I loved all the stuff back in the 60's and 70's and i really felt good about them in the 80's but it all got ugly really quick. I always felt the Mary Jane Girls could have been so much more, but Rick's drugs and lunacy drove them away. And i feel that Motown was slowly sliding away, and it really didnt have to.

lastdecember said:

Yeah I know but I want to focus on their heyday. Because really Motown's sound in the 1960s and 1970s was unprecedented to none.

Thanks, Carl!



THE CONTOURS
Formed: 1959 (as the Blenders) in Detroit, Michigan
Important Members: Joe Billingslea, Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs, Leroy Fair, Hubert Johnson, Sylvester Potts, Dennis Edwards

Most of Motown's top singing groups were meticulously groomed and impeccably synchronized. The Contours were uncouth and proud of it, bringing acrobatic energy to their at and splattering rough edges all over their early Motown sides. Hoarse screams over feverish dance beats characterized the Contours' string of hits in the mid-Sixties.

The Blenders were formed in 1959 in Detroit, Michigan. Originally a trio, Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs, and Joe Billingslea were unknown even in Detroit until joined by Hubert Johnson. It was after visiting Contour Recordings that the group decided to rename themselves the Contours. Johnson had them sing for his cousin Jackie Wilson who in turn introduced them to Berry Gordy Jr. the owner of Motown Records. After auditioning Gordy told them to come back in a year. They then went over to Hubert's cousin's house who was Jackie Wilson. They then sang for Wilson the same ones they did for Gordy. Wilson then told them to have a seat and personally called Gordy. Gordy then called the group back, sang the same songs and were signed.

In 1961 they recorded their first record for Motown "Whole Lotta' Woman." When it flopped Gordy prepared to drop them. Wilson then persuaded Gordy to give them a second chance. That second chance was the Gordy written "Do You Love Me". Originally meant for the Temptations, the Contours took "Do You Love Me" to the top of the R&B charts in 1962 (#3 Pop).

The Contours never repeated the success of the million selling "Do You Love Me". However they did have five more clear the floor cause I gotta dance numbers: "Shake Sherry" (#21 R&B, 1963), "Can You Jerk Like Me??" (#15 R&B, 1965), "The Day When She Needed Me" #7 R&B, 1965), "First I Look At the Purse" (#12 R&B, 1965), and "Just a Little Misunderstanding" (#18 R&B, 1966). The Contours' last chart hit, "It"s So Hard Being a Loser" (#35 R&B, 1967), was a ballad. One later member of the Contours was future Temptation member Dennis Edwards.

When Motown moved out to Los Angeles the group decided it go and called it quits. Billingslea put the group together with Potts for some mid-"70s concerts.

In 1988, "Do You Love Me" reached #11 after being featured in the film Dirty Dancing. The Contours, who included originally members Billingslea and Potts (Johnson had committed suicide in 1981), joined the subsequent Dirty Dancing tour. Sadly Hubert Johnson committed suicide July 11, 1981 The current Contours with Billingslea and Potts continue to perform today.

UPDATE: Joe Billingslea now tours with his own version as do Sylvester Potts.

----
DO YOU LOVE ME:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...g-1NRN8srY

JUST A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...dtIHInCazw

FIRST I LOOK AT THE PURSE:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...iXGyH3794U
[Edited 1/11/09 14:24pm]

Motown left Detroit in '72, but its spirit hangs on

BY BRIAN McCOLLUM • FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER • January 11, 2009

The dried ferns that blow across the vacant lot at Woodward and the Fisher Freeway are like little rolling clichés, bits of tumbleweed emphasizing where life used to happen. Motown Records' headquarters once stood here, a 10-story office splashed with the label's familiar blue-and-white scheme. After decades sitting empty, deserted by Motown in 1972 in favor of Los Angeles, the building was razed in 2006. Mounds of hardened dirt remain from the demolition, flanking the flattened space that's occasionally used for parking. From this dead block you can spot the Fox Theatre, site of Motown's early high-energy shows. Down the road is the company's original home office, now the museum where the label's history is showcased. This lot was Motown's departure point, but it's not Motown's graveyard. You can still find Motown in Motown. Sometimes you just have to know where to look.

'It felt like another blow for Detroit'

Visitors to Detroit, especially musical tourists here for events such as the annual techno fest, often say they're surprised by the lack of visible Motown evidence. Many carve time for a trip to the Motown Historical Museum, armed with cameras and ready for a round of goose bumps.

Motown still lives in every American city -- on the airwaves, in bar bands, on jukeboxes. But it doesn't live anywhere quite like it lives in Detroit. The city's relationship with Motown Records has been a complicated one, a swirl of pride, affection, abandonment, even jealousy.

It's a story of trust eroded and rebuilt. Longtime residents remember the jilted feelings after the label's departure, just as Motown was evolving into the world's biggest black-owned company.

"Folks were very resentful. People felt like they'd missed out on something," recalls Hank Cook, 59, a lifelong Detroiter and Baptist deacon. "It felt like another blow for Detroit."

Many Motowners, including most behind-the-scenes personnel, stayed in Michigan. The big stars left, although some reluctantly -- including Smokey Robinson, who plied founder Berry Gordy Jr. with books about earthquakes in a futile attempt to change his friend's mind.

Gordy's motivation was simple: He wanted to make movies. When "Lady Sings the Blues" grabbed five Oscar nominations in 1973, he got his vindication.

"After the dust cleared, people started to understand," says Cook. "They made peace once they saw where Berry Gordy was going with this. They began to see what was necessary for taking it to that next level."

Gordy says he "never felt bad" about his decision.

"When I'd come back, people would ask me about that," he says. "And I'd tell them, 'I'm a Detroiter. Wherever I go, I take Detroit with me.' "

Still, for locals, time would bring more stings: the long-promised Motown entertainment complex that never materialized. The choice of Pittsburgh for a Temptations movie shoot. The emerging tales of unpaid royalties.

But Detroit is stuck to Motown, and Motown to Detroit. The relationship is built into the very name, the one Gordy coined because "Motor City Records" seemed too cold. Detroiters, he says, "were more like town folks, so warm and loving."
Detroit's young musicians honor the tradition

Detroit's working musicians, young and old, use words such as "integrity" and "reverence" to describe their emotional bond to Motown. It's not just the R&B cats: Kid Rock has name-checked the label in his hit songs, and garage-rockers such as the Detroit Cobras keep a repertoire of Motown tunes.

The city's musical roll call includes people such as Tony Womack, a tenor who linked up five years ago with Sylvester Potts' Contours. The old Motown group is a living endurance feat, having survived the decades with a revolving cast of singers. At gigs in Detroit and across the country -- state fairs, oldies shows, corporate shindigs -- the quartet plays a 90-minute revue of Hitsville fare, including Contours chestnuts such as "Do You Love Me."

Stepping into such a role comes with a sense of duty, Womack says.

"The real pressure is to not let the integrity of the group and the sound go down," he says. "The important thing is to keep the music where it's supposed to be."

Singer-songwriter Kem Owens, 39, is the city's best embodiment of modern Motown. A self-described "Diana Ross junkie," he spent his days in high-school algebra class pestering Ross' nephew for insights. Kem was signed to Motown Records in 2001; today he's one of two Detroiters on the roster, the other being R&B singer Suai, who just joined the label.

Kem went gold with his Motown albums in '02 and '05. He's finishing work on a third record, due for release this summer. Sessions take place at Masterpiece Studio on Detroit's northwest side, a handsome room once operated by Sylvia Moy, the Hitsville songwriter whose credits include Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour."

A Motown production has different trimmings now. The clunky tape reels have been replaced by sleek digital gear, and e-mail keeps Kem in touch with label staffers on the coasts. But as he arrives at Masterpiece each morning, trotting down a set of steps into the basement studio, Kem gets his own version of Hitsville's Studio A.

Kem's smooth love songs come with a modern polish and an old-school class. Unlike his music peers in football jerseys and scruffy jeans, Kem takes cues from acts such as the Tempts and the Miracles, sporting custom suits and Salvatore Ferragamo cuff links: "I'm one of the folks trying to preserve that."

As a child watching Ross' television specials, he soaked up some fundamental Motown lessons.

"She comes from the back of the house with a fur coat on," he recalls with a laugh. "She walks into the room and she's a star. That's what Motown was and is: making people feel like they're watching and experiencing something special.

"That's the standard to live up to. I'm carrying on in that tradition, and I'm very grateful and humbled when I really think about that."
Motown's upbeat tunes still rule the radio

Because Detroit was a town made for cars, Detroit was a town made for radio.

Motown music has been a fixture of Dick Purtan's career since his earliest days. The Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Loving" was among the first songs he spun at Detroit's WKNR-AM when he debuted as a disc jockey there in '65.

WKNR billed itself then as "your home for the Detroit sound!" Today that title belongs to WOMC-FM, a station perennially ranked in the market's Top 10. Inside the station's glossy Ferndale digs, veteran jocks such as Purtan and Ted (the Bear) Richards say spinning Motown in its hometown is a special role.

The traits that made Motown singles attractive to programmers long ago -- "upbeat, positive, easy to dance to," Purtan says -- are the same ones that keep them on the air. In 2008, songs by Motown's six biggest classic artists were played nearly 1 million times on American radio, according to Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, mostly on oldies stations like WOMC.

