Bass singer for The Spinners

Pervis Jackson, 70, the man behind the deep, rolling bass voice in a string of 1970s R&B; hits by The Spinners, died Monday morning at Detroit Sinai-Grace Hospital after being diagnosed last week with brain and liver cancer after feeling ill for several weeks, said his wife, Claudreen Jackson.

A native of the New Orleans area, he was one of the original five members of the group, which started out in the late 1950s singing doo-wop in Detroit. They worked under the Motown label in the 1960s but shot to stardom after moving on to Atlantic Records in the 1970s.

Jackson last performed July 19 in La Habra with the remaining original members of the group, Bobbie Smith and Henry Fambrough, and two new members, his wife said.

With songs such as “Mighty Love,” “I’ll Be Around,” “One of a Kind (Love Affair)” and “Then Came You” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” The Spinners were a constant on the R&B; and pop charts during the 1970s.

The band compiled 12 gold records, according to its official website. It was nominated for six Grammy Awards, said Lourdes Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Recording Academy.