Debate over Motown's 'first white act' crops up after Marie's death; historian settles it

Who was the first white artist signed to Motown?

History has shown us that being the first black person to do anything significant (see: our current president) will earn you a place in the books, so it's rare that we have to have a conversation about the first white person to do anything.

But that conversation has come up with the death of Teena Marie, which many media outlets cited as the first white artist signed to the Detroit-to-Los Angeles record label. Music trivialists and other journalists immediately cried foul.

First, a tweet from "Buildings of Detroit" co-author and all-around Detroit expert Dan Austin:

"...has said it thrice, and he'll say it again: Teena Marie was NOT Motown's 1st honky recording artist. Show Chris Clark some r-e-s-p-e-c-t."

Austin's right about one thing: Marie wasn't the first. (But based on my mugshot, I won't repeat it verbatim.) But was it Chris Clark? Nope.

Clark and Rare Earth, the late-'60s/early-'70s rock band, were also cited by The Detroit News as also being Motown's first white artists.

DetNews, Dec. 28: Teena Marie was one of the best-known white acts on Motown, but there were many who preceded her. Rare Earth was probably the most successful, signing to Motown in 1968 and hitting with "Get Ready," "I Just Want to Celebrate" and others. But there was also R. Dean Taylor ("Indiana Wants Me"), Chris Clark, rockabilly artist Johnny Powers, Nick and the Jaguars and others.

All valid, but neither were the first. So who was?

I contacted J. Randy Taraborrelli, who authored one of my favorite books about the subject: "Motown: Hot Wax, Cool Cit...Solid Gold," and also was Michael Jackson's biographer. Taraborrelli dropped a quick e-mail about a little-known singer who preceded all of the above.

"I think now the honor has to fall to Debbie Dean with 'Don't Let Him Shop Around' in 1961. Chris' first couple of singles were with V.I.P. and then she got switched to Motown, but that was a few years after Debbie's debut," Taraborrelli wrote.

"Don't Let Him Shop Around" was an answer record to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "Shop Around." It was released in February 1961.

V.I.P., like Gordy Records, Tamla Records, Rare Earth Records and Soul Records, were all subsidiaries of Motown. Marie was signed to Gordy Records -- albeit a major subsidiary of Motown, not actually Motown. But then if we discounted each album release on Gordy Records, we'd have to count out several albums by The Temptations and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, among others.

Nick and the Jaguars was the first white band to record for Motown, but not the first white artist to be signed to the label -- an honor which still belongs to Dean, according to Motown Junkies.

Motown Junkies: Debbie Dean was the first white artist to sign with Motown, and the first white female performer to appear on a Motown single. (Nick and the Jaguars, who had released the surf rock instrumental Ich-i-bon #1 in August 1959, were the first white performers on a Motown label, but theirs was a one-off deal for Tamla to release that one pre-recorded single, rather than them actually signing a contract with Berry Gordy.)

Commercially, Rare Earth was Motown's first profitable white act, with hits like "I Just Want to Celebrate" and a cover of the Temps' "Get Ready."

Finally, there's the matter of Chris Clark, who had a brief run with Motown, but is better known for her non-musical contributions. She co-wrote the script for the Diana Ross film vehicle, "Lady Sings the Blues," which earned her an Oscar nomination.

LINK: http://www.mlive.com/ente..._whit.html

Identity said:

[img:$uid]http://i52.tinypic.com/ejz9d.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i51.tinypic.com/2s696qg.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i56.tinypic.com/256rczc.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i52.tinypic.com/33xx5wx.jpg[/img:$uid]

Photos circa 1980s. (Credit: Corbis)

She sure was a fly white girl fer sure!

allsmutaside said:

RnBAmbassador said:

May she rest in peace - but I resent the media and some people referring to her as "The Ivory Queen of Soul".

Hell what is that?

Just like calling Mary J. Blige "The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul". Is there such a genre of music called Hip-Hop Soul or Ivory Soul?

Puffy named named Mary that, and he is no authority on soul, he is about as souless and clueless as they come.

These monikers are getting ridiculous to say the least.

Dusty Springfield was a real blue-eyed soul sister way before Teena Marie and Janis Joplin was no slough either and Lydia Pense of Cold Blood from the Bay Area was fiyahh as well. Lulu is pretty soulful too.

Teena was good - but crowning her a queen of a non-existent genre is a bit much.

