Today’s classic song of the day is that Philly Soul classic, “I’m Stone in Love with You” by the Stylistics. The song was written by Thom Bell, Linda Creed, and Anthony Bell, and produced by Thom Bell.
Thom Bell was one of the chief architects of the Philadelphia sound. He wrote, arranged, and produced hits for the Delfonics (“La-La (Means I Love You),” “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)“), the Spinners (“I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “One of a Kind (Love Affair),” “Then Came You,” “Games People Play,” “The Rubberband Man”), New York City (“I’m Doing Fine Now”), Deniece Williams (“It’s Gonna Take a Miracle”), Dusty Springfield (“Brand New Me”), and Elton John (“Mama Can’t Buy You Love”). He was the man.
“I’m Stone in Love with You” was one of several singles that Thom Bell wrote and produced for the Stylistics. It was released in October of 1972 on the Avco label. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 but got all the way to #4 on Billboard’s R&B chart. It also hit #9 on the Cash Box Top 100.
Like most Philly Soul tracks, “I’m Stone in Love with You” features a sweet, heavily orchestrated sound. It’s not as raw as ’60s Memphis soul or even Motown’s H-D-H classics. Philly Soul has more in common with late ’60s/early ’70s Chicago soul, but featuring more doo wop influenced vocals. You definitely hear it in this track with the doo wop-like falsetto vocals; in addition, the rhythm section is less driving and the song just kind of floats on a cloud of orchestral strings, with a nice little glockenspiel line added to the mix. It was the perfect sound for the times, an evolution from the ’60s R&B classics.
The Stylistics were five guys who got together back in 1968: Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. Mr. Thompkins’ falsetto lead vocals helped to distinguish the group’s sound, and they benefitted from producer Thom Bell’s tutelage and songwriting. Their other hits included “You Are Everything” (#9 in 1971), “Betcha By Golly Wow” (#3, 1972), “Break Up to Make Up” (#5, 1973), and “You Make Me Feel Brand New” (#2, 1974).
And here’s your daily bonus video of the day, the Stylistics performing “I’m Stone in Love with You” live on the June 1, 1973, episode of The Midnight Special. Love those canary yellow outfits—even if the performance suffers from the lack of strings.
