Bobby Taylor – “Does Your Mama Know About Me,” Pop # 29, R&B # 5 By Joel Francis North Carolina native Bobby Taylor was working with a trio of Canadian musicians performing Motown numbers in Vancouver when the group caught the attention of Supremes Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. The pair excitedly contacted Berry Gordy [...]
Posts Tagged ‘the Supremes’
Bobby Taylor – “Does Your Mama Know About Me”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Bobby Taylor, Cheech and Chong, Diana Ross, Gamble and Huff, Hitsville U.S.A., Jimi Hendrix, Philly soul, The Sound Of Philadelphia, the Supremes, Three Dog Night, Tommy Chong on October 5, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Rita Wright – “I Can’t Give Back the Love I Feel For You”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Ashford and Simpson, Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Jeff Beck, Stevie Wonder, Syreeta, the Supremes on October 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Rita Wright – “I Can’t Give Back the Love I Feel For You,” did not chart By Joel Francis Rita Wright is best known by her 1970s stage name, Syreeta. Before she collaborated with – and briefly married – Stevie Wonder, and scored a handful of Adult Contemporary hits with Billy Preston, Wright was a [...]
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – “I Second That Emotion”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Al Cleveland, David Ruffin, Dennis Edwards, Diana Ross, Grateful Dead, Hitsville U.S.A., Japan, Jerry Garcia, Marv Tarplin, Smokey Robinson, soul music, Tammy Wynette, The Miracles, the Supremes, The Temptations on September 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – “I Second That Emotion,” Pop # 4, R&B # 1 By Joel Francis Smokey Robinson was Christmas shopping with fellow Motown songwriter Al Cleveland when Cleveland let slip the malapropism “I second that emotion.” Intrigued, Robinson penned a lyric about a man disinterested in flirting, fishing for long-term love. [...]
Gladys Knight and the Pips – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Aretha Franklin, Berry Gordy, Daydream Believer, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Isley Brothers, Jerry Wexler, King Curtis, Marvin Gaye, Monkees, Norman Whitfield, psychedelic soul, Smokey Robinson, The Miracles, the Pips, the Supremes on September 9, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Gladys Knight and the Pips – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” Pop # 2, R&B # 1 By Joel Francis Unlike nearly every other soul singer at the time, Gladys Knight didn’t want to go to Motown. She was (rightly) worried she and her group, the Pips, would end up playing second fiddle to [...]
Four Tops – “Bernadette”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Four Tops, Freda Payne, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Honey Comb, Levi Stubbs, Norman Whitfield, the Supremes on August 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Four Tops – “Bernadette,” Pop # 4, R&B # 3 By Joel Francis Levi Stubbs’ performance on “Bernadette” cements his status as Motown’s greatest male vocalist. The magnificent feats Stubbs laid down on the Four Tops previous pair of singles, “Reach Out” and “Standing in the Shadows of Love” reaches an impassioned crescendo on “Bernadette.” [...]
The Supremes – “You Can’t Hurry Love”
Posted in Motown, tagged Brian Setzer, Buddy Miles, California Raisins, Diana Ross, Electric Flag, Funk Brothers, Genesis, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, James Jamerson, Jimi Hendrix, My Girl, Phil Collins, Rock This Town, soul music, Stray Cats, the Supremes, Whoopi Goldberg on May 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Supremes – “You Can’t Hurry Love,” Pop #1, R&B #1 By Joel Francis The bouncing bassline that opens this song is courtesy of James Jamerson, the same man who delivered the delightful and legendary three-note thump that introduces “My Girl.” The intro to Holland-Dozier-Holland’s masterpiece “You Can’t Hurry Love” is a lesson in how [...]
Isley Brothers – “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)”
Posted in Motown, tagged Beatles, Berry Gordy, Four Tops, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Isley Brothers, Martha Reeves, Marvin Gaye, Shout, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, Twist and Shout on February 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Isley Brothers – “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You),” Pop #12, R&B #6 By Joel Francis For the most part, Motown’s talent during its heyday was home-grown. Martha Reeves was a Hitsville secretary, Stevie Wonder was a kid pestering the Funk Brothers for lessons, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson were part of [...]
Rock Hall Celebrates 50 Years of Motown
Posted in Motown, Music history, tagged Berry Gordy, Bobby Rogers, Diana Ross, Fox Theater, Funk Brothers, Hitsville U.S.A., James Jamerson, Joel Francis, Mary Wilson, Motown Turns 50, museum exhibit, Rick James, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rock Hall, Stevie Wonder, The Miracles, the Supremes on January 9, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Above: Part of the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit celebrating 50 years of Motown Records. The exhibit is open all year. (Photo courtesy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.) By Joel Francis It may seem hard to believe, but “the sound of young America” is 50 years old. To celebrate [...]
Kim Weston – “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)”
Posted in Motown, tagged Berry Gordy, Blood Sweat and Tears, Diana Ross, Doobie Brothers, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Isley Brothers, Kim Weston, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes on January 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Kim Weston – “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While),” Pop #50, R&B #4 By Joel Francis Kim Weston is best remembered as Marvin Gaye’s duet partner on “It Takes Two,” but she did manage to score a few chart hits on her own. (Like seemingly every Motown hit of 1965) “Take [...]
Martha and the Vandellas – “Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)”
Posted in Motown, tagged Berry Gordy, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Joel Francis, Kim Weston, Martha and the Vandellas, Martha Reeves, soul music, the Supremes on January 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Martha and the Vandellas – “Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things),” Pop #70, R&B #22 By Joel Francis Martha and the Vandellas didn’t do many ballads. Their best-known songs – “Heat Wave,” “Jimmy Mack” and “Nowhere to Run” – are all relentlessly upbeat. Despite the drastic change in tempo, the three songs above share at [...]
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