Song · The O'Jays
“Back Stabbers” by The O'Jays
From the album Back Stabbers (1972)
“Back Stabbers” by The O'Jays appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 2020 and 2022. It was first released in 1972 on the album Back Stabbers. Its best result is #634 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #8,335 indie & aaa song of all time.
"Back Stabbers" was the O'Jays' first release on Philadelphia International, the title song of their 1972 album, and it's paranoia you can dance to. Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff produced it, Huff wrote it with Gene McFadden and John Whitehead, Thom Bell arranged it and Joe Tarsia recorded it, and the result glides along sleek and sweet while the words curdle with suspicion.
The singer is warning the fellas about their so-called friends, the ones grinning to your face while they scheme to steal your woman, and the song tips its hat to the Undisputed Truth's "Smiling Faces Sometimes", quoting that record's chorus on the way out. It spent a week at number one on the soul chart and climbed to number three on the Hot 100 that October, and in 2002 Angie Stone sampled it for "Wish I Didn't Miss You".
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1963 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 634 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Back Stabbers" by The O'Jays.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.