Ye Olde Music Shoppe Recommends The Motown Sound, Memphis And More
Motown Museum Photo, on West Grand Blvd. in Detroit, Michigan, Courtesy of Creative Commons.Org Date 22 September 2018 1320 CST Author Moundcree Background removed for graphic use.
Ye Olde Music Shoppe Recommends Motown.
Motown started out as Tamla Records on January 12th, 1959, and became Motown Record Corporation on April 14th, 1960. It was formed by Berry Gordy Jr. who started his interest in records by opening up a record store called 3D Record Mart. The record store didn’t last long but thankfully, Berry Gordy’s interest in the music business did. Some of the greatest names in the music business came out of Motown. Including The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and the list goes on and on.
Motown did much in the way and indeed was influential in the musical integration of the turbulent ’60s. To quote Smokey Robinson…
“Into the 1960s, I was still not of a frame of mind that we were not only making music, we were making history. But I did recognize the impact because acts were going all over the world at that time. I recognized the bridges that we crossed, the racial problems, and the barriers that we broke down with music. I recognized that because I lived it. I would come to the South in the early days of Motown and the audiences would be segregated. Then they started to get the Motown music and we would go back and the audiences were integrated and the kids were dancing together and holding hands”.[18]
Motown Fun Facts:
- The song Tammy from the movie “Tammy and the Batchelor” starring Debbie Reynolds was the inspiration for the name Tamla Records. Berry Gordy wanted to name it Tammy Records but that name was taken.
- Berry Gordy wrote or co-wrote several hit songs for Jackie Wilson and others including “Lonely Teardrops” and “Money (That’s What I Want!)”, which would go on to be a hit for The Beatles.
- Smokey Robinson and The Miracles “Shop Around” was the first million-selling record on the Tamla label.
Wikipedia has a great deal of information written about Motown and it is worth reading.
Smokey Robinson & The miracles doing their first number one hit and million-seller, “Shop Around”. They were the first of the Motown groups to receive coaching and choreography and because of the excitement of their stage act, they were often referred to as “The Showstoppers”.
Released on October 31, 1963, “When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes” was the Supremes’ first Top 40 pop hit since signing with Motown in 1961. They had released six singles prior to this, none of them made the charts. They would however go on to be Motown’s most successful vocal group, rivaling the Beatles in worldwide popularity.
The Temptations were born in Detroit out of a friendly rivalry between two groups, The primes, and Otis Williams and the Distants. After several personnel changes the two groups joined forces and became “The Elgins”. The lineup included Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Elbridge “Al” Bryant, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams. They auditioned for Motown under The Elgins but before signing them Berry Gordy found out “The Elgins” was being used by another group. After tossing around name ideas on the steps of “Hitsville U.S.A. Studios”, The Temptations became the group’s new name. They issued eight recordings between 1961 and 1963 without much success and were becoming known as “The Hitless Temptations”
Enter David Ruffin And "The Classic Five Era" 1964-1968
David Ruffin had aspirations of joining the group and would follow them around as they toured during this period and during a local Detroit performance, Ruffin joined the group onstage and impressed the group with his vocal talent and dancing skills. During the same time period, Al Bryant was growing frustrated with the group’s lack of success, becoming restless and uncooperative. This led to fights both onstage and off and he was fired and replaced by David Ruffin. And the rest, as they say, is history. The Temptations – In my mind the greatest male vocal group of all time. What style and panache they had eh?
Still going strong into their 6th decade. Still led by Otis Williams, the only surviving original member, their new album, with all-new material is due to be released on January 22, 2022. Congratulations gentlemen!
