Pervis Jackson was the distinctive bass voice in the American soul vocal group the Spinners, known in the UK as the Detroit Spinners to avoid confusion with a British folk ensemble of the same name. Working with the producer Thom Bell, the Spinners came to define the lush and seductive style known as Philly soul on a string of hits in the 1970s.

Although the lead on most of their best-known songs was taken by the falsetto of Philippé Wynne, Jackson’s deep voice was the glue that held their vocal harmonies together, and he was a mainstay of the line-up for half a century. He was still performing with other surviving members of the original group until shortly before his death.

Born in 1938 in New Orleans, his family moved north and made their home in Ferndale just outside Detroit, where in 1954 Jackson and school friends Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, C. P. Spencer and James Edwards formed a vocal group called the Domingoes. Edwards was soon replaced by lead singer Bobbie Smith and Spencer by George Dixon but it was not until 1961, when the group renamed themselves the Spinners, that they enjoyed their first taste of success when That’s What Girls are Made for and Love (I’m So Glad) I Found You on Harvey Fuqua’s Tri-Phi Records grazed the lower reaches of the charts. In 1963 Tri-Phi was bought out by Berry Gordy, who was rapidly building his Motown label into the most successful black-owned record company in America.

The Spinners, however, struggled to join in the success of Motown’s other vocal groups such as the Temptations and the Miracles. They scored a minor hit in 1965 with I’ll Always Love You but, as continued chart success proved elusive, Jackson and his colleagues were reduced to doing odd jobs for the company, from chauffeuring around more successful groups to working in Motown’s dispatch department.

A change of luck came in 1970 when they moved to the Motown-owned VIP imprint and earned their biggest hit to date with the Stevie Wonder composition, It’s a Shame. Wonder also produced the record and it made number 14 in the American charts. This was followed by another Wonder-produced hit, We’ll Have It Made.

On the recommendation of Aretha Franklin, in 1972 the Spinners moved to Atlantic and recruited Philippé Wynne as their lead singer. Teamed with producer and songwriter Thom Bell, the result was the most successful spell of the group’s career. Bell created a seductive web of horns, strings and lightly funky rhythms, and placed Wynne’s falsetto voice at the front of the mix to create the romantic sound that came to be known as Philly soul.

Jackson’s deep bass voice provided the contrast to Wynne’s high lead and their first effort in the new style, I’ll Be Around, hit number three in the American charts. The 1973 follow-up Could It Be I’m Falling in Love was another big hit and was their breakthrough in Britain, where, despite their association with the Philadelphia sound, their records were released under the name the Detroit Spinners.

Further hits followed with One of a Kind (Love Affair), Ghetto Child, I’m Coming Home, Love Don’t Love Nobody and Mighty Love. Then in 1974, exactly 20 years after they had first got together as the Domingoes, they scored their first No 1 with Then Came You, a collaboration with Dionne Warwick. Their next hit They Just Can’t Stop It (Games People Play) featured Jackson’s voice repeating the line “12.45” and he was frequently thereafter nicknamed “Mr 12.45”.

Rubber Band Man gave them another huge hit in 1976, and although Wynne left the following year to be replaced by John Edwards and they parted ways with Bell, they returned to the charts in 1980 with Working My Way Back to You, which topped the British charts. Cupid later that same year was the group’s final chart entry.

They continued touring with various changes of personnel, their 1970s hits ensuring they remained a considerable draw on the nostalgia circuit.

Jackson’s death leaves Fambrough and Smith as the only remaining members of the original line-up.

Pervis Jackson, singer, was born on May 17, 1938. He died of cancer on August 18, 2008, aged 70