gts186 “detroitish”
Those funny little ones with the big hole in the middle.
01-01 The Supremes – Life Beats (1970)
— recorded for the “Stoned Love” album but went unreleased. No Diana Ross on this 1970 version of the Supremes, here replaced by Jean Terrell (Velma Jean Terrell), who is not related to Tammi Terrell heard later in this show, but she WAS the sister of Ernie Terrell, boxing’s heavyweight champion from 1965 to 1967, whom Muhammad Ali labeled: “an Uncle Tom ni**er who is going to get his ass whupped.” Ali was right about the last part, at one point gripping Ernie in a headlock and dragging his *eyeball* along the top rope. Before the bout, Terrell kept dead-naming Ali as Cassius Clay, prompting Ali to constantly yell throughout the fight: “What’s My Name?”
01-02 Edwin Starr – Gordy 7083 – Love Is My Destination (1969)
— real name Charles Edwin Hatcher, on an early version of this single supporting his 1968 album “Soul Master”, he is named as Erwin Starr.
01-03 Joe Harnell – Motown 1161 – My Cherie Amour (1970)
— a rendition of the Stevie Wonder hit. Joe studied piano with Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, after WW2 served as music director for Peggy Lee and Marlene Dietrich. Spent six years as leader of the band on The Mike Douglas Show.
01-04 Monk Montgomery – Chisa 8002 – Your Love (1969)
— real name: William Howard Montgomery, his talented brothers were jazz guitar legend Wes Montgomery and keyboardist Buddy Montgomery (who played a stint with Miles Davis).
01-05 Stu Gardner – Chisa 8001 – It’s A Family Thang’ (1969)
— fifteen years later, Stu wrote the theme song for The Cosby Show.
01-06 Marvin Gaye – Tamla 54181 – Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) (1969)
— born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr, died by the gun of Marvin Gay Sr. He wrote and produced the soundtrack for the movie “Trouble Man”, which was far more successful than the film itself.
01-07 The Jackson 5 – Motown 1163 – The Young Folks (1970)
— like many of the Motown 45 B-sides (and Chisa, Tamla, and Gordy labels), this is a cover of a tune by another act in the stable: Diana Ross & The Supremes. Plenty of people bought this record, but this side is normally pristine, because the A-side was “ABC” which sold 4 million copies in two weeks (and knocked The Beatles out of #1 on Billboard!)
02-01 Dorothy, Oma & Zelpha – Chisa 8005 – Henry Blake (1969)
— Dorothy Berry, Oma Drake and Zelpha Crawford. The next year after this, Dorothy started 10 years as one of Ray Charles’ “Raelets”. Oma (Page) Drake went on to sing with Billy Preston and John Lee Hooker. Who is Zelpha Crawford? The internet is ignorant of her. She wrote both the songs for The Capitals on their solitary single on Omen Records out of Los Angeles in 1965, and apparently sang with The Wooden Nickels, same label, same year. Other than that, there is no Zelpha.
02-02 Terry Johnson – Gordy 7095 – Suzie (1969)
— before and after his ten years at Motown, was lead singer for The Flamingos. This one was produced by Smokey Robinson.
02-03 Jr. Walker & The All Stars – Soul 35067 – I’ve Got To Find A Way To Win Maria Back (1969)
— the “lesser child” of the Motown subsidiary labels, Soul Records was the launcher of Shorty Long, The Originals, Gladys Knight, Jimmy Ruffin and Funk Brothers. Berry Gordy purchased the rights to the name “Soul” for one dollar in ’64. After the collapse of Motown following the disatrous move from Detroit to LA, Soul was the last survivor, until disco finally killed it off in ’78.
02-04 The Supremes – Motown 1162 – Bill, When Are You Coming Back (1970)
— recorded two weeks after Diana Ross left the group, this advance single was released a month and a half before the album (“Right On”) and sold a million copies, hitting #10 on Billboard. But not because of this B-side… the flip was “Up The Ladder To The Roof”.
02-05 Jonah Jones – Motown 1145 – Don’t Mess With Bill (1969)
— wildly prolific trumpeter, here with a cover of the 1965 song by The Marvelettes. According to the author, “Bill” is not in reference to himself… Bill “Smokey” Robinson.
02-06 Rare Earth – Rare Earth 5017 – When Joanie Smiles (1970)
— The Sunliners changed their name in 1968, and the next year Motown not only signed them but named a new subsidiary label for white rock bands after them. This 45 hit #7 but not for this song. The A-side was “I Know I’m Losing You” (nee The Temptations), an edited version of the 10-minute cut on Rare Earth’s “Ecology” album.
03-01 Wes Henderson – Rare Earth 5007 – Reality (1969)
— as a member of Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers, Wes played bass alongside the guitar of Tommy Chong (before he met Cheech). That band was ‘discovered’ in Vancouver by Mary Wilson of The Supremes, who urged Berry Gordy to sign them. In return, BT & TV’s discovered a local “family band” to open for them at The Regal in Chicago for a gig in July 1968… The Jackson 5.
03-02 Diana Ross – Motown 1176 – How About You (1970)
— her third gold record of 1970, peaked at #8 on Cash Box, but not because of this B-side!
03-03 Jimmy Ruffin – Tamla 767 – Living In A World I Created For Myself (1970)
— off his album “The Groove Governor”, this single by the older brother of David (of The Temptations) did not chart in the US, but hit #51 in the UK.
