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Post by E on Jan 8, 2019 11:49:12 GMT -5
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Departed
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 17:51:35 GMT -5
Berry Gordy may the only one who knows.
There were stories that he may have purposely overpressed titles with the intent of deleting them from the catalog. Then, he would sell the deleted titles to cutout distributors. The trick in that is, artists, publishers, songwriters, and producers did not receive royalties on cutouts. It's quite an accounting maneuver. It's possible that some artists went into debt (with regard to royalties/advances) to the company, as a result of those shenanigans. |
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Post by E on Jan 9, 2019 14:01:42 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Feb 23, 2020 6:28:02 GMT -5
This is my second favourite Motown track. The Miracles can make you cry (they do plenty of that themselves) but they can also make you bounce around in your chair. "Going To A Go-Go" unfailingly makes me do that. Goodness, that Deleted has (or rather had) good taste!  This is the sad side of The Miracles. Handkerchieves at the ready for "Ooo Baby Baby": |
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Post by jk on Mar 7, 2020 7:19:22 GMT -5
Some stonking funk avant la lettre now from Jr. Walker & the All Stars. "Do The Boomerang" was backed by the equally infectious "Tune Up", making it a solid double-sider. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Walker |
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Post by jk on Mar 20, 2020 7:05:35 GMT -5
This is the sad side of The Miracles. Handkerchieves at the ready for "Ooo Baby Baby": You can wipe away those tears now, folks, because we're "Going To A Go-Go": |
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Post by jk on Mar 22, 2020 6:13:54 GMT -5
This may well be my all-time favourite Motown track. Kim Weston's "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)" has a groove that has me wiggling around in my chair (be glad you can't see this). And the instrumental break equals that of "Don't Worry, Baby" as a perfect example of less is more.  |
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Post by Al S on Mar 23, 2020 16:50:43 GMT -5
Love it!
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Post by jk on Mar 25, 2020 10:00:36 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Apr 2, 2020 4:59:49 GMT -5
The Isley Brothers have had a long and illustrious career since "Shout" in 1959. Signed to Tamla (Motown) in 1966, they recorded three classics there, all of which fared better in the UK. "Behind A Painted Smile" was the culmination of their three years at Motown and was a UK #5 in 1968. Love the snare at the end!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isley_Brothers |
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Post by jk on Apr 8, 2020 15:53:23 GMT -5
^^^^ Curiously, it took twelve posts to get to a female vocal group, when there were so many good ones at Tamla Motown. I see a mini-series unfolding before my very eyes! Let's start at the beginning with The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman". This was one of the first 45's I ever bought (in 1961, with pocket money). A word of warning: there is at least one other version floating around with slightly altered lyrics. This here is the original version, the one I bought, with its reverb-heavy "deliver ze letter, ze sooner ze better" in the final break. This is the version The Beatles covered, I can only conclude because the revised version came later (1965?). (The change of lyrics may explain the chaotic history of its songwriting credits.) While on the subject, I can't believe it has never been pointed out that Lennon's throaty delivery sounds very similar indeed to that of lead singer Gladys Horton's. The Fabs made an excellent job of it but the original still reigns supreme: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_Mr._Postman |
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Post by jk on Apr 10, 2020 4:28:41 GMT -5
This is where @deleted must have got his topic title. Back in 1964, Martha and the Vandellas' original version of "Dancing In The Street" started off solidly enough. But the crashing offbeat when Martha Reeves starts singing was unlike anything anyone had ever heard before. "Are you ready for a brand new beat?" was relevant then, unlike any cover versions done since, where it just sounds lame.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_and_the_Vandellas |
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Post by jk on Apr 11, 2020 16:59:51 GMT -5
Here's a beauty that sadly failed to raise much dust when it was released in '64, barely scraping into the US top 50. Astonishing really, as it has everything going for it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_VelvelettesThat video of The Velvelettes' "Needle In A Haystack" didn't stay up for long... |
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Post by jk on Apr 13, 2020 6:13:29 GMT -5