Today Purtan is one of the market's most recognizable morning voices, a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. . He gets paid to talk, but if anything vies for equal billing, it's Motown music -- usually two or three tunes each shift.

"There's probably more of that category than any other artist or group of artists," he says of WOMC's playlist. "Even the Beatles."
Martha Reeves campaigns for statues, plaques

Elected to Detroit City Council in 2005, the veteran Motown performer Martha Reeves now leads a two-pronged life -- politician by day, "dancing in the street on weekends." She has already used her council seat to muscle Motown into the picture, passing proclamations that she presents at funerals and other gatherings.

In 2007, with Gordy at her side, she led a ceremony renaming a stretch of West Grand to Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard, though drivers today won't necessarily know it: Two of the street signs have already been wrestled down and presumably sit in some fan's personal collection.

Reeves would like to see the city limits adorned with plaques: WELCOME TO HITSVILLE USA. And she's got statues in her sights. In her charmingly cluttered office sit colorful miniature models devised by an Alabama sculptor, including mockups of the Supremes, Stevie Wonder and Reeves herself.

Despite the economic hurdles, Reeves is aiming to secure $3 million in private funds to erect the statues across Detroit.

"It would be nice if we could have more than Joe Louis' arm," she says.
Brewster-Douglass remembers the Supremes

Residents in the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects aren't thinking too much about Motown these days.

This neighborhood, off the Chrysler Freeway just east of John R, is where Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard became friends and, eventually, the Supremes. Today it's a registered Michigan Historic Site, noted by a graffiti-streaked marker near St. Antoine Street, the site of Ross' teenage home.

That dwelling is long gone, razed in 1991 with the rest of the Brewster's row houses. They were replaced by 250 federally funded town homes.

On the horizon loom four long-deserted apartment high-rises, their windows hollow, the fixtures stripped for scrap metal. The buildings are occupied by elderly vagrants -- "old, sick, hungry and half-dead," as one Brewster resident describes them.

With the setting sun gleaming off the distant GM Renaissance Center, neighbors cast wary eyes at a writer and photographer walking Brewster's streets. A UPS driver issues a be-careful warning. Residents flinch at requests to be photographed.

"People automatically think y'all are the police," notes one by way of apology.

In the projects, there are more pressing concerns than Supremes nostalgia, and talk of Ross elicits mixed reactions. Teens and their younger siblings certainly know the name and the songs, but appear to feel little emotional link. At best, it seems, this is mama's music.

Bernice Wilkerson, a spry 74-year-old out for her daily walk, isn't surprised.

"This particular generation is ... hmm. It's rare. They possibly don't even know much about her life," she says.

Still, "this neighborhood takes pride in her," Wilkerson says of Ross. "It gives people, especially children, something to look forward to: 'Well, if they can do it, I can do it too.' "

But some neighbors are less charitable, accusing the globetrotting superstar of abandoning her roots. Ross' high-profile fund-raising efforts for Manhattan's Central Park, 500 miles away, were salt in the wound.

Kathy Dyer, a 58-year-old helping raise her grandchildren, issues a plea: "Diana, the Brewsters need you. We need help. We need financial support for our youngsters."

Brewster residents talk of the night a few years back when a limousine rolled through the neighborhood. Nobody knows for sure, but it's widely believed that Ross, in town for a Palace concert, was here for a glimpse of her past.

"She didn't throw no money out the window," says one middle-aged male neighbor, who declined to be named. "I ain't saying she's a bad woman. But you've gotta spread your blessings. That's what God says: If you get blessings, give blessings."

The prospects for Motown redux seem bleak.

"There might be a new Diana Ross down here -- a young, up-and-coming Diana Ross," says the man. "But we'll never know."
At the Mugshot Bar, Motown sounds endure

On an anonymous autumn weeknight on Detroit's east side, the Motown sound spills out onto Harper Avenue.

Inside the Mugshot Bar & Grill, Impact 7 is the evening's entertainment. The cover band has been playing its lively, horn-drenched Motown sets around town for more than a decade. Lead singer George Anderson, 54, is a hefty fellow with the voice to match.

"I want you to see me, but feel David Ruffin. I want you to see me, but feel Marvin Gaye," he says. "When you hear Impact 7, you're going to hear a conglomeration of all these guys in one big guy -- me."

Mugshot is a scruffy spot with a warm, lived-in vibe. Draft beer and cigarettes line the tables of several dozen patrons. Men don big smiles as they ask for a woman's hand; the ladies smile back and get up to dance.

The Motown Museum may have the memorabilia, but it's places like this where Motown truly endures in Detroit. On a typical evening the jukebox shimmies with a blend of country, rock 'n' roll and Hitsville classics; above it, the animated chatter of black, white and Hispanic voices.

"The atmosphere -- it's like you're in heaven," says a spunky, 57-year-old regular by the name of Mona Lisa ("just like the portrait"), who has mingled with many of these folks for years.

She's not being melodramatic when she says Motown and Mugshot are the culmination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream.

"You can play this music all day long, seven days a week, and it's gonna touch somebody," she says. "It's gonna touch old, young, it doesn't matter. You can be black, white, Chicano -- it's gonna bring them all together. Because that music has meaning. It's always been the kind of music that pulls people together."

Europeans embrace Motown like no others
BY BEN EDMONDS • FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER • January 11, 2009

Motown's conquest of Detroit and then the United States might have seemed improbable, but Berry Gordy Jr. was hardly finished. At a time when England was exporting even more improbable rock 'n' roll heroes, the little house on West Grand Boulevard was about to provide America's answer.

The Beatles and the other English bands were instrumental in opening the international door for Gordy's forces, and that door has remained wide open to this day. Hard-core British fans often exhibit more reverence for the music of Detroit than people do stateside. That means collecting the records fanatically, attending dance parties and gobbling up tickets to Motown-related performances.

"We wanted to listen to what the Beatles listened to," says British R&B fan Keith Hughes, who has turned his four-decades-plus obsession into a comprehensive Motown database.

Two of Motown's earliest successes, Barrett Strong's "Money" and Marv Johnson's "Come to Me," were English hits, but American R&B was not widely heard or popular in the U.K. then. How did their bands discover this music?

"It was said that American merchant ships sailing to England used quantities of old records as ballast," Hughes says. "They were unloaded and sold in Liverpool, which was then a huge port. It seems plausible."

Motown's own fortunes were advanced when the Beatles invited Mary Wells to open their 1964 English tour. The Mod subculture responded immediately to the sharp suits and relentless beat, and when the all-powerful BBC radio was slow on the uptake, pirate stations -- broadcasting from international waters -- took up the Motown cause.

The influence of this music went beyond style or commerce. According to Hughes, "the story goes that in the mid-'60s John Lennon marched into the office of Sir Joseph Lockwood, the head of EMI. He put on a Motown 45 and demanded to know why Beatle records didn't sound as good as that. ...Because of Motown records, he demanded more from his own, and got it."

The 1965 "Tamla-Motown Show" that toured England has passed into legend. Starring the Supremes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Stevie Wonder and Martha & the Vandellas, it also gave English audiences a rare opportunity to see the Funk Brothers -- billed as the Earl Van Dyke Six -- on stage. Despite the trek's near-mythical status, the shows outside London were poorly attended. Nonetheless, it was like lighting a fuse. Soon Motown mania was ablaze all over Britain, and spreading throughout Europe.

"Once Motown was accepted, we adapted it in our own way," says David Nathan. He and Dave Godin (founder of the influential Tamla-Motown Appreciation Society) started Soul City Records, the first London shop devoted exclusively to R&B, and he now runs the soulmusic.com Web site. "The classic example is 'Tears of a Clown,' which was rescued from an album over here and went on to become the Miracles' biggest hit ever. ... We found our own Motown treasures that weren't necessarily the same things you went for there."

British fans also revitalized the careers of veteran Motown artists, says Kev Roberts, a leading DJ on the scene.

"The smartest guy of all was Edwin Starr," he says. "He was respectful of what Motown had done for him, but he didn't want to let the grass grow under his feet. So every time Edwin had a hole in his schedule, he'd book a tour here. Eventually he moved here permanently."

"I can't tell you how good it felt," Starr said shortly before his death in 2003. "English people knew every record I'd made, who played on them, B-sides I'd forgotten all about. They knew more about me than I did. It was a level of appreciation all artists dream they might receive."

And still do receive. Thursday marked the debut of "Memories of Motown" in Berlin, a musical featuring a mix of impersonators and real stars, and written by longtime Motown staffers Al Abrams and William (Mickey) Stevenson.

"Motown is as popular in Europe today as it ever was. It has not lost its magic," says Abrams. "It is attracting a whole new generation of admirers."

Berry Gordy's Motown timeline

February 1958: Berry Gordy Jr., acting as an independent producer and cowriter with Smokey Robinson and Tyrone Carlo, leases the first Miracles record, "Got a Job," to New York's End label. It represents Gordy's first big foray into the record business.

January 1959: Gordy forms Motown Records after borrowing $800 from the family loan fund, the Ber-Berry Co-op.

1960: A two-story house at 2648 W. Grand Boulevard becomes Motown's first headquarters. A prophetic sign is hung out front: "Hitsville USA."

June 1966: Motown establishes an L.A. office. The announced purpose is to get Motown artists involved with the film industry. This is the beginning of the company's eventual departure from Detroit.

March 1968: Motown moves its Detroit offices from West Grand Boulevard to Woodward and I-75.

March 1972: A Motown newsletter says there are "no plans at present to phase out the Detroit operations, as many rumors suggest." But in June, Motown announces the closing of its Detroit offices and its relocation to L.A.

January 1973: Gordy resigns as president of Motown Records to assume leadership of Motown Industries, which includes film, TV, record and publishing divisions.

March 1988: Motown Records fires 12 Detroit promotion staffers, marking the first time there are no such workers in the company's hometown.

June 1988: Motown Records is sold to MCA Inc. (the parent company of MCA Records and Universal Studios) and Boston Ventures, an investment banking firm, for $61 million. MCA gets the Motown record label. Gordy retains the company's lucrative songwriting licensing (Jobete Music Corp.) and its film business.

March 1993: Boston Ventures buys MCA's ownership interest in Motown.

August 1993: Dutch-owned PolyGram acquires Motown Records from Boston Ventures for $325 million. Gordy returns to Motown's board of directors as chairman emeritus.

July 1997: EMI Music Publishing buys a 50% stake of Jobete from Gordy for $132 million.

December 1998: PolyGram is acquired by Seagram, and Motown Records is folded into the Universal Music Group, where a later merger will create today's Universal Motown Records Group.

April 2003: EMI acquires another 30% of the Jobete licensing control for $110 million.

March 2004: Gordy sells the remaining 20% of Jobete to EMI. The $80-million deal represents the last parcel in his ownership of Motown's musical kingdom.

Small snippet of Mr. Gordy with Tavis.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...WQKdVpS6Lk

Obituary of Motown legend Richard "Popcorn" Wylie from last October:

Richard 'Popcorn' Wylie: Tamla Motown pioneer who became a cult hero for Northern Soul fans

The pianist, songwriter, producer, bandleader and occasional singer Richard "Popcorn" Wylie was in at the birth of Tamla Motown. He played on "Shop Around", a 1961 hit for the Miracles, on "Please Mr Postman", a US chart-topper in the same year by the Marvelettes, and also cut a rollicking cover version of Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", the label's début hit.

Wylie recorded three singles for the company, was Motown's first head of A&R, and the bandleader on the first Motortown Special tour in 1962. But he fell out with the Motown chief Berry Gordy, who does not even mention him in his autobiography, and he left the company in 1962. A versatile musician and prolific producer and writer, Wylie subsequently co-wrote many singles beloved of soul fans in the UK, most notably "With This Ring", and Jamo Thomas's infectious "I Spy (For The FBI)".

Born Richard Wayne Wylie in Detroit in 1939, he grew up in a musical family and acquired the nickname "Popcorn" because he made a habit of popping quickly out of the football team's huddle at Northwestern High School. While there, he formed Popcorn and the Mohawks, a group which featured the future Motown studio musicians James Jamerson on bass and Clifford Mack on drums.

In 1960, Wylie recorded his début single, "Pretty Girl", for the local Northern label. He was also a regular performer at the Twenty Grand, a Detroit club where he met a fellow musician and budding songwriter Robert Bateman, then doubling up as an engineer for Gordy's fledgling Motown label.

Wylie joined the embryonic incarnation of the Funk Brothers, the backing musicians whose crucial input into Motown was eventually recognised and highlighted in Paul Justman's award-winning documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002). At Motown, Wylie worked with theContours, Marvin Gaye, Marv Johnson, the Supremes, Martha [Reeves] & the Vandellas and Mary Wells, as well as the Marvelettes and the Miracles.

After leaving the label in 1962, Wylie signed to Epic as a solo artist and released a series of singles, but withlittle success. He freelanced for the local Detroit labels Golden World, SonBert and Ric-Tic, forging a strong partnership with Edwin Starr in particular, but also working with the singer J.J. Barnes and the vocal group the Reflections.

In 1966 Wylie launched his own Pameline imprint, best known for "Cool Off" by the Detroit Executives, first issued in 1967 and a favourite of Northern Soul cognoscenti. More than two dozen Pameline sides were subsequently compiled as the Popcorn's Detroit Soul Party CD in 2002. Wylie recorded several more Northern Soul classics under his own name, most notably the stompers "Rosemary, What Happened?" (on the Karen label) and "Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry)" (on Carla) in 1968, and he briefly returned to Motown for "Funky Rubber Band" in 1971. He moved on to the ABC company and worked with the arranger Gene Page and several Motown alumni to create the orchestrated soul of Extrasensory Perception, his only solo album, in the mid-1970s.

For many years, Wylie was unaware of his cult status on the UK's Northern Soul scene and would encourage his kids to play frisbee with highly collectable singles he had produced and released on Pameline and Soulwax, the other label he had founded in the Sixties. in the mid-1980s, Wylie finally travelled to Britain to promote the Detroit-A-Go-Go compilation. in the 1990s, he worked with the Northern Soul aficionado Ian Levine, recording "Love is My Middle Name" and "See This Man in Love" for Levine's Motorcity label, and co-writing songs for his fellow Motown veterans The Contours and The Elgins, among others. Wylie also took part in the documentary The Strange World of Northern Soul (2003).

Pierre Perrone

Richard Wayne Wylie, musician, songwriter and producer: born Detroit, Michigan 6 June 1939; married (three daughters); died Detroit, Michigan 7 September 2008.

Wow this thread IS the Motown museum . But its cool, a lot of cool stuff on here, I just don't have time at the moment to read every bio, but some of the stuff I did read was interesting. Long live Motown
[Edited 1/11/09 17:30pm]

missfee said:

THE TEMPTATIONS
Formed: 1960 (as the Elgins) in Detroit, Michigan
Important Members: Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, Dennis Edwards, Otis Williams

Formed from two different singing groups in Detroit, the Temptations ruled the 1960s pop music scene as one of the leading groups of its era. The group's killer choreography, self-arranged harmonies and melodies and its five lead singer-styled vocalizing helped the group to stand out against other groups that emerged from Hitsville.

In 1960, former members of the Primes - Birmingham's Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams, got together with three former members of the Distants - Texas-born Otis (Miles) Williams, Birmingham-born David English, aka Melvin Franklin, and Georgia's Elridge "Al" Bryant, to form the Elgins after their groups had broken up after failing to get record deals. The Distants had a local contract but it was eliminated after group members complained of not earning enough royalties. In 1961, the Elgins rehearsed for a deal with the fledgling Motown Records company and quickly won such a deal but not before they were asked to change their name. It was said that Otis Williams came up with the name "Temptations". Later that year, the group released their first single, "Mother of Mine", while the song gave the group regional Detroit success, the single failed to chart on the national charts. Much like the Supremes, the Temptations struggled for several years without hits. Despite that, the "hitless Temptations" were much a hit with audiences due to their harmonies and choreography that was handled by Paul Williams and Cholly Atkins. The group hit the R&B chart for the first time with 1962's "Dream Come True". During the early years, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams were the appointed lead singers of the group. After the release of the Smokey Robinson composition, "I Want a Love I Can See", Al Bryant left the group at the end of 1963 and was replaced by David (Davis) Ruffin in early 1964. That January, the new lineup went into the studio to record another Robinson production titled "The Way You Do the Things You Do", with Kendricks on lead.

By the spring of 1964, that song, which signaled the so-called "Motown Sound", hit the top twenty peaking at number eleven on the pop singles chart starting the group's eventual rise that soon reached its climax when Robinson appointed David Ruffin to sing lead on his composition, "My Girl". The song hit number-one in March of 1965 and the song started the group on a successful run of pop-soul hits that helped to give leverage to Motown as a successful independent company. Among the hits that followed included "It's Growing", "Since I Lost My Baby", "My Baby", "Don't Look Back" and "Get Ready" in which Robinson's sophisticated composition and arrangements made the near-immaculate vocals of the group a winning package. By mid-1966, however, Motown staffer Norman Whitfield was starting to get in the picture as a producer. After making a bet with Berry Gordy over his "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" versus Smokey's "Get Ready" for better chart position, the former eventually outdone the latter peaking at number 13 on the pop chart. With this achievement, Whitfield would take his place as the Tempts' main producer for the next eight years. The group's sound evolved into a grittier Southern soul-styled mix and Ruffin's vocals took a more guttural direction as songs such as "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", "(I Know) I'm Losing You", "All I Need" (produced by Frank Wilson), "You're My Everything" and "I Wish It Would Rain" added to their list of classics as the sixties carried on.

But like many successes in the Motown fold, it didn't come without tensions. By 1967, David Ruffin was reportedly showing an egotistical attitude, even demanding at one point that the group be renamed to David Ruffin and the Temptations. When Ruffin started missing shows purposely or showed up late, the other four members sought to have him removed. Following a performance at the Copacabana in 1968, the group ousted Ruffin from the group and Ruffin ended up with a solo contract. Recruiting Dennis Edwards, the Temptations started to head into different territory after Norman Whitfield and lyricist Barrett Strong changed the group's sound to what was called "psychedelic soul" mixing psychedelic rock with soul, a sound made famous by groups such as Sly & the Family Stone and the Isley Brothers. Their first hit under this new sound with Edwards was "Cloud Nine", which also introduced the five men lead vocal run. The socially aware single won the group a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Recording by a Duo or Group, making them the first Motown act to do so. Other hits under the psychedelic sound by Whitfield and Strong included "Runaway Child, Running Wild", "Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down", "I Can't Get Next to You", "Psychedelic Shack" and "Ball of Confusion".