03-04 Chuck Jackson – V.I.P. 25052 – The Day My World Stood Still (1969)
— yet another Motown subsidiary, V.I.P. Records folded early in 1972. Yet another song written and produced by Smokey Robinson.
03-05 The Spinners – V.I.P. 25060 – My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) (1970)
— had their biggest hit after being dropped by Motown: “Rubberband Man” which hit #2 in 1976.
04-01 Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations – Motown 1153 – For Better Or Worse (1969)
— off the album “Together”, the A-side of this single was a cover of Robbie Robertson’s “The Weight” by The Band. This was the only single released from the LP, and it failed to chart.
04-02 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Gordy 7085 – I’m In Love (And I Know It) (1969)
— fourth and final single released off the 1968 album “Ridin’ High”, which was their last album before Martha spent some time in an asylum, recovering from what was presumed to be an LSD-laced drink served at a party.
04-03 The Lollipops – V.I.P. 25051 – Need Your Love (1969)
— their first single was released by Impact Records in Detroit in 1966, Motown snapped up the label in 1967, the Lollipops released their second single for Hitsville, then promptly disappeared.
04-04 The Five Smooth Stones – Chisa 8006 – Love Unto Me (1969)
— this is the only T5SS release, on Hugh Masakela’s Motown-distributed subsidiary label. Features Frank Kavelin, son of the owner of Lute Records, which was responsible for the hit 50’s “Alley Oop”. Everyone in this band were Jehovah’s Witnesses.
04-05 Blinky & Edwin Starr – Gordy 7090 – Ooo Baby Baby (1969)
— Blinky was Sondra Williams, this comes off their collaboration album “Just We Two”.
04-06 Edwin Starr – Gordy 7087 – Pretty Little Angel (1969)
— the next year, Starr hit #1 with “War” produced by the master Motown producer Norman Whitfield. This single was produced by Stevie Wonder, and you can clearly hear that.
04-07 Gladys Knight & The Pips – Soul 35068 – Cloud Nine (1969)
— only hit #17 on Billboard, but #2 on the R&B chart. A cover of The Temptations hit, Norman Whitfield produced both versions.
05-01 Four Tops – Motown 1170 – Still Water (Peace) (1970)
— founded in 1953, the Four Tops declined to follow Motown from Detroit to LA in 1972. Perhaps because of this, they stayed together, in the original lineup, for an astounding 44 years, until Lawrence Payton died in 1997.
05-02 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Tamla 54179 – Satisfied Feelin’ (1969)
— real name Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, she was anticipated to be a boy baby, to be named after his father Thomas. When she popped out as a girl, the name was slightly altered. Read her heart-breaking biography if you need a cry, died from a brain tumor the year after this came out.
05-03 Anonymous Children Of Today – Chisa 8004 – Love And Peace (1969)
— completely anonymous, no names, no photos exist. Song by Arthur Adams of the Jazz Crusaders who also did some singles for Hugh Masakela’s Motown-distributed Chisa label.
05-04 Shorty Long – Soul 35054 – Ain’t No Justice (1969)
— real name Frederick Earl Long, died in June of 1969 in a boating accident on the Detroit River.
05-05 Jr. Walker & The All Stars – Soul 35081 – Carry Your Own Load (1970)
— real name Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr., the A-side to this was a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Holly Holy”.
05-06 The Fantastic Four – Soul 35072 – I’m Gonna Carry On (1970)
— only at Motown for a brief period, later did five albums on the Westbound label, also out of Detroit.
06-01 Diana Ross & The Supremes – Motown 1146 – The Beginning Of The End (1969)
— written by Berry Gordy’s fifth wife, Margaret Johnson. Only reached #27 on Billboard (21 tops on Cash Box), despite the A-side “The Composer” being written by Smokey Robinson and played by the Funk Brothers. Perhaps the low showing on the charts was because there were no other actual Supremes beyond Diana, the backing vocals were done by The Andantes.
06-02 The Rustix – Rare Earth 5011 – I Guess This Is Goodbye (1969)
— band out of Rochester NY, featuring Chuck Brucato, this one produced by R. Dean Taylor.
06-03 Four Tops – Motown 1159 – The Key (1969)
— one of a plethora of tunes writen by Raynard Miner, hired away from Chess this year by Motown. He also wrote “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher” for Jackie Wilson, which topped at #6 on Billboard.
06-04 Rare Earth – Rare Earth 5012 – Magic Key (1969)
— they were the first band to sue someone for music piracy, contending that Lear Jet Corporation and Pan American Distributing Company conspired to pirate Rare Earth’s albums.
06-05 The Originals – Soul 35066 – Moment Of Truth (1969)
— appeared as backing vocals on a bunch of Motown tracks, also ‘under cover’ as The Detroit Prophets.
06-06 Diana Ross – Motown 1169 – Can’t It Wait Until Tomorrow (1970)
— this single hit #1 but only because the A-side was “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” which Berry Gordy did not love, but the rest of the world did, garnering Diana her first solo Grammy nomination.
… and bonus tracks…
07-01 Michael Denton – Rare Earth 5015 – Arma’ Geden (1970)
— real name: Gasper Badalamenti, on his one and only appearance for Motown.
07-02 Captain Zap & The Motortown Cut-Ups – Motown 1151 – The Luney Take-Off (1969)
— released on July 16th 1969, the day the Apollo 11 mission left Earth for the Moon.