MOTOWN ORIGINAL

THE FUNK BROTHERS
The Funk Brothers were the brilliant but anonymous studio band responsible for the instrumental backing on countless Motown records from 1959 up to the company's move to Los Angeles in 1972. Woefully underappreciated as architects of the fabled "Motown sound," the individual musicians were rarely credited on the records that relied upon their performances, which downplayed their importance to the label. Motown's sophisticated, urbane brand of RB certainly would have been difficult to achieve without the extensive jazz training that many of The Funk Brothers brought to the table. In order to keep that sound a distinctive brand name, Motown signed most of the group to exclusive, highly restrictive contracts during their tenure, although a few peripheral members were able to moonlight on sessions for other companies from time to time. In more recent years, The Funk Brothers' legacy has begun to receive proper attention, most notably in Allen Slutsky's 1989 book -Standing in the Shadows of Motown, which focused on bass genius James Jamerson, and the 2002 documentary film of the same name, which covered the group as a whole.Motown head Berry Gordy Jr. first assembled a studio band in 1959, culling its members from Detroit's fertile club scene. Most of the players came from a jazz background, although some had more experience with blues or RB, and there was a great deal of crossover among working musicians of the time. Among the early members were pianist/bandleader Joe Hunter (not to be confused with blues balladeer Ivory Joe Hunter) and the rhythm section of bassist James Jamerson and drummer William "Benny" Benjamin, who would go on to become the backbone of the Motown beat. Other regulars who came onboard prior to 1962 were guitarists Robert White, Eddie Willis, and Joe Messina; alternate drummer Richard "Pistol" Allen; percussionists Jack Ashford (who handled the tambourine work) and Eddie "Bongo" Brown; and the aggressive pianist Earl Van Dyke, as well as numerous horn players. Eventually nicknamed The Funk Brothers, this aggregation would soon become an integral part of Motown's rise to prominence and its commercial dominance during the glory years of 1963-1967. By 1964, Hunter had quit as bandleader, paving the way for classically trained keyboardist Johnny Griffith to join and for Van Dyke to become the group leader; drummer Uriel Jones also became an active member around the same time. In addition to the numerous hit singles they played on, The Funk Brothers also played quite often around the Detroit club scene.Things began to change over 1967-1968. The Motown hit factory was forced to reinvent its sound to fit changing trends, and with producer Norman Whitfield's brand of psychedelic soul guiding the label's fortunes, guitarists Dennis Coffey and Wah Wah Watson came onboard to update The Funk Brothers' sound. Moreover, the groundbreaking rhythm section of James Jamerson and Benny Benjamin was coming apart due to substance abuse problems. Benjamin passed away in 1968, and Jones took a much greater role in the aftermath of his death. Meanwhile, the massively influential Jamerson had grown unreliable; while he still performed, white bassist Bob Babbitt picked up much of his slack, and did an excellent job of replicating Jamerson's unpredictable melodicism. This core group remained together until 1972, when Gordy moved the Motown offices to Los Angeles, unceremoniously abandoning The Funk Brothers. Still, the group did get one glorious last hurrah in Marvin Gaye's 1971 masterpiece What's Going On, which made full use of the band's jazz training (and listed full musician credits).Some of The Funk Brothers went on to other session and backup gigs, while others soon drifted out of the music business; regardless, most of them remained in Detroit. James Jamerson passed away in 1983, and only received wider recognition posthumously; he was finally inducted into the Rock Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 in the sideman category. Eddie "Bongo" Brown also died in 1983; Earl Van Dyke passed on in 1992 and Robert White did the same in 1994. The surviving core members of The Funk Brothers reunited for Paul Justman's documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown, which was released in 2002 to generally excellent reviews; the same year, however, Richard "Pistol" Allen and Johnny Griffith both passed away.