By 1970, friction was once again growing within the Temptations. By this point, Paul Williams, a longtime sufferer of sickle cell anemia, was now abusing alcohol and he began to suffer from bad health because of this. Williams was often said to be the man who had kept most of the group's original lineup together during times of tension. Eddie Kendricks, Williams' longtime friend, wanted a solo career but he wanted to do it within the group, but two of his band mates - Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin - and Motown CEO Berry Gordy decided against it. Upset, he decided to leave the Temptations following the release of the number-one hit ballad, "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" following a string of shows at the Copacabana. In 1971, Kendricks started his solo career while his replacement Damon Harris made his debut on the hit, "Superstar". Before that song was recorded, Paul Williams would leave the group due to illness and was permanently replaced by Richard Street. In 1972, this lineup of Temptations scored their biggest hit with the number-one, Grammy-winning smash, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". Hits afterward included "Masterpiece", "Heavenly" and "Shakey Ground". However, after 1975, the Temptations' run in the limelight as the top group was over as groups such as the O'Jays, and later, P-Funk, replaced the Temptations on top. After a brief period in Atlantic, the group returned to Motown and in 1982, Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin agreed to a reunion with their old group recording the album, Reunion, which featured the Rick James-produced hit, "Standing on the Top". By 1984, Kendricks and Ruffin once again departed to form a duo together while Dennis Edwards left the group a second time and was replaced by Ali-Ollie Woodson. Member Glenn Leonard was eventually replaced by Ron Tyson and the new lineup recorded the hit, "Treat Her Like a Lady", which continued the group's success on the R&B charts and was also a modest international hit. In 1989, the group was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Today, the lineup of the Temptations includes Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, Joe Herndon and Bruce Williamson. Dennis Edwards now leads "The Temptations Review".

Tragically Williams' former band mates in the original lineup have all passed away from either illness, suicide or drug overdoses: Paul Williams sadly committed suicide a block away from Detroit's Motown-based Hitsville USA studios in 1973 at the age of 34; Al Bryant died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1975 at the age of 36, David Ruffin died of a cocaine overdose in 1991 at the age of 50, Eddie Kendrick died of lung cancer in 1992 at the age of 52 and Melvin Franklin also died of cancer and diabetes in 1995 at the age of 52.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the group, the Temptations still remain an important reminder of the classic era of great music.

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View their videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=

THE FOUR TOPS
Formed: 1954 (as the Four Aims) in Detroit, Michigan
Important Members: Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Levi Stubbs, Lawrence Payton, Renaldo "Obie" Benson

One of Motown's most consistent hitmakers and its longest lived lineup (40 years), the Four Tops were the most stable and consistent vocal groups to emerge from Motown Records in the '60s, charting with scores of upbeat love songs featuring Levi Stubbs' rough hewn lead vocals.

The Four Tops were products of Detroit's North End.

Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir sang together in a group while attending Pershing High School. Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton were boyhood friends and attended Northern High together in Detroit who. It was while singing at a friends birthday party in 1954 they found they were good at it. They began practicing the next day and soon began calling themselves the Four Aims.

Roquel "Billy" Davis who was Larry Payton's cousin, sometimes sang with the group as the fifth Aim and was later to be Berry Gordy's songwriting partner sent a demo tape to Chess Records in Chicago. They were sent a bus ticket and invited to Chicago to audition. It seems that Chess was more interested in Davis' writing skill than the group. However Davis' persistence ended up with their being signed to Chess Records in 1956. They then changed their name to the Four Tops to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers. They only recorded one single with Chess "Kiss Me Baby' which flopped. They then went to Red Top and Riverside before they were signed by John Hammond to Columbia in 1960 where they recorded "Ain't That Love." This was the first of a string of supper club style flops that lasted for seven years on a number of labels. All the while, they were performing in top clubs. The Four Tops toured with the Billy Eckstine revue in the early '60s.

By 1964, they had signed with old friend Berry Gordy's Motown Records. Gordy had them record "Breaking Through" for his experimental Workshop Jazz subsidiary. Later that year they were finally directed toward contemporary soul. Under the wing of Motown's top production and recording team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, the Four Tops were launched with "Baby I Need Your Loving," which went to #11 in 1964. Over the next eight years The Four Tops appeared on the charts almost thirty times, and Levi Stubbs became an international star and became an influence on singers from the Sixties to the present time.

The Four Top's 1965 hits included "Ask the Lonely" (#24), "Same Old Song" (#5), and "I Can't Help Myself" (#1). "Reach Out and I'll Be There" hit #1 in October, 1966, followed by "Standing in the Shadows of Love" (#6) in 1967.

Like other Motown acts, the Four Tops became popular in major nightclubs around the world. Like virtually all of Motown's top acts, The Four Tops sought longevity and stability of a career built equally on live appearances and records. In 1967 they had hits with "Bernadette" (#4) and "Seven Rooms of Gloom" (#14); but when Holland-Dozier-Holland left in 1967, their charting hits declined. In fact two of their bigger charting hits of 1968 were covers: the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee" (#14) and Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" (#20). However, the Tops did record a number of adventurous and successful records with other Motown producers, including "River Deep, Mountain High," with the Jean Terrell led Supremes (#14 pop, #7 R&B, 1970) and "Still Water" (#11 pop, #4 R&B, 1970. In addition Obie Benson cowrote Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On."

In 1972, the Four Tops moved to ABC/Dunhill records where they recorded a couple of million sellers "Keeper of the Castle (#10) and in 1973 "There Ain't No Woman" (#4). It was only a brief pop chart resurgence, but the Tops continued to have Top 20 R&B hits.

In 1981 they moved to Casablanca Records and had a hit with "When She Was My Girl" (#11 pop, #1 R&B). Two years later they were back at Motown and after performing in a "battle of bands" with the Temptations on the Motown 25th anniversary television special, they began the first of several co-headlining tours with the Temptations, billed as T 'n' T. The first tour ran nearly three years, went around the world, and include sold out stint on Broadway.

In 1986 Stubbs provided the voice for the man-eating plant in the film Little Shop of Horrors. In 1985 the Tops had its last Motown hit "Sexy Ways" (#21 R&B). In 1988 they signed with Arista and recorded "Indestructible" (#35 pop, #66 R&B).

In 1989 the Four Tops appeared on Aretha Franklin's Through the Storm, and in 1990 Stevie Wonder inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lawrence Payton died of cancer in 1997 at 59, Obie Benson died of lung cancer in 2005 at 69 and Levi Stubbs died of cancer at the age of 72 on October 17, 2008. Abdul "Duke" Fakir remains the surviving member of the original Four Tops. The lineup now consists of Fakir, Theo Peoples, Ronnie McNeir and Lawrence's son Roquel.

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CHECK THE FOUR TOPS VIDEOS OUT HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=
[b][Edited 1/11/09 19:56pm]

Great thread! Happy Birthday today Motown!

SHORTY LONG
Full Name: Frederick Earl Long
Birth Date: May 20, 1940
Birth Place: Birmingham, Alabama
Death Date: June 29, 1969
Death Place: Detroit, Michigan (boating incident)

Described by Marvin Gaye as "the beautiful cat with two hits and then got ignored by Motown", Shorty Long was one of Motown's most interesting artists and also one of its exciting characters. His blend of rock 'n' roll, gospel, blues and soul gave way to the revolution known as funk music due to his own exciting songs such as the original versions of "Devil with the Blue Dress On" and "Here Comes the Judge" as well as the cultural dance classic "Function at the Junction", Long was one of Motown's first funk artists over a decade before the original Commodores and Rick James came on the scene.

Born in Birmingham in 1940, Freddy Long was a self-taught musician, having learned how to play the piano, organ, harmonica and trumpet. In 1961, Long began his career as an artist on Harvey Fuqua and Gwen Gordy's Tri-Phi Records label. Three years later after the label was absorbed by Motown, Long was signed to Motown's Soul subsidiary and released his first single "Devil with the Blue Dress On" in 1964. Long written the song with Mickey Stevenson. Unfortunately, Long's version only got as far as Detroit regional success. Two years later, Detroit's rock band Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels took the version and made a top ten hit out of it in 1966. That same year, Long's "Function at the Junction" became his first charted success reaching #42 on the R&B chart. Other singles in between there included "It's a Crying Shame", a cover of the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" and "Night Fo' Last". During his short Motown tenure, Long served as the emcee for many of the Motortown Revues and also was one of the few Motown artists who wrote and produced their own recordings. In 1968, Long found his biggest success as a singer with the comical "Here Comes the Judge", which also featured Sammy Davis, Jr. in the intro. With its gritty funk music groove, the song also featured a catchy chorus and funny dialogue by Long himself acting as both the judge and the defendants. The song originally reached number four on the R&B chart and number-eight on the pop chart. Long was posed for bigger success but unfortunately a boating accident near the Detroit River in June of 1969 ended Long's dream. He died at the age of 29. Shortly afterwards, Motown issued the singer's only album, The Prime of Shorty Long, an album fully produced by Long.

