The Stylistics | 3 to 5 BOPS

The Stylistics: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 63 (2023), features five musical BOPS courtesy of the iconic soul collective, The Stylistics.

Ah, you know what time it is! It’s 3 to 5 BOPS time – WOO! On 3 to 5 BOPS, it’s all about brevity and sweetness… for the most part! There’s a theme/topic, 3, 4, or 5 songs, and a blurb – two paragraphs or less.  3 to 5 BOPS, hence, is a mini playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  In the 63^rd edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select five awesome songs from the iconic Philly soul collective, 🎙 The Stylistics. Okay, let’s get into it!

 1. The Stylistics, “Stop, Look, Listen (to Your Heart)” 

💿 The Stylistics – The Original Debut Album • 🏷 Amherst • 🗓 1971  

“Stop, look / Listen to your heart, hear what it’s saying / Stop, look / Listen to your heart, hear what it’s saying / Love, love, love.” Yes, 🎙 The Stylistics, YES! 🎵 “Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)” marks a stellar joint by this stellar soul collective.  Like some of the big hits off 💿 The Stylistics (1971), “Stop, Look, Listen” was penned by 🎼 ✍ 🎛 Thom Bell and Linda Creed. Bell helps to craft that lush, signature Philly soul sound, one of the best things to come out of the 1970s. Ample credit also goes to lead singer 🎙 Russell Thompkins, Jr., who sounds amazing, wowing with a ripe falsetto.  The theme is matters of the heart, but have they ever sounded better than in the hands of this fivesome?  Thompkins and company encourage allowing yourself to L-O-V-E on this magnificent opener! 

“Though you try, you can’t hide 

All the things you really feel, this time decide 

That you will open up, let it in 

There’s no shame in sharing love you keep within.”  

The Stylistics ‘put in work’ on this entire The Stylistics album beyond 🎵 “Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)”.  Honestly, music just doesn’t sound like this anymore. “Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)” is a surefire classic gem!

Appears in 🔻:  

• The Stylistics, Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart): Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 35 (2022)
• Listen: 5ive Songs No. 24 (2022)

2.The Stylistics, “I’m Stone in Love with You”

💿 Round 2 • 🏷 Avco • 🗓 1972

If he could, 🎙 Russell Thompkins, Jr. asserts, “I would buy you everything / Your little heart desires.” Why? “‘Cause I’m stone in love with you.” 🎵 “I’m Stone in Love with You” marks one of five top-10 hits by the Philly soul collective, 🎙 The Stylistics. Specifically, this gold certified single from their sophomore album, 💿 Round 2 peaked at no. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Take one listen to “I’m Stone in Love with You,” and you’ll understand the magic behind the it.  Thematically, this soul classic is all about L-O-V-E.   

“I’m Stone in Love with You” was written by 🎼 ✍ Thom Bell (who also produces), Linda Creed, and Anthony Bell. The production work is warm, idiomatic of the lush, orchestrated sound of soul music, particularly the Philly soul music of the 1970s.  The ears are treated to the rhythm section (including percussion in addition to drums), winds, and of course, strings.  Thompkins, Jr. is at his best, singing radiantly in an incredibly ripe, yet tender falsetto. The melody he sings is glorious – incredibly tuneful and easy on the ears.  The combination of his voice and the romantic lyrics (“You might say that all I do / Is dream my life away / I guess it’s true / ‘Cause I’m stone in love with you”) is celestial.  Other highlights include the harmonic progression – those musical underpinnings – and the background vocals on the titular lyrics. All told, 🎵 “I’m Stone in Love with You” is not only one of the best by 🎙 The Stylistics, but one of the truly epic soul cuts.   