THE SUPREMES
The most successful black performers of the 1960s, the Supremes for a time rivaled even the Beatles in terms of red-hot commercial appeal, reeling off five number-one singles in a row at one point. Critical revisionism has tended to undervalue the Supremes' accomplishments, categorizing their work as more lightweight than the best soul stars' (or even the best Motown stars'), and viewing them as a tool for Berry Gordy's crossover aspirations. There's no question that there was about as much pop as soul in the Supremes' hits, that even some of their biggest hits could sound formulaic, and that they were probably the black performers who were most successful at infiltrating the tastes and televisions of middle America. This shouldn't diminish either their extraordinary achievements or their fine music, the best of which renders the pop vs. soul question moot with its excellence.The Supremes were not an overnight success story, although it might have seemed that way when they began topping the charts with sure-fire regularity. The trio that would become famous as the Supremes -- Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard -- met in the late '50s in Detroit's Brewster housing project. Originally known as the Primettes, they were a quartet (Barbara Martin was the fourth member) when they made their first single for the Lupine label in 1960. By the time they debuted for Motown in 1961, they had been renamed the Supremes; Barbara Martin reduced them to a trio when she left after their first single.The Supremes' first Motown recordings were much more girl group-oriented than their later hits. Additionally, not all of them featured Diana Ross on lead vocals; Flo Ballard, considered to have as good or better a voice, also sang lead. Through a lengthy series of flops, Berry Gordy remained confident that the group would eventually prove to be one of Motown's biggest. By the time they finally did get their first Top 40 hit, "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," in late 1963, Ross had taken over the lead singing for good.Ross was not the most talented female singer at Motown; Martha Reeves and Gladys Knight in particular had superior talents. What she did have, however, was the most purely pop appeal. Gordy's patience and attention paid off in mid-1964, when "Where Did Our Love Go" went to number one. Written by Holland-Dozier-Holland, it established the prototype for their run of five consecutive number-one hits in 1964-1965 (also including "Baby Love," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Come See About Me," and "Back in My Arms Again"). Ross' cooing vocals would front the Supremes' decorative backup vocals, put over on television and live performance with highly stylized choreography and visual style. Holland-Dozier-Holland would write and produce all of the Supremes' hits through the end of 1967.Not all of the Supremes' singles went to number one after 1965, but they usually did awfully well, and were written and produced with enough variety (but enough of a characteric sound) to ensure continual interest. The chart-topping (and uncharacteristically tough) "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was the best of their mid-period hits. Behind the scenes, there were some problems brewing, although these only came to light long after the event. Other Motown stars (most notably Martha Reeves) resented what they perceived as the inordinate attention lavished upon Ross by Gordy, at the expense of other artists on the label. The other Supremes themselves felt increasingly pushed to the background. In mid-1967, as a result of what was deemed increasingly unprofessional behavior, Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong (from Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles). Ballard become one of rock's greatest tragedies, eventually ending up on welfare, and dying in 1976.After Ballard's exit, the group would be billed as Diana Ross & the Supremes, fueling speculation that Ross was being groomed for a solo career. The Supremes had a big year in 1967, even incorporating some mild psychedelic influences into "Reflections." Holland-Dozier-Holland, however, left Motown around this time, and the quality of the Supremes' records suffered accordingly (as did the Motown organization as a whole). The Supremes were still superstars, but as a unit, they were disintegrating; it's been reported that Wilson and Birdsong didn't even sing on their final hits, a couple of which ("Love Child" and "Someday We'll Be Together") were among their best.In November 1969, Ross' imminent departure for a solo career was announced, although she played a few more dates with them, the last in Las Vegas in January 1970. Jean Terrell replaced Ross, and the group continued through 1977, with some more personnel changes (although Mary Wilson was always involved).
Marvin (Pentz, Jr) Gaye Biography (1939–84)Singer, composer. Born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. on April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C. Composer of 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' (1968) and other soul classics, he sang gospel music in his father's church before joining a 'doo-wop' group, the Rainbows, when he was 15. He recorded with the Marquees in Washington (1957) and with the Moonglows in Chicago (1959).After moving to Detroit (1960) he began working as a drummer and back-up vocalist at Motown Records. The following year, he married Motown president Berry Gordy's sister, Anna Gordy, and recorded an album of ballads. He scored his first chart success with 'Stubborn Kind of Fellow' (1962) and for the next seven years he released a continual series of hit records and made regular concert tours in the USA and abroad.The album What's Going On (1971) marked a breakthrough for him as a socially-conscious songwriter. He found success with this new style for the next 10 years, a period in which he was also beset by financial, mental, and drug problems, which culminated in his shooting death by his father.
The Four Tops' story is one of longevity and togetherness: these Motown legends teamed up in high school and spent over four decades without a single personnel change. In between, they became one of the top-tier acts on a label with no shortage of talent, ranking with the Temptations and the Supremes as Motown's most consistent hitmakers. Where many other R&B vocal groups spotlighted a tenor-range lead singer, the Four Tops were fronted by deep-voiced Levi Stubbs, who never cut a solo record outside of the group. Stubbs had all the grit of a pleading, wailing, gospel-trained soul belter, but at the same time, the Tops' creamy harmonies were smooth enough for Motown's radio-friendly pop-soul productions. From 1964-1967, the Four Tops recorded some of the Holland-Dozier-Holland team's greatest compositions, including "Reach Out, I'll Be There," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," "Standing in the Shadows of Love," "Bernadette," and "Baby I Need Your Loving." The group's fortunes took a downturn when their chief source of material left the label, but they enjoyed a renaissance in the early '70s, which saw them switching to the ABC-Dunhill imprint. Regardless of commercial fortunes, they kept on performing and touring, scoring the occasional comeback hit.The Four Tops began life in 1953 (some accounts say 1954), when all of the members were attending Detroit-area high schools. Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir went to Pershing, and met Northern students Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton at a friend's birthday party, where the quartet first sang together. Sensing an immediate chemistry, they began rehearsing together and dubbed themselves the Four Aims. Payton's cousin Roquel Davis, a budding songwriter who sometimes sang with the group during its early days, helped them get an audition with Chess Records in 1956. Although Chess was more interested in Davis, who went on to become Berry Gordy's songwriting partner, they also signed the Four Aims, who became the Four Tops to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers. The Four Tops' lone Chess single, "Kiss Me Baby," was an unequivocal flop, and the group moved on to similarly brief stints at Red Top and Riverside. They signed with Columbia in 1960 and were steered in a more upscale supper-club direction, singing jazz and pop standards. This too failed to break them, although they did tour with Billy Eckstine during this period.In 1963, the Four Tops signed with longtime friend Berry Gordy's new label, specifically the jazz-oriented Workshop subsidiary. They completed a debut LP, to be called Breaking Through, but Gordy scrapped it and switched their style back to R&B, placing them on Motown with the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. After a full decade in existence, the Four Tops finally notched their first hit in 1964 with "Baby I Need Your Loving," which just missed the pop Top Ten. Early 1965 brought the follow-up ballad hit "Ask the Lonely," and from then on there was no stopping them. "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" went all the way to number one that spring, and the follow-up "It's the Same Old Song" reached the Top Five. The hits continued into 1966, with "Something About You" "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)," and "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" all coming in succession. The fall of 1966 brought the group's masterpiece in the form of the virtual soul symphony "Reach Out, I'll Be There"; not only did it become their second number one pop hit, it also wound up ranking as the creative peak of the group's career and one of Motown's finest singles ever. During this period, the Tops also earned a reputation as one of Motown's best live acts, having previously honed their performances for years before hitting the big time.The Four Tops kicked off 1967 with the dramatic Top Ten smash "Standing in the Shadows of Love," which was followed by the Top Five "Bernadette." "7-Rooms of Gloom" and "You Keep Running Away" reached the Top 20, but toward the end of the year, Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown over a financial dispute, which didn't bode well for the Four Tops' impressive hit streak. Their next two hits, 1968's "Walk Away Renee" and "If I Were a Carpenter," were both covers of well-known recent songs (by the Left Banke and Tim Hardin, respectively), and while both made the Top 20, they heralded a rough couple of years where top-drawer material was in short supply. They enjoyed a resurgence in 1970 under producer Frank Wilson, who helmed a hit cover of the Tommy Edwards pop standard "It's All in the Game" and a ballad co-written by Smokey Robinson, "Still Water (Love)." The Tops also recorded with the post-Diana Ross Supremes, scoring a duet hit with a cover of "River Deep-Mountain High" in 1971.When Motown moved its headquarters to Los Angeles in 1972, the Four Tops parted ways with the company, choosing to remain in their hometown of Detroit. They signed with ABC-Dunhill and were teamed with producers/songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who did their best to re-create the group's trademark Motown sound. The immediate result was "Keeper of the Castle," the Four Tops' first Top Ten hit in several years. They followed it in early 1973 with "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," a gold-selling smash that proved to be their final Top Five pop hit. That year they also recorded the theme song to the film Shaft in Africa, "Are You Man Enough." Several more R&B chart hits followed over the next few years, with the last being 1976's "Catfish"; after a final ABC album in 1978, the Tops largely disappeared from sight before resurfacing on Casablanca in 1981. Incredibly, their first single, "When She Was My Girl," went all the way to number one on the R&B charts, just missing the pop Top Ten. The accompanying album, Tonight!, became their last to hit the Top 40.The Four Tops rejoined Motown in 1983, the year of the company's 25th anniversary, and toured extensively with the Temptations. They also recorded a couple albums of new material that failed to sell well, and wound up leaving Motown amid confusion over proper musical direction. Meanwhile, Levi Stubbs provided the voice for Audrey the man-eating plant in the film version of Little Shop of Horrors.
THE MARVELETTES
The group that became the first Motown success story had pretty small beginnings. Lacking confidence in their singing abilities, Gladys Horton and Georgia Dobbins formed the Casinyets (or "Can't Sing Yets") in their hometown, Inkster, Michigan, with backing vocalists Georgeanna Tillman, Wyanetta (usually spelled "Juanita") Cowart, and Katherine Anderson.In 1961 the quintet, now called The Marvels, entered the Inkster High School talent show, where they finished fourth. Though only the first three winners could win the prize of a trip to audition for the new Motown record company, an exception was made and they were allowed to audition as well. In April they did this for Motown executives Brian Holland and Robert Bateman, with the girls alternating lead parts. Berry Gordy, who walked in when Georgia was singing lead, scheduled a second audition, after asking if the group had any original material. At the next audition, Georgia arrived with pianist William Garrett, who had also written a few tunes. Flipping through his briefcase, she was drawn to a song that had only a few lyrics and no music. Georgia liked the title and wanted to change the tune from what Garrett had initially intended to be a blues song into something more favorable for a young girl group. Garrett agreed, as long as he was given songwriting credit along with Georgia. Georgia, who had no previous songwriting experience, took the tune home and reconstructed it into a song whose lyrics pointed to a girl missing her boyfriend who has been far away for a long time. That song turned out to be their first single and greatest hit, "Please Mr Postman." The group returned to Motown with the song and a new member, Wanda Young (later Rogers), who replaced Dobbins (whose church-going father was against the idea of his daughter singing in night clubs), giving them, like The Shirelles before them, two lead singers. They auditioned for Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, and received a recording contract.Motown gave the Marvels the star treatment. Gordy renamed the group The Marvelettes and had "Please Mr. Postman" re-written for the group. Vocal coaches, etiquette teachers, fashion advisors, and others also worked on the group's image, and in the summer of 1961 their first single, "Please Mr. Postman," was released on the Tamla imprint, with Gladys Horton as the lead voice. The song proved to be a slow burner, not even entering the Billboard Pop Chart (now known as the Billboard Hot 100) until September 4th of that year. The song took fourteen weeks to hit number on the pop chart, a record for its time. The song also hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Chart.