Maybe you and Puff can help each other find some clues then. You might want to check that moniker, too. For sure you need to review the Ambassador assignation - find a dictionary. This it not the time, place or thread for that passive aggresive bullshit. Square Biz.

as I stated - Teena was good - but crowning her a queen of a non-existent genre is a bit much

and may she rest in peace

A singer/artist that sang soul music, who happened to be Caucasian, I agree

she was good at her craft, not an artist that I particularly was into - but I give her the due props, but a title - not needed.

Jimi Hendrix usually wins most polls as Best Guitarist or best Rock Guitarist, but he is not called The Black King of Rock Guitar

Just saying.

Either you are the KIng or the Queen, no need to have a special denotation in front of it.

Listening to Congo Square-Wow what a great cd Harlem Blues is a great song! Her voice still captivated

RnBAmbassador said:

May she rest in peace - but I resent the media and some people referring to her as "The Ivory Queen of Soul".

Soul is a genre. It doesn't say "Queen of Ivory Soul". It's no different than saying "blue-eyed soul". Daryl Hall has said he doesn't like that term. I've also seen groups like Living Colour called "Black rock" and Charlie Pride referred to as a "Black country singer". I've also heard Black people call Rock N' Roll "White boy" music. People are into race I guess. James Brown used to give himself all kinds of titles. Is "New New Super Heavy Funk" a genre? Because James is the "Minister" of it.

MickyDolenz said:

RnBAmbassador said:

May she rest in peace - but I resent the media and some people referring to her as "The Ivory Queen of Soul".

Soul is a genre. It doesn't say "Queen of Ivory Soul". It's no different than saying "blue-eyed soul". Daryl Hall has said he doesn't like that term. I've also seen groups like Living Colour called "Black rock" and Charlie Pride referred to as a "Black country singer". I've also heard Black people call Rock N' Roll "White boy" music. People are into race I guess. James Brown used to give himself all kinds of titles. Is "New New Super Heavy Funk" a genre? Because James is the "Minister" of it.

To be quite honest, I'm quite PISSED people gotta put race behind anything. I never at once thought of Teena in terms of race, same with Darryl Hall, Todd Rundgren and even Charlie Pride. If you're filled with music, no matter what genre, it shouldn't be based on color but I guess since we're so fragmented when it comes to race relations, I guess labeling it puts smiles on people's faces. It just don't put a smile on mine's or maybe I'm someone who thinks music should be color-blind.

Timmy84 said:

MickyDolenz said:

Soul is a genre. It doesn't say "Queen of Ivory Soul". It's no different than saying "blue-eyed soul". Daryl Hall has said he doesn't like that term. I've also seen groups like Living Colour called "Black rock" and Charlie Pride referred to as a "Black country singer". I've also heard Black people call Rock N' Roll "White boy" music. People are into race I guess. James Brown used to give himself all kinds of titles. Is "New New Super Heavy Funk" a genre? Because James is the "Minister" of it.

To be quite honest, I'm quite PISSED people gotta put race behind anything. I never at once thought of Teena in terms of race, same with Darryl Hall, Todd Rundgren and even Charlie Pride. If you're filled with music, no matter what genre, it shouldn't be based on color but I guess since we're so fragmented when it comes to race relations, I guess labeling it puts smiles on people's faces. It just don't put a smile on mine's or maybe I'm someone who thinks music should be color-blind.

That's why I don't get Black people today complaining that Elvis Presley "stole" black music. They don't say Barry White or Gamble & Huff "stole" white music by using orchestras on their songs or Marian Anderson "stealing" European music by singing opera. I've never understood the thinking by many Black people that they have to make a certain kind of music or they're not "Black" enough or sellouts (ie. Lionel Richie, Tracy Chapman, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, 5th Dimension, Sammy Davis Jr). Look at Prince. Pop radio stations ignore his more R&B or funk songs and R&B stations ignore the pop and rock songs.

[Edited 12/29/10 12:22pm]

RnBAmbassador said:

May she rest in peace - but I resent the media and some people referring to her as "The Ivory Queen of Soul".

Hell what is that?

Just like calling Mary J. Blige "The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul". Is there such a genre of music called Hip-Hop Soul or Ivory Soul?

Puffy named named Mary that, and he is no authority on soul, he is about as souless and clueless as they come.

These monikers are getting ridiculous to say the least.

Dusty Springfield was a real blue-eyed soul sister way before Teena Marie and Janis Joplin was no slough either and Lydia Pense of Cold Blood from the Bay Area was fiyahh as well. Lulu is pretty soulful too.

Teena was good - but crowning her a queen of a non-existent genre is a bit much.

Thank God it took 671 posts for this ridiculous diatribe to show it's ugly face so we could remember and respect her in peace the rest of the time.

