( CNN ) -- Bobbie Smith , who as a member of the Spinners sang lead on such hits as `` I 'll Be Around '' and `` Could It Be I 'm Falling in Love , '' has died . He was 76 . Smith died Saturday of complications of pneumonia and the H1N1 flu virus , according to a statement from Nat Burgess , the Spinners ' manager . The Spinners were one of the longest-lived bands in pop music , with the core of the group having formed in the 1950s . Three members of the group -- Smith , Willy Henderson and Pervis Jackson -- met in a Detroit-area high school , and were later joined by Henry Fambrough and C.P . Spencer . It was Smith who came up with the name , he told Gary James of classicbands.com . `` All my life I loved cars , '' he said . People `` would round off the front , the hood or change the grille . They would lower 'em in the back . They called 'em bubble skirts and in the front they would have these big chrome hub caps . Cadillac hubcaps , and they called 'em spinners . So that 's how we got the name ... from a hubcap . '' The group was signed to a small local label , Tri-Phi , by R & B legend Harvey Fuqua and his soon-to-be wife , Gwen Gordy . Tri-Phi was later taken over by Motown , owned by Gordy 's brother , Berry . An early hit , `` That 's What Girls Are Made For , '' featured Smith on lead vocals . But the Spinners never found their niche at Motown , often working around the office while other male vocal groups on the label -- including the Four Tops , the Temptations and the Miracles -- went on to major success . `` When we were at Motown and we had a hit , we would n't get another record released for another year . So now you 're playing catch-up , '' Smith told James . `` When you get a hit , you got ta keep popping 'em out there , you know . And so , we felt like we got lost in the shuffle at Motown . '' Musicians knew who they were , though , thanks to the group 's showmanship . In the liner notes to `` The Chrome Collection , '' a 2003 boxed set , David Bowie credits the group with the best show he ever saw . Even a Stevie Wonder-produced 1970 hit , `` It 's a Shame , '' did n't help the group at Motown , which had by then assigned them to a minor subsidiary called VIP . The label let them go not long after . Thanks to advice from fan Aretha Franklin , the Spinners soon got another chance , with Atlantic Records . More importantly , in Thom Bell they had a producer who catered to their musical strengths . Bell was also responsible for arranging or producing a huge number of songs at the Philadelphia International label , owned by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff . `` His way of producing was top of the line , '' Henderson told CNN in 2003 . ( Henderson died in 2007 . ) `` With Bell , everything was designed for us . '' For the next several years , it was hit after hit : `` I 'll be Around , '' `` One of a Kind ( Love Affair ) , '' `` Then Came You '' ( with Dionne Warwick ) , `` The Rubberband Man , '' and `` Could It Be I 'm Falling In Love . '' Smith split the lead vocal duties with Philippe Wynne . `` We had always been promised ( by Motown ) that , 'This is your year , ' `` Henderson recalled . Atlantic `` moved us into a new circle . '' Critics agreed . `` The Spinners were the greatest soul group of the early '70s , creating a body of work that defined the lush , seductive sound of Philly soul , '' wrote Stephen Thomas Erlewine on Allmusic.com . Despite occasional changes , the band was remarkably long-lived . After Wynne left the band in 1977 ( he died in 1984 ) , various combinations of Smith , Henderson , Jackson , Fambrough and `` It 's a Shame '' vocalist G.C . Cameron toured with the Spinners into the early 2000s . Overall , the band had seven top 10 singles and five gold albums . The Spinners were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 and have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Smith was diagnosed with lung cancer last November , according to the statement . Among his final requests was `` to make people aware of his cancer , so as to once again bring to the forefront the many dangers of smoking . '' People we lost in 2013 : The lives they lived .
Bobbie Smith , sang lead on many Spinners hits , died Saturday . Smith 's vocals top `` I 'll Be Around , '' `` Could It Be I 'm Falling in Love '' Spinners have been called `` the greatest soul group of the early '70s '' Group formed in Detroit area in '50s ; many members stayed for decades .