Eddie Kendricks was born on December 17, 1939 in Birmingham, Al. Known for both his years with the Temptations and his major solo hits of the 1970s, Eddie Kendricks was among the many soul legends who did his part to put Motown Records on the map. The expressive vocalist (who often sang in a falsetto) grew up in Birmingham, AL, but it was Motown's original home of Detroit that made him a star. Kendricks was still living in Alabama in the late '50s, when he formed the Primes with Kell Osborne and Temptation-to-be Paul Williams. After moving from Alabama to Detroit, the Primes caught the attention of a Motor City group known as the Distants (whose members included Tempations-to-be Otis Williams, Elbridge Bryant and Melvin Franklin). The Primes broke up after being together only a few years, and the Temptations (originally known as the Elgins) were formed when, in 1961, members of the Primes and the Distants came together. With a lineup that included former Primes Kendricks and Paul Williams and former Distants Otis Williams (who was unrelated to Paul), Melvin Franklin and Elbridge Bryant, the Temptations signed with the little known Motown subsidiary Miracle. The Temptations (who went through many personnel changes over the years) didn't become successful right away, but by the mid-1960s, they had become huge thanks to such smashes as "The Way You Do The Things You Do" and "My Girl." The Temptations enjoyed one mega-hit after another in the mid-to-late 1960s, and they were still tremendously popular when Kendricks left to pursue a solo a career in 1971 (the year he sang lead on their hit "Just My Imagination"). Many Temptations fans questioned the wisdom of Kendricks leaving such a successful group, but Kendricks proved to be quite viable as a solo act thanks to early 1970s singles like "Keep On Truckin'" (a #1 R&B hit) and "Boogie Down" (which went to #2 on the soul charts). Other noteworthy solo hits followed, including "Shoeshine Boy," "Get The Cream Off The Top" and "Happy" in 1975 and "He's A Friend" in 1976. Most of his solo albums came out on Motown, although Kendricks recorded Something More for Arista in 1979 and Love Keys for Atlantic in 1981. By that time, Kendricks' popularity had decreased considerably. The singer wasn't heard from that much in the 1980s, but he did participate in the Artists United Against Apartheid's Sun City project in 1985 and recorded with another former Temptation, David Ruffin, as a duo for RCA in 1988.Sadly, the 1990s would see the premature deaths of no less than three former members of the Temptations. First, Ruffin died of a cocaine overdose in 1991, followed by the deaths of Kendricks in 1992 and Melvin Franklin (from a brain seizure) in 1995. (Tragedy was nothing new to Temptations members, for Paul Williams had committed suicide back in 1973). Kendricks was only 51 when he died of lung cancer in his native Birmingham on October 5, 1992.
Stevie Wonder (1950-...) is an American composer, singer, and musician. A child prodigy, he recorded his first hit, "Fingertips" (1963), at the age of 13. Wonder has since matured into one of the most highly praised artists in popular music. He often uses his music as a force for social progress.Wonder's compositions range in style from the rhythmic soul music of "Superstition" (1972) to the social realism of "Living for the City" (1973). He also wrote melodic ballads such as "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (1973). Wonder has incorporated Jamaican and African rhythms into his music. He paid tribute to the American composer Duke Ellington with the song "Sir Duke" (1977), one of his biggest hits. He composed and recorded the music for the motion pictures The Woman in Red (1984) and Jungle Fever (1991). Wonder won a 1984 Academy Award for his song "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red.Wonder was born in Saginaw, Mich. His given and family name is Steveland Judkins Morris. Wonder has been blind almost from birth. Since the early 1970's, Wonder's mastery of synthesizers and other instruments has made him almost a one-man band in the recording studio.
MARTHA REEVES & THE VANDELLAS
She was born the eldest of eleven children to Elijah Joshua and Ruby Lee Gilmore Reeves. The Reeves family moved to Detroit, Michigan right after Martha's birth. Reeves was brought up in church, for her grandfather Elijah Reeves was a minister at Detroit's Metropolitan Church. As a teenager going to Northwestern High School, she was vocally coached by Abraham Silver, who also coached future Motown stars Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson (of The Supremes) and Bobby Rogers (of The Miracles).After graduating high school, she participated in several groups and joined a group with friends Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard and Gloria Williamson to form the Del-Phis in 1960. The group struggled to get noticed though Reeves was discovered by Motown's A&R man, William "Mickey" Stevenson for an audition that accidentally landed her a job at Motown's secretary desk. Martha was often asked to help with background work for other Motown acts and often Reeves and her friends from the Del-Phis (now known as the Vells) would help out. They found fame singing background for Marvin Gaye's first hit records, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", "Hitch Hike" and "Pride & Joy".A chance recording occurred after Motown star Mary Wells failed to show up for a session and Stevenson asked Reeves to do the song that Wells was supposed to have recorded titled "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Eventually recruiting her friends Ashford and Beard, the record became the first record by the newly-christened Martha and the Vandellas in the fall of 1962.
As lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas, Reeves was responsible for some of the most uptempo singles to come out of the label including the top hits, "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" (1963), "Live Wire", "Wild One" and their star-making hits, "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run". Between 1963 and 1967, and only second to Diana Ross and The Supremes, Reeves became one of the top-selling hit makers of the label helping to carry both the Motown sound and the girl group sound into 1967 where hits such as "I'm Ready For Love", "Jimmy Mack", and "Honey Chile" came out of. By 1968, however, the Vandellas' success streak had weakened after several lineup changes and Reeves' reported addictions to prescription drugs, which resulted in several nervous breakdowns. She briefly entered an institution to recover from such breakdowns in 1969. Returning to sing with the Vandellas in 1970, the group released "Bless You" in 1971, and in 1972, they released their last record, "Tear It On Down." Shortly after, they gave a farewell tour in their hometown of Detroit. Reeves announced a solo career in 1973 but after Motown had moved their offices to Los Angeles, she negotiated to get released from the label. She is said to have been close with Temptations singer Eddie Kendricks.
GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS
Forming the Pips At the age of seven in 1952, Gladys Knight won Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour television show contest. The following year, she, her brother Bubba, sister Brenda, and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest started a singing group called "The Pips" (named after another cousin, James "Pip" Woods). The Pips began to perform and tour, eventually replacing Brenda Knight and Elenor Guest with cousins Langston George and Edward Patten in 1959.The Pips scored their first hit in 1961 with "Every Beat of My Heart." The group had recorded the song for a friend in Atlanta, who promptly sold the master to Vee-Jay Records and cut the group out of the record's profits. The Pips recorded a second version of "Every Beat" with Bobby Robinson as the producer, and the song became a #1 R&B and #6 pop hit . Shortly afterwards, Langston George left the group, and the remaining members continued as a quartet, now billed as Gladys Knight & the Pips. Typically, most of the act's recordings featured Knight's contralto on lead vocals, and the three male members of the group, usually referred to as "The Pips" by themselves, providing characteristic background vocals.After a second Vee-Jay hit, "Letter Full of Tears", in 1962, Knight quit the group to start a family. The Pips toured on their own for two years, until Knight returned to the act in 1964, in order to support her two children.The group developed a reputation for exciting and polished live performances that enabled them to work even without the benefit of best-selling records. Choreographer Cholly Atkins designed "fast-stepping" dance routines that became a signature of the Pips' stage presentation. Gladys Knight & the Pips' Motown long-playing debut, Everybody Needs Love (1967), which includes their hit single "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". [edit] Gladys Knight & the Pips join Motown In spite of another hit with 1964's "Giving Up" (later covered by Donny Hathaway), Knight and the Pips did not achieve widespread success until 1966, after signing to Motown. While at Motown in 1967, Gladys Knight was the first person to suggest that Berry Gordy sign an up and coming act from Gary, Indiana called The Jackson 5. Gordy was reluctant to take on a kid act, however, and the Jackson 5 were not signed to Motown until Bobby Taylor and Suzanne de Passe physically brought the Jacksons to Detroit, Michigan and Motown.The group's third Motown single was the Top 40 hit "Everybody Needs Love", released in 1967. Another 1967 single, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", provided a career-making breakthrough. "Grapevine" became a #2 pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and a #1 R&B hit for six weeks. The record sold 2.5 million copies, and at the time was Motown's best-selling single ever [1]. Producer Norman Whitfield recorded four versions of the song with various artists for potential single release; Knight and the Pips' version was the only one that Motown chief Berry Gordy did not veto. In late 1968, "Grapevine" would become an even bigger hit for Marvin Gaye, whose version, recorded before Knight's but released a year afterwards at Whitfield's insistence, became a #1 pop hit for seven weeks.Future hits for the group included "The Nitty Gritty" (1968), "Friendship Train" (1969), one of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "psychedelic soul" songs, the #1 R&B "If I Were Your Woman" (1970, later covered by Stephanie Mills and Alicia Keys), and "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" (1971). Their biggest Motown hit was 1972's #1 R&B/#2 pop hit "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)", which won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus."Neither One of Us" also happened to be one of their last Motown hits, as Knight and the Pips departed Motown for Buddah Records in 1973. While at Motown, Knight & the Pips recorded for Soul Records, a label Motown used for acts that recorded material with more of an R&B flavor than a pop flavor. On the A&E Network television program Biography, Knight stated that she and the Pips were regarded as a second-string act, and that "Diana [Ross] & the Supremes, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye were given all the hits, while we took the leftovers." In Knight's autobiography Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: My Life Story, she stated that Diana Ross had the group removed from being The Supremes' opening act on a 1966 tour for, according to Knight, being too good.