Appears in 🔻:

• The Stylistics, I’m Stone in Love with You: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 117 (2023)
• Incredible Songs: 1970s, Vol. 3 (2023)

3.The Stylistics, “People Make The World Go Round”

💿 The Stylistics – The Original Debut Album • 🏷 Amherst • 🗓 1971 

“But that’s what makes the world go round / The ups and downs, a carousel.” True, 🎙 The Stylistics – you’ve got a legitimate point on 🎵 “People Make The World Go Round”. “People Make The World Go Round” appears as the seventh track on the epic 💿 The Stylistics – The Original Debut Album.  Although The Stylistics featured bigger, more renowned hits, this gem highlighting a turbulent world – “Buses on strike want a raise in fare / So they can help pollute the air” – still managed to peak at no. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Once more,  🎼 ✍ Thom Bell and Linda Creed are responsible for composing this utterly terrific gem. Musically, it is impressive from the start. First, there is an enigmatic introduction which sets the tone for the record.  Soon enough, electric keys establish a groove, with a hi-hat heavy groove delivered by the drums later.  Of course, the orchestration is breathtaking as well.  The listener is spoiled with tremendous ear candy: ripe falsetto lead vocals by 🎙 Russell Thompkins, Jr., strings, horns, and a tight rhythm section.  Honestly, what isn’t there to love about this late single from The Stylistics?  

Appears in 🔻:  

• The Stylistics, People Make The World Go Round: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 6 (2023)
• World: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 12 (2023)
• 15 Must-Hear, Throwback Vibez, Vol. 8 (2023)
• 15 Epic Songs Regarding The World (2023)

4.The Stylistics, “You are Everything” 

💿 The Stylistics – The Original Debut Album • 🏷 Amherst • 🗓 1971 

When you hear the name 🎙 The Stylistics, one of the first soul gems that come to mind is 🎵 “You are Everything”. The top-10 Billboard Hot 100 hit (no. 9) graces the Philadelphia soul collective’s critically acclaimed, 1971 album, 💿 The Stylistics.  The gold-certified “You Are Everything” was written by 🎼 ✍ Thom Bell and 🎼 ✍ Linda Creed – elite songwriters!  Singing the lead on this lush ballad is 🎙 Russell Thompkins Jr., who also sings background vocals too. “You are Everything” is the perfect soul record, even if only one Stylistic is utilized! The harmonized vocals, using various other vocalists, are stunning, especially against that Philly soul backdrop.  Thematically, it encompasses expired love – one you can’t forget about.  Thompkins asserts, “I just can’t go on / Living life as I do / Comparing each girl with you / Knowing they just won’t do / They’re not you.”  Why are they not you? Well, that’s where the tuneful chorus comes into play: “You are everything / And everything is you.” Woo! All told, The Stylistics’ 🎵 “You are Everything” ranks among the elites when it comes to soul classics.    

Appears in 🔻:  

• The Stylistics, You are Everything: Throwback Vibez No. 69 (2022) 
• 11 Epic Songs That Are Everything! (2022) 
• 15 Must-Hear, Throwback Vibez, Vol. 5 (2022)

5. The Stylistics, “The Miracle”

💿 Heavy • 🏷 Amherst • 📅 1974  

“Thank God for the miracle / You belong to me.” 🙌 🎵 “The Miracle” (💿 Heavy, 1974)is one of many stunning songs by the iconic soul collective, 🎙 The Stylistics.  Underrated compared to the Philly soul group’s more renowned hits, “The Miracle” is a gem, nonetheless. It graces the final album where 🎙 Russell Thompkins, Jr. and company collaborated with 🎼 ✍ 🎛 Thom Bell. Thematically,  The Stylistics, once skeptical of the miraculous happenings of life, become believers, thanks to finding that special somebody in their lives.  “I used to think that time was just a thing to pass away / Love was just the game that children play / God was just another word to say,” the second verse goes, later confirming the paradigm shift, “Now I believe, I believe / Miracles can be / And in my song, I thank God / You belong to me.”      

Besides the positive vibes and theme, the singing, the musical underpinnings, and the arrangement and production make “The Miracle” triumphant too.  Harmonically, there are some marvelous chord changes that go beyond simple, standard chords.  This adventurous, innovative approach helps The Stylistics navigate numerous modulations (key changes) seamlessly.  Beginning in the key of E, the collective serves up modulations to A, C, F, Db, Gb, G, and Ab in that sequence 🤓. Ear-catching is an understatement regarding “The Miracle”. Notably, Shareefa, samples this classic on her 2006 R&B gem, 🎵 “Cry No More”. 

Appears in 🔻:  

• The Stylistics, The Miracle: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 32 (2023)
• Miracle: 3 to 5 BOPS 58 (2023)

The Stylistics: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 63 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Amherst, Avco]