“Back Stabbers” was a popular soul song released by The O’Jays in 1972. The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and rose all the way to No. 1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. It was officially certified as a gold single 54 years ago.
In an interview with National Public Radio, pianist Leon Huff said, “’Back Stabbers’ sounds like something eerie, so that roll was like something horrible, because that’s what back stabbers are. It reflected that type of drama.”
Huff added, “Our dream was to play so many counter-melodies that came with those songs, and the orchestra was able to put that together. Plus, stereo radio had just come around, and you had a lot of space to fill up. Stereo was much more soothing than mono, so we thought about the mixes we could do. The music was funky and classical at the same time.”
Singer Eddie Levert also spoke about the song in an interview with John Doran. “Now ‘Back Stabbers’ was one of my favorite songs,” he said. “We started out with the sheet music. We started out with the piano and me, Walter, William and [Gene] McFadden and [John] Whitehead [composer] standing around the piano. And then when they did the rhythm track, it became special. And then when we recorded the vocals, it became extra special. And then when they put the top on it, it became extra, extra, extra special. And then when I heard it [for the first time] on the radio in the middle of Colorado, and it became extra, extra, extra, extra super special.”
When asked whether it was autobiographical, he said, “No, I just think we were just relating to the world and what goes on in the world and what still goes on.”
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The O’Jays had several more hits throughout the years, including “Love Train” and “For the Love of Money.” The band was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.