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FUNCTION AT THE JUNCTION:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...ThN6UlKR74

PEOPLE SURE ACT FUNNY:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...b0y6PrAfF0

IT'S SUCH A CRYING SHAME:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...TJo7gFL2zs

HERE COMES THE JUDGE:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...Qi546UqfT4

BABY COME TO ME:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...fdocGnY9ZI

TWO-SONG MELODY:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...inas94O5Yc

BRENDA HOLLOWAY
Birth Date: June 21, 1946
Birth Place: Atascadero, California

Born in California and raised in the Watts area, Brenda Holloway was already a seasoned veteran of R&B music at least in the West Coast prior to her signing with Motown in 1964 at the age of 18. Signed shortly after Mary Wells left the label, Holloway was positioned to take Wells' place as the leading female act of the label. Instead when she left it in 1968, she became one of Motown's unsung vocalists. Holloway's legacy includes being the original vocalist behind the oft-covered classic "Every Little Bit Hurts" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy" while a bevy of recordings has helped to make Holloway an underrated legend in both the label and in the UK's Northern Soul scene.

Making her recording debut singing background for L.A. groups in 1960 at 14 with her 12-year-old sister Patrice Holloway (Patrice later gained fame as the one-thirds of Josie and the Pussycats). In 1962, Holloway released her first local single, "Hey Fool" and recorded an earlier version of "Every Little Bit Hurts" that same year. Two years later, while singing a Mary Wells tune, she was spotted by Motown CEO Berry Gordy who later signed Holloway to the label. Holloway's arrival made her the first Motown artist from the West Coast. A re-recorded version of "Every Little Bit Hurts" was released as her first single and reached number thirteen on the pop chart bringing her fame. The song would later be covered by Small Faces, the Spencer Davis Group, Peggy Scott, the Jam, the Clash, and later by Teena Marie (unreleased) and Alicia Keys. In 1965, after Mary Wells' contract permanently expired, Gordy literally had Holloway positioned to be the next Mary Wells, having her record Wells tunes such as "When I'm Gone", "Operator" and "I'll Be Available", the first two songs hit the charts, with "When I'm Gone" peaking at number 25. Holloway soon became a fixture on sixties rock 'n' roll-based TV shows such as "Shindig" and "Hullabaloo". In 1965, she became one of only three artists to open for the Beatles during the group's historic stadium concert at Shea Stadium. Holloway was the only one of the three acts (Mary Wells and Jackie DeShannon being the others) to be seen on TV.

Despite modest success, Holloway felt more like an outsider. Since she wasn't from Detroit and her sound was more grittier than her polished contemporaries, she also was one of the few female acts in the label that wrote her own material. Motown and Holloway had problems as a second album was constantly worked on. That album, Hurtin' and Cryin' would never be released but some of its songs - 1967's "Just Look What You've Done" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy" - were. The latter song hit the top 40 modestly in 1968 and was later made a top five US and UK pop hit by Blood, Sweat and Tears. Another unique factor about this is that Holloway and her sister co-wrote the song alongside Berry Gordy. By 1968, Holloway was tired of the business and the consequences that it took. Seeing artists die early and artists such as her fellow Motown label mate Tammi Terrell going through a difficult time, Holloway vowed out of Motown. That year, Motown issued The Artistry of Brenda Holloway. Shortly after she and Patrice added background vocals to Joe Cocker's version of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends", Holloway suddenly retired from the music business. She was 22 years old.

Afterwards, she married a preacher and raise four sons. In 1984, they suddenly divorced and within four years, Holloway found herself back on the road and the recording studio in the secular world recording two albums with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records. Since 1992, Holloway has kept a normal performing schedule and is often referred to as an unsung hero to some of Motown's most ardent collectors due to her great soulful voice.

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CHECK OUT BRENDA HOLLOWAY'S GREAT MUSIC HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=

JUNIOR WALKER (& THE ALL-STARS)
Real Name: Audry DeWalt Mixon, Jr.
Birth Date: June 14, 1931
Birth Place: Blytheville, Arkansas
Death Date: November 23, 1995
Death Place: Battle Creek, Michigan

The only Motown instrumentalist to make recordings under his own name, Junior Walker scored a number of hits between 1965 and 1970. Featuring his dynamic tenor saxophone solos and raspy voice, Junior Walker was one of Motown's more idiosyncratic performers.

Born Autry DeWalt Mixon in Blythesville, Arkansas on June 14, 1931 grew up in South Bend, Indiana. It was there while in high school where he took saxophone and picked up his nickname. Inspired by Louis Jordan Walker fell in love with the saxophone. Soon after graduating high school Walker turned professional and played in local jazz and R&B clubs with bands such as The Jumping Jacks and The Stix Nix. Moving to Battle Creek, Michigan in the late '50s he formed Junior Walker and The All Stars. The group consisted of Junior Walker, sax, vocals; Vic Thomas, Keyboards; Willie Woods, guitar; James Graves, drums. While playing the local club circuit the following year the group was spotted by Johnny Bristol. Bristol recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, who signed them to his own Harvey label. Fuqua's Tri-Phi and Harvey labels were taken over by Motown Records in 1963, and Junior Walker and the All-Stars began recording for the subsidiary label Soul in 1964.

In early 1965, Junior Walker and The All-Stars recorded "Shotgun (#4 pop, #1 R&B, 1965) and had a string of party hits that included "Do the Boomerang," (#10 R&B) and "Shake and Fingerpop" (#7 R&B) in 1965; "How Sweet it is (to Be Loved By You)" (#18 pop, #3 R&B) and "I'm a Road Runner" (#20 pop, #4 R&B) in 1966; "Pucker Up Buttercup" (#3 pop, #11 R&B) and "Come See About Me' (#24 pop, #8 R&B) in 1967, and "Hip City, Part Two" (##7 R&B 1965) in 1968.

With Walker singing more, The All Stars had success with "What Does It Take (to Win Your Love)" #4 pop, #1 R&B) and "These Eyes" #16 pop, #3 R&B) in 1969' Gotta Hold On to This Feeling" (#21 pop, #2 R&B) and "Do You See My Love (For You Growing)" (#32 pop, #3 R&B) in 1970 and "Walk in the Night" (#46 pop, #10 R&B) in 1972.

Walker continued recording in the '70s, including a stint with ex-Motown producer writer Norman Whitfield's label in 1979, but was never as commercially successful as he had been with Motown. He provided the saxophone solo for Foreigner's 1981 hit "Urgent" and re-signed with Motown in 1983. Junior Walker and The All-Stars toured into the '90s. Junior Walker died in Battle Creek, Michigan of cancer on November 23, 1995.

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CHECK OUT JUNIOR WALKER'S GREATEST HITS HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=

TAMMI TERRELL
Real Name: Thomasina Winifred Montgomery
Birth Date: April 29, 1945
Birth Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Death Date: March 16, 1970 (brain cancer)
Death Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

From the time she was performing in talent shows in Philadelphia, Tammy Montgomery knew she wanted to be a singing star. In 1960, she got the chance to prove it when she signed a deal with Scepter Records. However, that tenure didn't last long. In 1962, she began performing for James Brown's band and in 1963, recorded his song "I Cried". In 1964, Tammy briefly retired to pursue college but she continued her career singing with Jerry Butler. It was during a performance in Detroit where Tammy was spotted by Berry Gordy, who signed the singer to Motown. Gordy changed her name from Tammy Montgomery to Tammi Terrell and soon had her in the studio as early as 1965 recording the modest charter "Come On and See Me". In 1966, she also covered the Isley Brothers' hit "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", her version also found only modest success. It wasn't until 1967 when Harvey Fuqua insisted that Terrell begin performing duets with Motown star Marvin Gaye that things changed for Terrell. As the most popular male and female singing duo of the 1960s, Marvin & Tammi's hits included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Your Precious Love", "If This World Were Mine", "You're All I Need to Get By" and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing". Terrell's career seemed to be on the rise when suddenly it began to crash down. During a performance at Hampton Institute in 1967, Terrell collapsed from exhaustion in Marvin's waiting arms. After being rushed to the hospital, doctors found a malignant brain tumor. Terrell would no longer perform on stage. She still occasionally recorded, usually with Marvin. A 1968 solo album, Irresistible, was released but withdrawn after Terrell wasn't able to promote the album. Terrell had a volatile affair with Temptations singer David Ruffin. The couple split up in 1967 following Terrell's collapse but somehow remained friends. Marvin Gaye was Tammi's closest friend, however, and despite rumors to the contrary, the duo never had a romantic relationship. Terrell's illness got worse as 1970 approached and by late February of the year, she was put into a coma. Meanwhile Marvin & Tammi gained a following in the UK and their hit "The Onion Song" peaked at number nine there. Terrell wouldn't be around to see its success: she died from complications of her brain tumor on March 16, 1970. She was only 24. Gaye fell into a deep depression afterwards and people around him said Marvin was "never the same" after Tammi's death. Marvin later dedicated What's Going On to Terrell's memory.

