(March 11, 2025) In the summer of 1972, I was a young kid, regularly riding in the car with my older brothers and listening to WAMM in Flint, Michigan. The songs that dominated those summer drives were the now-classics “You’re Still A Young Man” by Tower of Power and “People Make The World Go Round” by The Stylistics.
That young kid could never have dreamed that 53 years later, I would turn on a battery-powered personal cellular phone, open up a music streaming app, and listen on wireless earbuds to brand new music from…Tower of Power and The Stylistics.
“I Could Never Leave Her” comes from the new Stylistics album, Falling In Love With My Girl. Produced and co-written by Tom Cridland, the midtempo song recalls the arrangements of the group’s early Thom Bell numbers, but with the surprise “pop” of the TOP horns.
Stylistics members Airrion Love, Herb Murrell and Jason Sharp alternate lead vocals on the number, which bears traditional soul love song lyrics about a man whose “heart is under lock and key.” And the trio sounds great. But the song opens into something even more memorable in the final minute with a horn-filled interlude by Tower of Power.
“I Could Never Leave Her” features a combination of all-time greats that certainly evokes nostalgia, but it is a grouping that sounds just as fresh in 2025 as it did more than a half century ago. Check it out below.
By Chris Rizik
