"I'll Be Around" (The Spinners)

Before the Spinners hit their stride in the mid-70s with a string of hits with Atlantic Records, they struggled for attention over at Motown, making only a minor splash with the Stevie Wonder-penned "It's A Shame."  It took classically-trained writer and producer Thom Bell, one of the architects behind the "Philly Sound," to give them their first real hit, "I'll Be Around"--originally released as a B-side that DJs wisely flipped.
Not to downplay lead singer Bobby Smith's contribution (because it's a great vocal), this song has Thom Bell written all over it.  As he had proven with other acts like the Delfonics and Stylistics, he not only knew how to write songs ("La-la Means I Love You," "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time," "You Are Everything," and tons more), he also knew how to produce songs.  Every element on "I'll Be Around" is in its proper place; if you took out any one thing--the strings, the guitar, the clavinet, the vibraphone--it would not be the same groove.  That goes double for percussionist Larry Washington's congas.  Do an experiment: listen to the song on headphones (or in your car), and then push all of the sound into the right channel so that the congas drop out.  It's still a hell of a groove, but it feels unfinished without Washington's galloping rhythm.
There are other genius touches on the track, like suspending the rhythm at the end of the chorus for one bar, which gives room for the bass to do that sweet, funky descending pattern.  There's that little two-note pattern on the organ that pops up between stanzas.  There's also the call and response between the MFSB string and the horn sections on the bridge.  There's just so much going on in the song, but it all feels natural and right.
It's one of the best, most durable singles of the 1970s.