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To hear the great music of Tammi Terrell solo and with Marvin Gaye, go here:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=

KIM WESTON
Real Name: Agatha Natalie Weston
Birth Date: December 30, 1939
Birth Place: Detroit, Michigan

Kim Weston signed to Motown Records in 1963 scoring a minor hit with "Love Me All the Way" (R&B #24, Pop #88). Her biggest solo hits with Motown were "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" (R&B #4, Pop #50, 1965; later covered by The Isley Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Doobie Brothers) and "Helpless" (R&B #13, Pop #56, 1966; previously recorded by The Four Tops on their Second Album LP). Her biggest claim to fame was singing the classic hit "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye in 1966 and her later recording of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." It was the success of "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye that caused Motown to seek Tammi Terrell to replace her as his singing partner, which spawned even more success for the label.

Weston left Motown in 1967 and later sued the label over disputes about royalties. She and her then-husband William "Mickey" Stevenson (former A&R head at Motown) both went to MGM Records. Weston cut a couple of singles for MGM, "I Got What You Need," and "Nobody," which went largely unnoticed due to lack of airplay and promotion. She made an album for the label, This Is America, which included her popular version of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," was released as a single and featured in the movie Wattstax. All the money from the single was donated to the United Negro College Fund.

She recorded several more albums for various labels, Stax/Volt among them, and also made an album of duets with Johnny Nash. None of these recordings charted, and Weston reportedly relocated to Israel, where she worked with young singers.

Along with many of her fellow Motown alumni/alumnae, she signed with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records in the 1980s, releasing the single Signal Your Intention which peaked at #1 in the UK Hi-NRG charts. It was followed by the album Investigate (1990) which included some re-recordings of her Motown hits as well as new material. A second album for the label Talking Loud (1992) was never released although all the songs were included on the compilation The Best Of Kim Weston (1996).

Today she is a disc jockey on a local Detroit, Michigan radio station, where she sponsors the summer events at Hart Plaza. She also tours sporadically, often alongside former Motown colleagues Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves and Brenda Holloway. She is also featured on the 2006 four CD release of the Motortown Revue series.

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GO HERE TO CHECK OUT KIM WESTON'S GREATEST HITS:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=

AND HERE:
http://www.imeem.com/tag/...Kim+Weston

THE VELVELETTES
Formed: 1960 in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Important Members: Bertha Barbee, Norma Barbee, Carolyn Gill, Mildred Gill, Betty Kelly and Sandra Tilley

The Velvelettes are one of three all original Motown groups from the late 1960's and one of the few "Girl Groups" still performing today with only original members.

The Velvelettes consisted of two cousins, two sisters and a best friend. Cousins Bertha Barbee and Norma Barbee were born in Shannon, Mississippi and raised in Flint, Michigan. Lead singer Carolyn Gill and her older sister Mildred Gill lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Betty Kelley was Carolyn's best friend.

The Barbees had already form a vocal group the Barbees and had sung together for a number of years and even started wearing matching outfits. Bertha and Norma had already been on a record as background singers for their uncle, Simon Barbee. Mickey Stevenson produced the record which was "The Wind"/"Que Pasa" with both being written by their uncle. This was to be their only single and was released on the tiny Stepp label in 1957.

The group broke up and Bertha enrolled as music majors at Western Michigan University in Michigan. After an impromptu session around a baby grand piano in the student center they formed a group consisting of about twelve girls. They sang around the campus at socks for a few months before deciding to enter a talent show at Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity with a $25 first prize. It was at this time that Mildred and Bertha decided to let all the girls go and replace them with Bertha's sister Norma and best friend Betty Kelley and Gill's older sister Carolyn. After some practice the girls entered the contest and finished first winning the $25.

It was during one night while singing in the car that the girls came up with a name for the group. One of the girls said the harmony "sounds real smooth." Then another said "Yeah. smooth like velvet." Somebody said "Velvet -Vevelettes" and that was how the name was born.

The Velvelettes got their break in the spring of 1962 when fellow Western Michigan student Robert Bullock was at the talent show. Bullock who just happened to be Berry Gordy's nephew, introduced himself and invited them to audition for Motown. One Saturday Carolyn's father loaded the girls into his car, drove three or four hours in snowstorm to Motown's office where they were greeted by a less than friendly secretary. After telling her they were here to audition, they asked where they were from. Told Kalamazoo she made a funny face, saying "Kalama-who?" and then informed the girls that there were no auditions on Saturday. As they were leaving with tears in their eyes out walked Mickey Stevenson. Stevenson recognized them and granted them an audition. Gordy was significantly impressed enough to sign the Velvelettes to a contract with Motown with the understanding that the girls were to be allowed to remain in school. Prior to that signing Betty Kelly replaced Annette Sterling in the Vandellas with whom she would perform for years. After Kelly's departure the Velvelettes would forever remain as four Velvelettes.

Signed to the Motown subsidiary V.I.P., the Velvelettes had the label's first chart hit "Needle In A Haystack" which went to #1. The tune was a collaboration between A&R head Mickey Stevenson and young producer Norman Whitfield, a combo which would provide the Velvelettes with another hit with "He Was Really Saying Something. "

"The group did not like the tune at first because it just sound kind of corny to us. Our writer and producer Norman Whitfield had great confidence in us though and his perception that it was a hit was accurate".....Carolyn Gill

The girls were somewhat invisible at Motown. Not only was Kalamazoo worlds apart from Detroit, their parents required them to get a college diploma and did not allow them to tour with the early Motor Town Revue until after graduation. They did tour in 1964 as an opening act for the Temptations and later with The Dick Clark Caravan of Stars. There was never a Velvelette album.

"I do feel that the songs were promoted more than the groups initially. Motown was product oriented and primarily interested in the results rather than the vehicle used to accomplish those results. It wasn't until the public became curious about the artist and that color was no longer a issue, that Motown got behind the artists themselves."
Carolyn Gill

"The Velvelettes were not as hungry for stardom as the other girl groups. We came from reasonably secure backgrounds and our parents were considered to be middle class blacks. So our appetite to be "stars" and make a lot of money was not as intense as other girl groups at Motown"..... Carolynn Gill

The Velvelettes continued to record and perform until 1972, then all the members except Gill decided to devote full time to raising their families. Three replacements were brought in, with Gill continuing as the lead singer. After a number of years of performing, the new group simply disbanded. Later the original members would reform and the group continues to perform to this day.

The Velvelettes celebrated their 30th Anniversary in 1991 with performance and gala affair in Canada. Since their reunion they have performed in Europe, throughout Canada, the Detroit area, and other parts of Michigan. The group has performed the National Anthem at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, and at the Palace in Auburn Hills for the Pistons opening season game. Other performances have included the Annual Crim Road Race held in Flint, appearances on a local Detroit area talk show, a trip to Japan and a European tour with Supremes and Miracles. In April 1993 the group performed on the Montel Williams Road Show in Detroit at the Fox Theater with the Contours. They dazzled the audience with a Motown medley of hits, and the impressive choreography that is a trademark of all Motown acts. They have also performed at the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland later this month.

Today Norma Barbee-Fairhurst and her cousin, Bertha Barbee-McNeal Live in Flint; while Mildred Gill-Arbor and her sister,l Carolyn Gill-Street live in Kalamazoo. All are divorced and have maintained second careers that have kept their lives busy, stable, and secure through the ups and downs of the entertainment industry. Carolyn is currently a school teacher in her hometown. Formerly married to Richard Street of the Temptations and she is lead singer of the Velvelettes. Mildred is a Registered Nurse, and a college instructor. Berthas holds a Doctorate in Education and teaches in the Flint Public School System. Norma is Director of Sales for a major hotel chain. All are very active in community volunteerism, participating in civic activities and helping to promote positive development and the betterment of their cities and neighborhoods.

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TO CHECK OUT THE VELVELETTES' MUSIC, CHECK OUT THEIR PAGE HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=

GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS
Formed: 1953 (as the Pips) in Atlanta, Georgia
Disbanded: 1989 (retirement for the Pips; solo career for Gladys)
Important Members: Gladys Knight, Merald "Bubba" Knight, Edward Patten, William Guest

The journey for Gladys Knight and the Pips starts in 1952. That year, a 7-year-old Gladys Knight stunned audiences at the Ted Mack Amateur Hour with an above-average, soulful voice singing the standard "Too Young" winning the talent show in the process. Upon returning, Gladys, her sister Brenda, brother Bubba, and cousins William and Eleanor Guest formed The Pips. In 1959, Eleanor and Brenda left the group and Edward Patten, another cousin, took their places, giving way to the classic lineup of the group. In 1960, they signed a deal with Veejay Records and recorded the Royals' 1953 hit, "Every Beat of My Heart", their version became a crossover pop hit reaching number one R&B and number six pop in early 1961. The group followed up with "Letter Full of Tears" and the Van McCoy composed doo-wopper "Giving Up" in 1962. After a brief separation due to Knight wanting a family, the classic lineup reunited in 1964 and by now were known as Gladys Knight & the Pips.

