As Motown continues to roll out celebrations of its 60th anniversary, it’s extremely curious who doesn’t get attention for their hard work and extraordinary talents getting the label underway. There’s plenty of names that get lost today behind the glittering legacy of Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and the mourning of Marvin Gaye. Indeed if it…
Category: Motown Records
Everybody Sings Smokey: Motown’s Poet Laureate 50 times Over
It wouldn’t be Motown’s 60th Anniversary without visiting their premiere singer, songwriter and producer. As legend goes, Smokey Robinson met Berry Gordy with a notebook of songs, of which maybe one or two Gordy considered viable, yet he was impressed with the teenager’s moxie. So goes the template of who Gordy accepted into the fold,…
The Sound Of Young America As A Senior Citizen: Motown Records at 60
On January 12, 1959, some 60 years ago today, Motown Records was founded. In reality, it wasn’t founded as Motown at all. The original name was Tamla Records. The Motortown-punning, Detroit proud referencing Motown label didn’t press until 1960. The Tamla Records pointed to one of the main reasons we ended up with Motown Records…
Under The Covers: 33 Outsourced Covers From The Golden Age of Motown
Berry Gordy was slightly notorious for being adverse to seeking outside material for hit songs for his singers. Very rare during the Motown classic hit era were any of the major hits for artists from the pens of someone that wasn’t attached to the Motown Family. I can only think of two off the top…
Unpolished Diamonds, Unused Jewels: More Motown Femme Marvels 1964-69
As we wind down Women’s History Month we head back to Detroit. While we worship at the temples of Marvin, Stevie and The Temptations, The Sound Of Young America was built on the clicking of high heels. Not only was it the matriarchy of The Gordy Family that had Berry’s Back, early acts such as Mable John…
Hitsville Vaults ’66: The Top Twenty Motown potential hits you didn’t know existed.
You may or may not know, Motown records in its Golden Years from 1961 through 1968 was a constant hive of activity. The operations worked 24 hours a day each day of the year, some Motown gems were recorded and pressed on major holidays, some efforts saw release on others. Was December 31, 1965 a…
The Ambassador of The Motown Sound: Miss Martha Reeves
Calling out around the world, we have one helluva birthday to celebrate. She’s perhaps that singular and that collective all in one. In a lot of ways, she’s always and always will be “Miss Motown.” We’re talking Martha Rose Reeves. She turns 75 years old this July 18th. Her efforts for Motown and beyond have…
A Girl Named Gladys: The Marvelous Marvelette Gladys Horton
I originally wrote this post 5 years ago when Gladys Horton passed away at the age of 65 in 2011. Horton’s voice on Marvelettes singles had been a profound link into me digging deeper into my experience as an outsider observing the inside, taking no shit from no one, and living a life from steadfast…
The Myth and Magic of Mary Wells
It’s oft the story that Mary Wells is the forgotten Queen of Motown. She is that, for sure, but there’s a lot to be said about her career that spanned nearly 30 years past her exit from the label as well. She’s sort of the mythological Lilith of Motown in that way. She made the…
Taurus Talent at its finest: The Too Short Times of Tammi Terrell
I think of Tammi Terrell’s short 24 years on this planet, nearly 34 years old, and think I’m really wasting time. It didn’t exactly take that much time for her to establish herself as a legend. I don’t know whether her early death elicits moments of sadness, because she fought up until she went into…