THE JACKSON 5
In the words of Berry Gordy, founder and driving force behind Motown, the Jackson 5 were "the last big stars to come rolling off my assembly line." After performing for much of the decade in and around their native Indiana, the Jackson 5 found their way to Detroit's hitmaking Motown Records at the tail end of the Sixties. Led by 11-year-old Michael Jackson-who was joined by brothers Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and Jackie-the Jackson 5 were young, fresh and full of energy. The group made music-business history when their first four singles shot to #1 in 1970. That record-breaking string of 45s-"I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There"-endeared the hard-working Jackson's to a public that found their soulful singing and tight choreography an entertaining diversion from all the social and political cataclysms weighing upon the country.Like all of Motown's acts, the Jackson 5's popularity transcended race. Everyone loved the Jackson Five, especially the cherubic, charismatic Michael. The reasons for their out-of-the-box success boiled down to one simple truth: "The singing and the songs make us happy," wrote soul-music biographer David Ritz. "They are moments of incandescent beauty-young, wildly optimistic."The Jackson 5 rose from humble circumstances in Gary, Indiana. They were the eldest sons in a family of nine children born to steelworker Joe Jackson and his wife Katherine. When Joe saw that his charges had talent, he devoted himself to molding them into a well-rehearsed group that covered Motown and other soul/R&B hits of the day. When they formed in 1964, Michael Jackson was all of six years old, but his natural gift for singing, dancing and entertaining belied his youth. They performed at talent shows and as opening acts on bills that took them to places like Harlem's Apollo Theater, where they won an amateur-night competition in 1967.All the while, Michael Jackson studied the moves of the masters: their onstage choreography, how they phrased a song, the way they worked a crowd. His heroes and tutors included James Brown, Sam and Dave, Jack Wilson, Etta James and his older brother, Jermaine, who himself was a disciple of Marvin Gaye. The Jackson 5 also absorbed a considerable measure of influence from another "family" act: the prototypical soul/funk crossover band Sly and the Family Stone.The Jackson 5 wound up at Motown through the importunings of Bobby Taylor, a performer and producer who caught their act at Chicago's Regal nightclub. They were a road-tested act even then, having for years worked the "chitlin' circuit" of black nightclubs as far east as Washington D.C. At Motown, Berry Gordy took a hands-on interest in the group. With Diana Ross having left the Supremes and Gordy having relocated from Detroit to Los Angeles, the Jackson 5 were poised to inherit the torch and carry Motown's success forward into the Seventies. Much of the Jackson 5's early repertoire was written, rehearsed and recorded in California under Gordy's tutelage.They were matched with "the Corporation," a Motown production team groomed to replace the recently departed Holland-Dozier-Holland. In January 1970, their first production for the Jackson 5, "I Want You Back," reached #1 on the pop and R&B charts. Its followup, "ABC," unseated the Beatles' "Let It Be" from the top position that April. Their youthful, soulful sound got dubbed "bubblegum soul." By the summer of 1970, the Jackson 5 were headlining 20,000-seat venues, and Jacksonmania was in full swing. "I'll Be There," their fourth #1 single in a row and biggest hit, remained on top for five weeks in the fall of 1970. They conquered television as well as radio, appearing regularly on The Ed Sullivan Show in the early Seventies and on their own CBS summer variety show in 1976. An animated Saturday-morning cartoon show based on the musical adventures of the Jackson 5 enhanced their appeal with younger fans.Their tenure at Motown continued until the mid-Seventies, by which time they'd begun to turn their attention to the emerging disco movement with hits like "Dancing Machine" (#2, 1974). Moving to Epic, the Jackson 5 shortened their name to the Jackson's. Their first two albums for the new label, The Jackson's and Goin' Places, were produced by Philadelphia R&B masters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The Jackson's entered another successful phase in their career with a trio of contemporary dance-oriented R&B albums-Destiny (1978), Triumph (1980) and Victory (1984)-which were produced and largely written by the increasingly autonomous group. Their highly publicized 1984 Victory tour turned out to be the last Jacksons project to include brother Michael, who had by then achieved solo superstardom.Clan patriarch Joe Jackson and boxing promoter Don King were among the co-promoters of the Victory tour, which was sponsored by Pepsi. Controversy ensued when ticket prices were fixed at a then-astronomical $30. Michael Jackson thereupon announced that he would donate his share of the proceeds to charity. In 1989, the Jackson's (sans Michael) released their seventh Epic album, 2300 Jackson Street, whose title referred to the street address in Gary, Indiana, where the family's incredible musical saga began.
RICK JAMES
In the late '70s, when the fortunes of Motown Records seemed to be flagging, Rick James came along and rescued the company, providing funky hits that updated the label's style and saw it through into the mid-'80s. Actually, James had been with Motown earlier, though nothing had come of it. After growing up in Buffalo and running away to join the Naval Reserves, he ran away from the Navy to Toronto, where he was in a band with future Buffalo Springfield members Neil Young and Bruce Palmer, and with Goldy McJohn, later of Steppenwolf. As the Mynah Birds, they signed to Motown and recorded, though no record was ever released.James had a journeyman's career playing bass in various groups before signing again to Motown as an artist, songwriter, and producer. His first single, "You and I" (May 1978), topped the R&B charts and reached the pop Top 40. "Mary Jane" (September 1978) was another hit. Both were on James' debut album, Come Get It! (June 1978), which went gold. Subsequent efforts were not as successful, though Bustin' Out of L Seven (January 1979) featured the R&B hit "Bustin' Out" (April 1979). James returned to form with the number one R&B hit "Give It to Me Baby" (March 1981), featured on the million-selling Street Songs (April 1981), which also featured the hit "Super Freak."James turned his production attention to resuscitating the career of the Temptations, recently returned to Motown, and "Standing on the Top" (April 1982), credited to the Temptations featuring Rick James, was an R&B Top Ten. (He also produced recordings by Teena Marie and the Mary Jane Girls.) James' follow-up to Street Songs was the gold-selling Throwin' Down (May 1982), which featured the hit "Dance Wit' Me." The title song of Cold Blooded (August 1983) became James' third R&B number one, and the album also featured his hit duet with Smokey Robinson, "Ebony Eyes." James' greatest-hits album Reflections (August 1984) featured the new track "17" (June 1984), which also became a hit. Glow (April 1985) contained Top Ten R&B singles in the title track and "Can't Stop," which was featured in the summer movie blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop. The Flag (June 1986) featured the hit "Sweet and Sexy Thing" (May 1986).James left Motown for the Reprise division of Warner Bros. Records as of the album Wonderful (July 1988), which featured his number one R&B hit "Loosey's Rap," on which he was accompanied by rapper Roxanne Shante. Nevertheless, his "punk funk" didn't seem to rest comfortably with the trend toward rap/hip-hop. In 1989, James charted briefly with a medley of the Drifters hits "This Magic Moment" and "Dance With Me." In 1990, MC Hammer scored a massive hit with "U Can't Touch This," which consisted of his rap over the instrumental track of "Super Freak." That should have made for a career rebirth, but James was plagued by drug and legal problems that found him more frequently in court and in jail rather than in the recording studio. The majority of his legal woes behind him, James returned in 1997 with Urban Rapsody, which didn't yield any hits but was well accepted by critics. Rick James died of a heart attack on August 6, 2004, at his Los Angeles home.
