(Above: First Stephen Foster, then Ray Charles. Now John Legend and the Roots have “Hard Times.”) By Joel Francis The Daily Record A little more than three months after releasing one of the best albums of their 17-year career, The Roots are back, this time with John Legend. The pairing is inspired. The Roots have [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Marvin Gaye’
Four Tops – “Still Water (Love)”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Ashford and Simpson, folk revival, Four Tops, Frank Wilson, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, If I Were A Carpenter, Ivy Jo Hunter, Jean Terrell, Levi Stubbs, Marvin Gaye, Norman Whitfield, psychedelic soul, Smokey Robinson, Temptations, the Supremes, What's Going On on June 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Four Tops – “Still Water (Love),” Pop # 11, R&B #4 By Joel Francis The Daily Record The Four Tops needed this. The departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland was a devastating blow to all of Motown, but the Tops felt it especially hard. “Bernadette” made them the top Motown act in U.K., second only to the Temptations [...]
Diana Ross – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Andantes, Ashford and Simpson, Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Hitsville U.S.A., Marvin Gaye, Nick Ashford, Tammi Terrell, the Supremes, The Temptations, Valerie Simpson on June 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Diana Ross – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Pop #1, R&B #1 By Joel Francis The Daily Record This was the moment. For years, Berry Gordy had been grooming Diana Ross to become a star. First he pushed the hesitant child to the forefront of the Supremes, then elevated her to top billing. Now she [...]
The Spinners – “It’s A Shame”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Harvey Fuqua, Hitsville U.S.A., Marvin Gaye, R. Kelly, Sounds of Blackness, Spinners, Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright, the Originals, Tri-Phi records on May 17, 2010 | 2 Comments »
The Spinners – “It’s A Shame,” Pop #14, R&B #4 By Joel Francis The Daily Record The Spinners had been absent from the charts for five years when “It’s A Shame” came out in June, 1970. In fact, the Detroit quintet had only two hits in their 10-year history up till that point. The group [...]
The Originals – “The Bells”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Hitsville, Marvin Gaye, the Originals on February 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The Originals – “The Bells,” Pop # 12, R&B # 4 By Joel Francis The Daily Record Once Marvin Gaye proved he could write and produce a hit song with “Baby I’m For Real,” he set out to show it wasn’t a fluke. Released less than a year later, “The Bells” replicated the success of [...]
The Originals – “Baby I’m For Real”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged After 7, Anna Gordy Gaye, Berry Gordy, Bloodstone, Esther Phillips, Hitsville U.S.A., Marvin Gaye, Natural High, soul music, Temptations, the Originals, What's Going On on January 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The Originals – “Baby I’m For Real,” Pop # 14, R&B # 1 By Joel Francis The Originals had appeared on nearly a dozen Motown hits before they finally landed one with their name on the label. As backing vocalists, the Detroit quartet saw their performances on “Function at the Junction,” “Twenty-Five Miles,” “For Once [...]
Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Berry Gordy, Buddy Miles, California Raisins, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Gladys Knight, Hitsville U.S.A., Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Norman Whitfield, Temptations on November 11, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” Pop # 1, R&B # 1 By Joel Francis Producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield had finally triumphed. His fourth attempt at recording “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” had finally made it past Berry Gordy’s Quality Control meetings and triumphed at the top of the charts. [...]
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