RnBAmbassador said:

allsmutaside said:

Maybe you and Puff can help each other find some clues then. You might want to check that moniker, too. For sure you need to review the Ambassador assignation - find a dictionary. This it not the time, place or thread for that passive aggresive bullshit. Square Biz.

as I stated - Teena was good - but crowning her a queen of a non-existent genre is a bit much

and may she rest in peace

A singer/artist that sang soul music, who happened to be Caucasian, I agree

she was good at her craft, not an artist that I particularly was into - but I give her the due props, but a title - not needed.

Jimi Hendrix usually wins most polls as Best Guitarist or best Rock Guitarist, but he is not called The Black King of Rock Guitar

Just saying.

Either you are the KIng or the Queen, no need to have a special denotation in front of it.

Look, you invalidate every word flying from your keyboard right now with poor choices in timing and thread use. This it not the time, place or thread for that passive aggresive bullshit. I am not particularly happy with the perseverative focus on some things that I see people chewing on, but if we could wait a bit for the response conversation, or at least have it in a thread that is not busy providing solace to her loved ones, that would be great. Your are busy trying to split hairs to support your opinion, while Teena was busy splitting musical notes like atoms to bring the world joy.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

RnBAmbassador said:

May she rest in peace - but I resent the media and some people referring to her as "The Ivory Queen of Soul".

Hell what is that?

Just like calling Mary J. Blige "The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul". Is there such a genre of music called Hip-Hop Soul or Ivory Soul?

Puffy named named Mary that, and he is no authority on soul, he is about as souless and clueless as they come.

These monikers are getting ridiculous to say the least.

Dusty Springfield was a real blue-eyed soul sister way before Teena Marie and Janis Joplin was no slough either and Lydia Pense of Cold Blood from the Bay Area was fiyahh as well. Lulu is pretty soulful too.

Teena was good - but crowning her a queen of a non-existent genre is a bit much.

Thank God it took 671 posts for this ridiculous diatribe to show it's ugly face so we could remember and respect her in peace the rest of the time.

You mean you didn't see all of those comments by the other poster saying Teena is a disco singer and so is not worthy of attention. And then he or she even made a separate thread about it.

Marsha Ambrosius performed a cover version of Lady T's ‘Yes Indeed’ last night in London.

MickyDolenz said:

Timmy84 said:

To be quite honest, I'm quite PISSED people gotta put race behind anything. I never at once thought of Teena in terms of race, same with Darryl Hall, Todd Rundgren and even Charlie Pride. If you're filled with music, no matter what genre, it shouldn't be based on color but I guess since we're so fragmented when it comes to race relations, I guess labeling it puts smiles on people's faces. It just don't put a smile on mine's or maybe I'm someone who thinks music should be color-blind.

That's why I don't get Black people today complaining that Elvis Presley "stole" black music. They don't say Barry White or Gamble & Huff "stole" white music by using orchestras on their songs or Marian Anderson "stealing" European music by singing opera. I've never understood the thinking by many Black people that they have to make a certain kind of music or they're not "Black" enough or sellouts (ie. Lionel Richie, Tracy Chapman, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, 5th Dimension, Sammy Davis Jr). Look at Prince. Pop radio stations ignore his more R&B or funk songs and R&B stations ignore the pop and rock songs.

[Edited 12/29/10 12:22pm]

Yeah I've been increasingly annoyed by all of that.

One of Lady T's final interviews.

MickyDolenz said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Thank God it took 671 posts for this ridiculous diatribe to show it's ugly face so we could remember and respect her in peace the rest of the time.

You mean you didn't see all of those comments by the other poster saying Teena is a disco singer and so is not worthy of attention. And then he or she even made a separate thread about it.

Oh, I saw all that. This shit was trying to get racial and i'm glad it took this long for this crap to begin. I wish it didn't even need to be discussed. Teena will always be respected by all her fans, black/white/puertoricanjustafreekin

I'm actually mad. It took until the poor girl died for her to get the coverage she never fucking got when she was living.

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually mad. It took until the poor girl died for her to get the coverage she never fucking got when she was living.

I mentioned this pages ago, she's more famous now than she was when lovergirl was on the charts. Its amazing what stories get press during a slow/holiday weekend. ABC World News even gave her bout 3 minutes Monday Night.

lazycrockett said:

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually mad. It took until the poor girl died for her to get the coverage she never fucking got when she was living.

I mentioned this pages ago, she's more famous now than she was when lovergirl was on the charts. Its amazing what stories get press during a slow/holiday weekend. ABC World News even gave her bout 3 minutes Monday Night.

See?! That's the kind of...and she barely had crossover hits as it was. Makes me the more madder Motown and Epic didn't fully PROMOTE HER!!!!!!!!!!!

Timmy84 said:

lazycrockett said:

I mentioned this pages ago, she's more famous now than she was when lovergirl was on the charts. Its amazing what stories get press during a slow/holiday weekend. ABC World News even gave her bout 3 minutes Monday Night.

See?! That's the kind of...and she barely had crossover hits as it was. Makes me the more madder Motown and Epic didn't fully PROMOTE HER!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet, she never sold out..

And stayed true to her craft

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually mad. It took until the poor girl died for her to get the coverage she never fucking got when she was living.

I hear you Timmy. I'm actually mad at myself, because I've been listening to music of hers now that I've never heard before. Even the songs that I've been familiar with all these years suddenly sounds so much more amazing. I'm hearing things in her voice now that I never noticed before. Even though I was rocking Lady T just days before she even passed away, why did it take her death for me to take my appreciation of her up another level?

I really REALLY miss her right now. Again; may she be resting peacefully.

PDogz said:

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually mad. It took until the poor girl died for her to get the coverage she never fucking got when she was living.

I hear you Timmy. I'm actually mad at myself, because I've been listening to music of hers now that I've never heard before. Even the songs that I've been familiar with all these years suddenly sounds so much more amazing. I'm hearing things in her voice now that I never noticed before. Even though I was rocking Lady T just days before she even passed away, why did it take her death for me to take my appreciation of her up another level?

I really REALLY miss her right now. Again; may she be resting peacefully.

Same here.

funkpill said:

Timmy84 said:

See?! That's the kind of...and she barely had crossover hits as it was. Makes me the more madder Motown and Epic didn't fully PROMOTE HER!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet, she never sold out..

And stayed true to her craft

That's the odd thing. But I guess I can take one over the other. Just don't get why they're suddenly posting her like they all loved her.

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually mad. It took until the poor girl died for her to get the coverage she never fucking got when she was living.

Death always sells, unfortunately. John Lennon's Double Fantasy album didn't really start selling until he got shot. The general public wasn't interested in Michael Jackson's music until he died. He was just famous for jokes and tabloid stories. It's not just music either. It's not likely that Bruce Lee or Marilyn Monroe would be as big a deal if they lived to be an old age or didn't die suddenly under mysterious circumstances. It's the same for Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, & Bob Marley. People who lived to an old age aren't given the same recognition. Look at Lena Horne, Jimmy Stewart, Sammy Davis Jr, James Brown, Ray Charles, Dean Martin, George Burns, Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, and many others. Not much was said about them when they died. Look at the elders today like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, etc. The media isn't saying anything about them and they get little or no airplay. The only senior that is still really popular as far as the mainstream is concerned is Clint Eastwood, but still there's not a lot of press about him. But in his case, I'm sure he likes it that way. Clint has never been interested in the "Hollywood" life or the media.

When is her funeral?

Identity said:

[img:$uid]http://i52.tinypic.com/ejz9d.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i51.tinypic.com/2s696qg.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i56.tinypic.com/256rczc.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i52.tinypic.com/33xx5wx.jpg[/img:$uid]

Photos circa 1980s. (Credit: Corbis)

Guys, I think these are from her Robbery period from 1983..

at least that's what my black/white copies say.. Corbis has

put '1985'.. might be from her Starchild album.. however, I

don't think it's from the Emerald City period.. dunno..

..

[Edited 12/29/10 16:07pm]

sugartuff said:

Do you have these in bigger size? I'd love to put

them as my wallpaper.. *.*

Sorry, but I unfortunately did not find larger images.

debbiedean2 said:

When is her funeral?

The funeral services at present remain unknown, although an autopy on her was supposedly completed today.

sugartuff said:

Identity said:

[img:$uid]http://i52.tinypic.com/ejz9d.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i51.tinypic.com/2s696qg.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i56.tinypic.com/256rczc.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i52.tinypic.com/33xx5wx.jpg[/img:$uid]

Photos circa 1980s. (Credit: Corbis)

Guys, these are from her Robbery period (1983)..

Do you have these in bigger size? I'd love to put

them as my wallpaper.. *.*

I knew I was off lol thanks

Timmy84 said:

I knew I was off lol thanks

I was wrong

I'm pretty sure now they're from the Starchild period (1984)..

She has the same earring as in the painting from her album cover:

Riding with her idol Smokey Robinson on Cruise Control

2freaky4church1 said:

Ok, Ozzy, Nikki Sixx, Keith Richards, they live, but one seizure and T dies! Good lord.

This statement just boggles my mind.

So true, and "WTF????"