THE COMMODORES
Formed by a bunch of funk-loving friends at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, the Commodores became one of the major crossover acts of the 70s and launched the career of the biggest male solo star of the 80s. At the early end of the trend for self-contained funk bands, the group, consisting of Lionel Richie on saxophone, Walter Orange on drums, William King on trumpet, Ronald LaPread on bass, Milan Williams (who died in July 2006) ..boards and Thomas McClary on guitar, found success principally playing local gigs in Alabama before scoring a major coup by successfully auditioning to serve as the warm-up band for the Jackson Five's 1971 tour.The tour gave the group broad national attention and led to their signing with Motown, which was still the preeminent black label. Their first release, 1974's Machine Gun, was a pure funk disc led off by the scorching instrumental title cut, which hit the top 10 on the Soul charts. Their sound was tight and funky and gave no indication of the mellower balladry for which they would later be known. They followed in the next year with the equally strong Caught In The Act and Movin On. The latter included their first substantial crossover cut, "Sweet Love." It showed the early development of Lionel Richie as a great singer and of the group as a leading force in black music, creating a sound that was now very distinguishable from the other soul/funk bands of the day. They would score again in 1976 with the equally strong ballad, "Just to Be Close To You."1977 would bring the group's definitive album, the self-titled Commodores, and their two biggest hits to date, the beautiful "Easy" and a suggestive dance/funk favorite, "Brick House." It also featured the quiet storm staple, "Zoom," still one of their most popular songs. They continued their rise to stardom the next year with Natural High, a lesser album but one that featured the monster international hit "Three Times A Lady," a saccharine ballad that would unfortunately define the group for years to come. By this time the group's identity was changing from that of a funk group that occasionally played good ballads, to an internationally famous pop/soul group that sometimes funked it up. The metamorphosis continued in 1979 with Midnight Magic, another solid, popular album that featured perhaps their most beautiful ballad, "Still," as well as an interesting country/soul slow number, "Sail On." Oddly, they followed the next year with their biggest creative and commercial misstep, the mediocre Heroes, a forgettable album save the now classic gospel cut, "Jesus Is Love."By 1981, through his songwriting and vocal preeminence, Lionel Richie was emerging as the first among equals in the group, and his star was rising throughout the music world. That year, Richie's duet with Diana Ross, the treacly "Endless Love," became one of the biggest songs of the decade, and his composition for Kenny Rogers, "Lady," spent 6 weeks at the top of the charts. His ability to write truly melodic, irresistible tunes (though generally simplistic lyrically), put him at the forefront of early 80s songwriters. He recorded one more album with the group, the pleasant In the Pocket (with featured two nifty top 10 hits, the typical Richie ballad, "Oh No," and the upbeat "Lady (You Bring Me Up)").When Richie departed in 1982 to record his eponymous debut, the Commodores were given up for dead by much of the music world. The group stumbled with their post-Lionel debut cut, "Only You," a faceless ballad that tried to re-create the Richie sound without Richie. Thomas McClary then left the group for a solo career (he had some success producing the group Klique) and the Commodores appeared creatively rudderless and headed for the oldies circuit. Then the group, with new singer J.D. Nicholas (a latter day member of Heatwave) recorded a Walter Orange composition that became one of their biggest hits ever. "Nightshift," a musical tribute to Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye and other deceased soul greats, was a deserving smash, spending 4 weeks at the top of the charts and winning for the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance.
