, "One of a Kind (Love Affair") went straight to #1 on Billboard's Soul Chart and #11 on the Hot 100...with only a few minor complaints to the stations playing the F-Bomb version. Most of them switched to the edited version, but not all.

Either way, it was STILL a "Great Song of 1973!"

I've provided links to both versions, with the main link going to the "clean" version. The NSFW version has a separate link. The F-Bomb occurs at about 2:40.

"One of a Kind (Love Affair)" (Edited version):

NSFW Version: