Philippé Wynne

Infobox musical artist
Name = Philippé Wynne
Landscape =
Background = lead_singer
Birth_name = Phillip Walker
Alias =
Born = birth date|1941|4|3
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died = death date and age|1984|7|13|1941|4|3 Oakland, California
Raised = Ohio, Cincinnati, United States
Instrument = Vocals
Genre = R&B, soul, funk, Motown
Occupation = Singer
Years_active = 1961–1984 (death)
Label = Atlantic

Philippé Wynne (April 3, 1941 – July 13, 1984), born Phillip Walker, was an American R&B vocalist. Best known for his role as lead singer in the popular R&B group The Spinners, Wynne scored notable hits such as "One Of A Kind (Love Affair)", "I'll Be Around", "Mighty Love", "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", and "Then Came You" (with Dionne Warwick). After leaving The Spinners, Wynne never regained the same success, although his voice was featured in hits such as "(Not Just) Knee Deep". Wynne died of a heart attack while performing at a night club on July 13, 1984.

Biography

Born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Wynne began his singing career as a gospel singer. He soon switched to the newly emerging R&B style and attained some measure of success, singing with Bootsy Collins's Pacesetters in 1968 with James Brown's J.B.'s shortly thereafter. Then Wynne spent time in Germany as the lead singer of the Afro Kings, a band from Liberia, before he replaced his cousin, G. C. Cameron, in The Spinners. However, he gained stardom in his own right in the early 1970s when he became the lead vocalist for The Spinners. He sang with the group until 1977, leading them to a number of top-selling albums and singles.

Wynne then launched a solo career, but it was not nearly as successful. His fortunes turned upwards again as he joined George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic around 1979. He performed with them on several recordings, and was a featured vocalist on the Funkadelic single "(Not Just) Knee Deep", as well as continuing his solo career which produced the album "Wynne Jammin'" in 1980, though he never regained the super stardom he had enjoyed with the Spinners.

On July 13, 1984, while performing at Ivey's nightclub in Oakland, California, Wynne suffered a fatal heart attack. Wynne died the morning after.

References

Romanski, Patricia and Holly George-Warren (Editors). "The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll". New York, NY: Fireside, 2005.