I'm in the [insert adjective of choice] position of remembering hearing two 45s by The Supremes prior to their string of five US #1s in 1964 and '65. "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" went top 30 in 1963 but "Run, Run, Run", a fine record with a lot of airplay, barely scraped into the top 100 the following year. Then everything changed... "Cone See About Me" (see link) was one of two of those five that never made the UK top 20 (the other was "Back In My Arms Again"). Maybe it was too American (whatever that means). The eight-note instrumental break is another stunning Motown example of "less is more". Those two perfect D major chords in the brass, particularly the second one, never fail to send shivers down my spine. I may link more by The Supremes later. I lost interest in them in '67 ( after "Reflections"!) and then reconnected when Diana Ross left (her solo stuff never did anything for me, although "Upside Down" was in "my" semi-pro cover band's repertoire in the early '90s). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_See_About_Me |
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Post by jk on Apr 14, 2020 4:30:03 GMT -5
There can't be many songs recorded by two artists on the same label that were both huge hits in the same country. "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" did just that. Marvin Gaye's #1 version from 1968 may be better known but the song's debut by Gladys Knight & the Pips just missed the top slot a year earlier. The two could not be more different mood-wise. Gladys's version is like "**** it, let's have a party!" whereas Marvin sounds terrified. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_It_Through_the_Grapevine |
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Post by jk on Apr 15, 2020 8:10:14 GMT -5
Brenda Holloway's US top twenty hit "Every Little Bit Hurts" (1964) was in my piano repertoire for many years. It lends itself perfectly to that instrument, not least because of the wonderful solo: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Holloway |
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Post by jk on Apr 17, 2020 14:23:12 GMT -5
In the mid '60s I bought this EP for the great Marvin Gaye song "Baby Don't You Do It". One of the other tracks on it was this one by Carolyn (born Caroline) Crawford. "Devil In His Heart" was the B-side of "Forget About Me" (1963), her first Motown 45. It never charted--inexplicably, as it's an excellent song excellently produced. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Crawford |
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Post by jk on Apr 23, 2020 5:17:23 GMT -5
Mary Wells was one of the first Tamla Motown artists I remember hearing--I believe the sultry "Two Lovers" was my introduction to her distinctive voice. She could also rock out though, as exemplified by "You Lost The Sweetest Boy", another one I remember from the time. She would die tragically young, at only 49. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Wells |
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Post by jk on Jul 3, 2020 14:21:13 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Jul 16, 2020 12:27:30 GMT -5
Back in the mid-sixties I was the proud owner of five Motown albums -- the first three editions of Hitsville U.S.A., a brilliant series of comps thus far (volume 4 started doubling up on songs); Jr. Walker's reasonably consistent Shotgun; and an album of instrumental versions of Motown hits by organist Earl Van Dyke and company. This last named included this spiffing (to the best of my knowledge) original 45 by Earl, "All For You": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Van_Dyke |
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Post by jk on Mar 9, 2021 16:39:46 GMT -5
More Supremes now, as promised. This is the utterly stunning "Reflections", credited to Diana Ross and the Supremes, a habit of Berry Gordy's I have never taken to. (In an equally inexplicable move, Martha and the Vandellas later became Martha Reeves and the Vandellas!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflections_(The_Supremes_song) |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2021 22:34:44 GMT -5
Our local PBS tv affiliate OPB broadcasted today a restored program from 1965 called It's What's Happening Baby, hosted by none other than Murry the K. What a great show! Many of the acts miming to videos in the show were Motown artists. Lots of great hits of the day.
I don't know if this will be available to watch online or elsewhere, since this is part of PBS's pledge drive, but if the chance arises, I highly recommend it as a must see.
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Post by jk on Mar 14, 2021 4:49:38 GMT -5
Our local PBS tv affiliate OPB broadcasted today a restored program from 1965 called It's What's Happening Baby, hosted by none other than Murry the K. What a great show! Many of the acts miming to videos in the show were Motown artists. Lots of great hits of the day. I don't know if this will be available to watch online or elsewhere, since this is part of PBS's pledge drive, but if the chance arises, I highly recommend it as a must see. Thanks for the heads up, sockit.  I think this must be the show I myself remember seeing on UK TV in early-ish '65. It's a Tamla Motown special (odd how the word Tamla has been dropped over the years) taped for the enterprising UK weekly TV pop show Ready Steady Go! on 18 March of that year, presumably at the Rediffusion TV Studios in Wembley, London. Good times. PS: I found this selection from the Murray the K show you mention: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeahGqPTExEOaky-GE8X1gBYjL3SRnYrR |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2021 15:28:17 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Aug 9, 2022 12:41:55 GMT -5
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