SMOKIE ROBINSON And The MIRACLES
If you're looking for the all-time number-one purveyor of mainstream romantic soul, Smokey Robinson may well be the man, in the face of some towering competition. With the Miracles in the 1960s, he paced dozens of tuneful Motown hits with his beautiful high tenor. As a solo performer from the 1970s onward, he was one of the staples of urban contemporary music. But his singing gifts, as notable as they are, comprise only one of his hats: he's also one of pop's best and most prolific songwriters. As a songwriter and producer, he was the most important musical component to Motown's early success, not only on the hits by the Miracles, but for numerous other acts as well (especially Mary Wells and the Temptations). Robinson first crossed paths with Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. in the late '50s in Detroit. In retrospect, this may have been the most important meeting in both men's lives. Robinson needed a mentor and an outlet for his budding talents as a singer and songwriter; the ambitious Gordy needed someone with multi-faceted musical vision. Gordy encouraged and polished Robinson's songwriting in particular in the early days, in which the Miracles were one of many acts bridging the doo-wop and early soul eras.Before solidifying their relationship with the embryonic Motown operation, the Miracles issued a few singles on the End and Chess labels, the most successful of which was "Got a Job." There was no national action for the Miracles until "Shop Around" in late 1960. Gordy withdrew the original single in favor of a faster, more fully produced version of the song; it made number two, doing much not only to establish the Miracles, but to establish the Motown label itself. The song also heralded many of the important elements of the Motown sound, with its gospel-ish interplay between lead and backup vocals, its rhythmic groove, and its blend of R&B and pop.While Robinson is most often thought of as a romantic balladeer, the Miracles were also capable of grinding out some excellent up-tempo party tunes, particularly in their early days. "Mickey's Monkey" (which the group gave an athletically electrifying performance of in the 1964 T.A.M.I. Show movie), a 1963 Top Ten hit, is the most famous of these; there was also "Going to a Go-Go" and smaller hits like "I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying." The 1962 Top Ten hit "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," however, was the key cut in forming Robinson's romantic persona, with its pleading, soaring vocals, exquisite melody, and carefully crafted lyrics. Bob Dylan was impressed enough by Robinson's facility for imaginative wordplay to dub him "America's greatest living poet" (a phrase which has possibly become the most quoted example of one rock giant praising another).Surveying Robinson's achievements during the 1960s, one wonders if the man ever slept. While the Miracles were never Motown's biggest act at any given time, they were one of its very most consistent, entering the Top 40 25 times over the course of the decade. "I Second That Emotion," "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage," "The Tracks of My Tears," "Ooo Baby Baby," and "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" were some of their biggest singles, and usually represented Motown at its most sophisticated and urbane. Robinson also was extremely active at Motown as a songwriter and producer for other acts. The number one singles "My Guy" (Mary Wells) and "My Girl" (Temptations) were each Robinson songs and productions (the latter with fellow Miracle Ronnie White), and Robinson also did some excellent work with the Marvelettes and Marvin Gaye. He also toured with the Miracles, and started a family with the Miracles' female singer, Claudette Rogers, whom he married in 1964. Rogers stopped touring with the group in the mid-'60s,
BARBARA McNAIR(1934 - 2007)
Quite frankly, One of the worlds most stunningly dynamic, talented and beautiful singers, who has achieved International Fame not only as a Singer, but also as a Movie & Television Star, Night Club Entertainer in combination with multiple appearances on Broadway which lead to a Series of International Tours. Barbara has mastered a rare combination of creative talents. A lady who puts forth the effort to make everything she does a work of art. Barbara, alone, is a work of art, who has won the title of being the First Black Woman numbered among the world's 10 most Beautiful Women by the "International Society of Cosmetologists". Miss McNair is that unique phenomenon: a natural performer with an emotional depth. To know this lady or watch her perform, will touch your heart forever. It is evident, Barbara has "Done it All" from international Singing, Recording, Major Motion Pictures, Television, Broadway and Her own Television show "The Barbara McNair Show". With a secretarial job to support her, Barbara started going out on free auditions at a variety of New York Night Clubs. Persistence paid off when Max Gordon of "The Village Vanguard" offered her a job. Soon after she had an agent, she was tagged for a weeks stint on the Arthur Godfrey Show and was receiving fan mail by the scores. The Purple Onion in New York proved to be the turning point in her career, Barbara swept the then part time secretarial job out the door. From there she began her road to "Headliner" in many of the country's most Prestigious Nightclubs... The Persian Room at New York's Plaza Hotel, The Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, and most of the major hotels in Las Vegas. Barbara made her Broadway Debut in the Harnick-Back musical "The Body Beautiful". Though short lived, this musical won her a great deal of critical acclaim, and soon she was hostess of her own Television Show, "Schaffer Circle" and had a Hit Record "Bobby" with Coral Records. She has subsequently recorded with Signature and MoTown Records. Barbara has performed in two stage productions with Nat King Cole, Touring in "I'm with You", and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in "The Merry World of Nat King Cole". Barbara also starred in "No Strings" with Richard Kiley, then on a National Tour with Howard Keel, and appeared on Broadway in Pajama Game opposite Hal Linden. Most recently Barbara has appeared in Berlin in "Sophisticated Ladies", a Celebration of the Music of Duke Ellington. Barbara's straight dramatic roles include "The Eleventh Hour", "Mission Impossible", "Vegas" , "The Jefferson's", "Helltown", "The Redd Fox Show", and "Snoops", to mention a few. Barbara's Silver Screen Appearances include: "IF He Hollers", with Raymond St. Jacques, "Stiletto", with Alex Cord, "Venus in Furs", with James Darren, "Change of Habit", with Elvis Presley, and two movies with Sidney Portier, "They Call me Mr. Tibbs" and "The Organization". Barbara has also had a re-occurring role on the Soap Opera, "General Hospital", and her own Hit Musical Variety Show "The Barbara McNair Show".