It’s Valentine’s Day, so today’s classic song of the day is all about falling in love. The song is “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” by the Spinners, released on the Atlantic label in November of 1972. Early the next year, the single peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Cash Box Top100, and #1 on Billboard’s Best Selling Soul Singles chart. It also hit #14 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart and was a #11 hit in the UK.
“Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” is a perfect example of early ’70s smooth Philly Soul. The song was written by twin brothers Melvin and Mervin Steals, under the pseudonym of “Mystro and Lyric.” The track was produced by Thom Bell, the man behind too many Philly Soul classics to count, and recorded at Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios.
Instrumental backing was by MFSB, Sigma’s house band, with Norman Harris on guitar, Thom Bell on keyboards, Vince Montana on vibes, Ronnie Baker on bass, Larry Washington on congas, and Earl Young on drums. Spinner Bobby Smith sang lead for most of the tune, with Philippé Wynne taking over during the out chorus, doing the vocal improvisation for which he’s most famous.
Like most Philly Soul classics, “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” was lushly orchestrated; it’s this type of string background that set Philly Soul apart from the Motown or Memphis classics from the ’60s. In this instance, Thom Bell did the arrangement, which was orchestrated for eight violins, two violas, a cello, two trumpets, three trombones, and a French horn.
Musically, Philly Soul also tended to be a bit more sophisticated than the Motown sound of a few years prior, with the use of more extended chords and more frequent chord changes. In the case of “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” the chords in the chorus change every other beat, so you get two chords per measure; this helps to create a less static, more facile melody. Those chords are arranged in a neat downward progression, going IV – vim7 – iim7 – I/iii —in the key of G, that’s C – Em7 – Am7 – G/B. Neat.
Lyrically, “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” is all about the joy of falling in love with that special someone:
I don’t need all those things that used to bring me joy
You’ve made me such a happy boy
And honey, you’ll always be
The only one for me
Meeting you was my destinyYou can be sure I will never let you down
When you need me I’ll be around
And darling you’ll always be
The only one for me
Heaven made you specially
All in all, the perfect song for Valentine’s Day. And, as a special Valentine’s Day gift, here are the Spinners singing “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” live on The Midnight Special television show. Great stuff.