In 1966, the group eventually agreed to sign a deal with Motown Records despite Gladys Knight's objections to the move. In 1967, the group scored their first hit under the Motown label with "Everybody Needs Love". That same year, they recorded the Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong standard, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and actually recorded the song after Marvin Gaye recorded his. However, due to Gordy's then objections to the song in general, Whitfield eventually released it as a Pips single and the song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Eventually, however, Marvin's version eclipsed the Pips' reaching number one on the same chart. The group would remain with Motown recording a session of hit singles including "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)", "Friendship Train", "The Nitty Gritty", "If I Were Your Woman" and "I Don't Wanna Do Wrong". By 1972, the group had grown tired of being overlooked at the Motown label and vowed to leave elsewhere. After releasing the ballad, "Neither One of Us Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye", the group left Motown in 1973 for Buddah Records where they recorded their first and only pop number-one with "Midnight Train to Georgia". Ironically, the group's last recording for Motown, "Neither One of Us..." hit number two on the pop chart that same year. As a result at the 1974 Grammy Awards, the group won their first two Grammy Awards for their Motown single and their Buddah hit.

The group went on to find crossover success with the gold-certified singles "I've Got to Use My Imagination", "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me", "On and On" and "I Feel a Song in My Heart" and carried this success into the late 1970s. After a brief split due to royalty disputes and contractual problems between the group and Buddah, they reunited in 1980 and signed with Columbia and continued to have hits with the R&B chart-toppers "Save the Overtime for Me" (1983) and "Love Overboard" (1988), the latter song hitting number 13 on the pop chart and becoming the group's final hit. After a final tour, Gladys Knight & the Pips amicably disbanded in 1989 after a 37-year career. Knight has since had a successful solo career. Edward Patten died in 2005 after a long battle with cancer at 66.

Gladys Knight & the Pips were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

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GO HERE FOR GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS' GREATEST MOTOWN HITS:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=

Keep them coming Timmy! great job man.

a lot i know but also alot i didn't.

Lot of sadness connected to Motown, but they outlived all that with the joy they've brought the world. These artists are truely timeless.

The original 'crossover' acts.
.

Thanks again, Marrk.



RARE EARTH
Formed: 1961 (as the Sunliners) in Detroit, Michigan
Important Members: Gil Bridges, Ivan Greilick, Randy "Bird" Burghdoff, Mike Bruner, Floyd Stokes, Jr.

Rare Earth is an American rock band affiliated with Motown's Rare Earth record label (which was named after the band), who were particularly famous in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Although not the first white band signed to Motown, Rare Earth was the first big hit-making act signed by Motown that consisted only of white members, although a Chicano percussionist later joined the group.

The group formed in 1961 as The Sunliners, and changed their name to "Rare Earth" in 1967. After recording an unsuccessful debut album "Dream/Answers" on the Verve label in 1968, they were signed to Motown in 1969. The band was the first act signed to a new Motown imprint that would be dedicated to white rock acts. The record company didn't have a name for the new label yet, and the band jokingly suggested Motown call the label "Rare Earth." To the band's surprise, Motown decided to do just that.

The main personnel in the group included Gil Bridges (saxophone and vocals ), Pete Rivera a.k.a. Peter Hoorelbeke (lead vocals and drums), John Parrish a.k.a. John Persh (bass guitar, trombone and vocals), Rod Richards (born Rod Cox, guitar), Ray Monette ( guitar ), Edward "Eddie" Guzman (congas and assorted percussive instruments), Mark Olson (keyboard, vocals, some song writing), and Kenny James (born Ken Folcik, keyboards). The personnel lineup changed considerably over the years, with three members of the group dying during the 1980s and 1990s, and the only original member currently left in the group is Bridges.

Rare Earth had a number of Top Ten hits in the 1970-1971 period, including covers of The Temptations' "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (which was used in the documentary video It's Time) and "Get Ready". The cover of "Get Ready" was their biggest hit, peaking at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, a better performance than the original. This disc sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America. Other songs include "I Just Want to Celebrate", which peaked at #7 on the pop charts, and "Hey, Big Brother", which peaked at #19. They did not chart significantly after 1971, although they continued to record into the 1980s. Their 1973 album Ma, written and produced by Norman Whitfield, is considered their best overall work, and features their version of "Hum Along and Dance".

The group gained a bit of notoriety when it was mentioned dismissively in the lyrics to Gil Scott-Heron's 1970 poem, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," which included the line, "The theme song [to the revolution] will not be written by Jim Webb, Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Engelbert Humperdinck, or the Rare Earth."

Rare Earth, continues to perform at corporate events and on the oldies circuit. Bits from their recordings have been used as samples on recordings as diverse as Beck's "Derelict", UNKLE and DJ Shadow's "GDMFSOB (feat. Roots Manuva - U.N.K.L.E. uncensored version)", Black Sheep's "Try Counting Sheep", Peanut Butter Wolf's "Tale of Five Cities", Scarface's "Faith", NWA's "Real Niggaz Don't Die" and Eric B. and Rakim's "What's Going On". Their hit "I Just Want to Celebrate" was also used in a major national advertising campaign by Ford Motor Company and in the final episode of TV show Six Feet Under. In 2008, it is being used in a commercial for AT&T. It is also sampled in the opening song "Sirens" on the 2007 Little Brother album Getback as well as "We Celebrate" on the new Ghostface Killah album The Big Doe Rehab. It is the end credits music in episode 24 (One Day in the Valley) of Entourage, and is prominently featured in one scene of the movie Three Kings. The song is also used in the trailer for the movie Tropic Thunder. On October 27th & 28th, 2007, heavy metal band Metallica performed "I Just Want to Celebrate" during their acoustic performances at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit show.

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CLICK HERE FOR RARE EARTH MUSIC:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=
[Edited 1/12/09 15:31pm]

SYREETA
Real Name: Rita Wright
Birth Date: August 3, 1946
Birth Place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Death Date: July 6, 2004 (breast cancer)
Death Place: Los Angeles, California

Bio from Soulwalking site:

Born in Pittsburgh in 1946, Syreeta originally joined the Motown stable as a receptionist, however was later to become a performer after being discovered by Brian Holland.

Syreeta recorded under the name of Rita Wright, however, her birth name was Syreeta.

She began recording background vocals during the Sixties, releasing a single of her own in 1967.

That song was produced by Ashford and Simpson and was called 'I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You', a tune originally being intended for Diana Ross.

The following year, and following the suggestion by Stevie Wonder, she became a songwriter.

One early success between the two was the song 'It's A Shame' for the, then, Motown Spinners.

By 1970, the collaboration with Stevie saw the release of the song 'Signed, Sealed Delivered, I'm Yours', a song she co-wrote with Wonder, Lee Garrett and Lula Hardaway.

That same year, she collaborated with Stevie on his album 'Where I'm Coming From', co-writing the songs 'Do Yourself A Favor', 'Something Out Of The Blue', 'If You Really Love Me' (a song on which she sang) and 'Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer'.

Stevie and Syreeta married on the 14th September 1970, and although they were divorced just 18 months later, they continued to work together for several years.

In 1972, Syreeta released her debut album, simply entitled 'Syreeta' for the MoWest imprint.

The album was produced by Stevie and contained her version of the Stevie song 'I Love Every Little Thing About You', along with her interpretation of the Smokey Robinson tune 'What Love Has Joined Together', and the socially aware 'Black Maybe'.

In 1974, the couple collaborated again on the album 'Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta'.

This set brought her chart success with the singles 'Your Kiss Is Sweet' and 'Spinning and Spinning'.

On background vocal chores, the line-up included Deniece Williams and the late Minnie Riperton.

Their last collaboration came with the song 'Harmour Love', which became another crossover hit and was later included on her 1977 album 'One To One', a set that contained the excellent Leon Ware / C. Robertson Jnr song 'Tiki Tiki Donga'.

The cover image for that album was a drawing rather than a photo.

This was due to the time that Motown felt it took to braid Syreeta's hair wasn't 'cost effective' enough.

Syreeta recorded one album with G.C. Cameron, entitled 'Rich Love, Poor Love', in 1977, before collaborating with Billy Preston, an association that saw the pair producing the film 'Fast Break'.

The couples major success came with the U.S. and U.K. Top 10 hit, 'With You I'm Born Again', in 1979.

In 1980, Syreeta recorded the song 'And So It Begins', a tune that has become a 'rare groove' over the years.

Syreeta and Billy completed a further album project in 1981 and a single release entitled 'Go For It'.

In 1981, Syreeta released the album 'Set My Love In Motion', an album produced by Ollie E Brown.

By 1983, she had a further release with the album 'The Spell', this time under the production wing of Jermaine Jackson, an album including the song 'Forever Is Not Enough'.

She then became a guest vocalist with the performer Willie Hutch on the song 'The Glow', a tune featured in the movie 'The Last Dragon'.

After this release, family affairs took over and she stopped recording for a while.

She returned to the studio n the late 80's, recording several tracks for lan Levine's Motor City label, including a solo rendition of 'With You I'm Born Again' and new duets with Billy Preston.

Syreeta was off the scene for most of the 1990's, although she contributed the lyrics and sang the song 'Someday' for Nelson Rangells 'In Every Moment' project in 1992 for the GRP imprint.

Syreeta wrote, or recorded with Sheree Brown, George Howard, Gary Bartz, Patrice Rushen, Wayne Henderson, Jeffrey Osborne, The Stairsteps, George Duke, Quincy Jones and Donald Byrd, amongst others, at various times.

Sadly in 2004, and after a 2 year struggle with congestive heart failure (which was a complication from chemo or radiology treatments she was receiving for breast cancer), Syreeta passed away.

She was 57.

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LOOK UP SYREETA'S MUSIC HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=
[Edited 1/12/09 15:38pm]

BOBBY TAYLOR & THE VANCOUVERS
Formed: 1963 in Vancouver, Canada
Disbanded: 1969

Bio again from Soulwalking site:

Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers came from Canada.

They were signed to Motown in 1967.

At that time they began touring with Gladys Knight and the Pips.

The following year they released 'Does Your Mama Know About Me?', which was a hit and was followed by the songs 'Malinda' and 'I Am Your Man'.

After issuing a self-titled debut album (below), the Vancouvers split, and Tommy Chong formed the comedy double act Cheech And Chong.

They were popular in the early 70's with their drug-related humour.

Bobby's first solo album came in 1969, entitled 'Taylor Made Soul'.

Bobby Taylor remained with Motown as a soloist, and was responsible for discovering the Jackson Five.

Bobby left Motown in the early 70's and recorded for several more years, having one minor hit in 1975 with 'Why Play Games'.

In 1988, he signed to lan Levine's Motor City label and was instrumental in re-establishing contact with dozens of ex-Motown acts.

A compilation release entitled 'Tamla Motown Connoisseurs' was released in 2001, with a rare Bobby Taylor tune, entitled 'Don't Be Afraid', within the artistic line-up.

Bobby returned to the U.K. for a show in 2006, with a retrospective release accompanying the schedule's, including many unreleased songs.

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CHECK OUT CLASSIC BOBBY TAYLOR/VANCOUVERS TUNES HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=
[Edited 1/12/09 16:04pm]

I would do the Jackson 5 now but since BBOY promised me he was gonna do it, I'm gonna move on to the first big Motown band of the 1970s: the Commodores (I'll cover the solo careers of Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Eddie Kendricks also).



THE COMMODORES
Formed: 1968 (as the Mystics) in Tuskegee, Alabama
Important Members: Lionel Richie, Milan Williams, Walt Orange, Thomas McClary, William King, Ronald LaPread

Students of Tuskegee Institute, the original Commodores formed outside the famed predominantly black university in 1968 and moved to New York to perform at local clubs, their career took a turn after half of their instruments were randomly stolen. Undaunted by the incident, in 1972, they auditioned for and got an important deal with Motown Records. Originally under the short-lived Mo-West label, the Commodores first gained fame as the main opening act for the Jackson 5.

In 1974 the band made their first hit with the funk instrumental "Machine Gun", followed by the Lionel Richie-led "Slippery When Wet", "Sweet Love" and "Just to Be Close to You" in 1975 and 1976 respectively. With roots deep in R&B and funk, the group hit its stride by 1977 with the dance single, "Brick House", followed by the pop ballad, "Easy", which signaled a change in the group's style of music, culminating in the 1978 release of the country-tinged "Three Times a Lady". Redefining crossover music, the single hit number-one on the pop, R&B, adult contemporary and country music charts and also hit number-one in England making them the third Motown band after the Supremes and Four Tops to accomplish the feat. Between 1976 and 1982, the Commodores performed on nine top ten singles. By 1979, the group had hit number-one with the ballad "Still" and had hit the top ten with their ballad "Sail On". In 1981, Lionel Richie began working outside the Commodores writing and producing the Kenny Rogers ballad, "Lady", and duetting with Diana Ross on the international number-one hit, "Endless Love". In 1982, Richie made the decision to leave the Commodores and was replaced by Heatwave's J.D. Nichols. The move sparked friction with Richie and some of the other members.

The group only had modest success after Richie's departure hitting the top ten for a final time with the 1985 Grammy-winning tribute song, "Nightshift", which was dedicated to Detroit music legends Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson. The group continues to perform with three of the original members. Milan Williams left the group in 1989 and died of cancer in 2005. Richie's career as a solo artist exploded throughout the 1980s and continues on unabated to this day.

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CHECK OUT THE COMMODORES' CLASSICS HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/re...ry=0&page=

And HERE:
http://www.imeem.com/tag/...Commodores
[Edited 1/12/09 16:20pm]

How did I miss this thread? Nice one Timmy , you know Tammi T is my girl so I especially enjoyed reading about her, but all the bio's on the Motown artists have been great. I love Motown , always have, always will. If I had to name all my fave Motown artists, i'd be here all night lol so I wont even attempt to do that, but all I know is that Motown artists are legendary and the music has been the soundtrack to many people's lives, including mine.

Now I have my own issues with Berry Gordy, lets just say i'm not the biggest fan of his lol, but he is the one afterall that made it happen and helped motown become the big success it turned out too be, so props to him. Legendary label.

DIANA ROSS
Real Name: Diane Ernestine Ross
Birth Date: March 26, 1944
Birth Place: Detroit, Michigan

As a solo artist in the 1970s and early 1980s, Diana Ross was one of the most successful female chart-topping artists in music history. Add her tenure as the lead singer of the Supremes, she may be the most successful.

After eleven years with the Supremes, the founding member and ex-lead singer of the group left for a solo career in January of 1970. After her first single, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" only performed modestly well, Ross hit the top with her cover of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". She hit the charts with 1971's "Remember Me" and the number-one UK hit "I'm Still Waiting". In 1972, Ross made film history when her role as Billie Holiday in the film, "Lady Sings the Blues", won her an Academy Award nomination making her only the second black actress to be nominated for an Oscar and one of the few actresses nominated for an Oscar in her very first role. In 1973, she returned to music releasing the number-one hit "Touch Me in the Morning". After another film role in 1975's "Mahogany", she hit the top spot again with its title track from the film's soundtrack and released the disco smash, "Love Hangover" in 1976. In 1979, she recorded her first gold-certified album with The Boss and reached number-two on the pop album chart with diana, which yielded the number-one hit "Upside Down" and the top five single by "I'm Coming Out". The album, which featured the members of CHIC as producers and writers, brought Ross a new audience. Ross' tenure in Motown ended shortly afterwards in 1981 ending a full 20-year tenure with the label. She signed with RCA Records for a then-whopping $20 million. Ross had success briefly on RCA with singles such as "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", "Mirror, Mirror", "Muscles" and "Missing You" but never again reached the heights she gained while in Motown. She returned to the label in 1989 but her days on top were over. In the years since, she's maintained a high profile as a concert performer and tabloid headlines have bolstered the claim of the singer as a "notorious diva". In 2007, she was honored by the Kennedy Center for her contributions to entertainment. Her last album was in 2007 and featured mostly cover songs of famed pop and soul tunes of the sixties and seventies.

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Find Ms. Ross' music here:
http://www.imeem.com/arti...iana_ross/

Just go to "music".

Cinnamon234 said:

Aw, thanks Cinnamon.

Motown Records celebrates 50th anniversary

By JEFF KAROUB – 20 minutes ago

DETROIT (AP) — Abdul "Duke" Fakir beamed as a group of elementary school students crooned an old Motown hit to him and other veteran musicians from Motown Records.

Once they reached "I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way, my girl," Fakir — the lone surviving original member of the Four Tops — looked up to the old control room in the record label's former studio and yelled, "Call the Temps — tell 'em they got 10 more years."

It didn't matter to Fakir that the kids were singing a smash hit by the Four Tops' label mates and sometime rivals, the Temptations, during a tour Monday of the Motown Historical Museum. The impromptu serenade of "My Girl" in the old studio helped mark Motown's 50th anniversary, showcase its staying power and recognize the label's legacy — a stable of artists who ruled the charts because camaraderie and competition came in equal measure.

"We helped each other, but we also worked very hard to outdo each other," said Fakir, who was joined in the erstwhile studio by members of the Motown's house band, the Funk Brothers, and Rare Earth.

Monday marked the day 50 years ago that Berry Gordy Jr. secured an $800 loan to start the company that soon would spin out chart-topping hits by the Temptations, Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Supremes, Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and many others.

Alumni on hand for Monday's celebration included Fakir, members of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and numerous composers, arrangers — even one of Motown's famed "style and deportment" coaches.

They were on hand to reminisce, serve as tour guides and hear proclamations from local, state and national politicians. Monday was declared "Motown Day" in Detroit and Michigan.

Motown songwriter Ivy Hunter was among those gathered for the festivities in the cramped studio, boasting much of its original analog equipment and adorned with pictures of Little Stevie Wonder and the Temptations recording there. Hunter said the West Grand Boulevard complex was as productive as one of Detroit's auto factories — churning out records from 1959 until 1972, when the company moved to Los Angeles.

"This place was open 24-7," he said. "It was the assembly line for the Motown sound."

Hunter also praised Gordy, who didn't attend but offered a statement that was read by Robin Terry, the museum's chief executive and Gordy's grandniece.

"God bless the dreamer, God bless the dream and God bless the results," Hunter said.

Fakir, who called the former studio "hallowed ground," said there's no single reason why Motown achieved all of its success and impact, but there was something uniting everyone in the building.

"Everything was done with passion. Nothing was done generically," he said. "The engineers even had passion. They made magic."