MARY WELLS BRINGS MOTOWN IT'S FIRST #1 HIT MAY 16 1964

MARY WELLS THE FIRST LADY OF MOTOWN

ON THIS DAY:  In 1959, Berry Gordy started his first record label, Tamla Records, running it out of a house he purchased at 2648 West Grand Blvd. in Detroit, Michigan—a location better known as Hitsville, USA. Over the next three years, Tamla made its headquarters live up to its name, turning out a string of hit records that included “Money (That’s What I Want)” by Barrett Strong (1959), “Shop Around,” by The Miracles (1960) and “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes (1961)–which is why a young aspiring songwriter named Mary Wells was so excited to be offered a recording contract by Berry Gordy in 1962.

The catch was that Gordy wanted to make a record with Wells and issue it on a brand new label that had no identity or reputation in the marketplace: Motown Records. Not really in a position to argue, she signed on as the fledgling label’s very first artist, and two years later, Mary Wells gave Motown its first #1 hit when “My Guy” reached the top of the Billboard pop chart on this day in 1964.

Shortly after signing Mary Wells, Berry Gordy transformed her from a songwriter to a performer of other writers’ material. In this capacity, she was one of the first singers in the Motown stable to record a song by the now-legendary Holland/Dozier/Holland songwriting team.

THE SUPREMES A GO GO: NEW DELUXE CD SET REISSUE!!

Los Angeles, CA – March 28, 2017 – By the time Motown released The Supremes A’ Go-Go, the group’s ninth studio album, on August 25, 1966, the group had already scaled the charts with hits like “Where Did Our Love Go?,” “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Back in My Arms Again” and “I Hear a Symphony.”

BUY CD SET HERE

The Supremes A’ Go-Go solidified Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard’s hold on the American and global marketplace, the first of their albums to go to #1 on the Billboard 200, marking the first LP by an all-female group to do so, spawning two Top 10 hits in the #1 “You Can’t Hurry Love” and the #9 “Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart.”

The album also featured the trio tackling an array of hit cover material, mostly from their Motown stablemates the Four Tops, the Temptations, Martha & the Vandellas, Barrett Strong and the Isley Brothers, but also contemporary hitmakers Nancy Sinatra (Lee Hazlewood’s “These Boots are Made for Walkin’”) and the McCoys (Bert Berns and Wes Farrell’s Brill Building chestnut “Hang on Sloopy”).

UMe will now reissue the classic album in a deluxe, expanded two-CD edition, featuring the original 12 tracks, featuring both the stereo album, along with rare mono album mixes, alternative vocal versions and mixes, as well as a duet of “Shake Me Wake Me (When It’s Over)” with the Four Tops. There are also rarely heard album outtakes, such as covers of fellow ‘60s stalwarts Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satsifaction.”

The Supremes A’ Go-Go remained on the Billboard chart for 60 weeks, going on to sell 3.5 million around the world, including one million in the U.S., knocking off The Beatles’ Revolver from the top spot for the honors. It also went to #15 in the U.K. album charts, with “You Can’t Hurry Love” peaking at #3 on the U.K. singles chart.

The production represented the peak of the fabled Motown team, headed by producers Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, the Funk Brothers and even the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on hand.

This expanded edition will also contain two 24-page booklets. The first chronicles the album’s production and success, as well as a timeline, and both rare and never-before-seen photos. The second booklet is a recreation of the Supremes 1966 tour book.

Said All Music’s Bruce Eder about the album, referring to its winning formula of having The Supremes cover Motown’s greatest hits: “In fact, back in the days when vinyl was the only game in town, used copies of this record sold faster and better than any of their other common '60s LPs, and for good reason.”

Track listings

 Disc: 1 - Original Album (both stereo and mono mixes)

  1. Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (Mono LP)
  2. This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You) (Mono LP)
  3. You Can't Hurry Love (Mono LP)
  4. Shake Me, Wake Me (When It s Over) (Mono LP)
  5. Baby I Need Your Loving (Mono LP)
  6. These Boots Are Made For Walking (Mono LP)
  7. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) (Mono LP)
  8. Get Ready (Mono LP)
  9. Put Yourself In My Place (Mono LP)
  10. Money (That's What I Want) (Mono LP)
  11. Come And Get These Memories (Mono LP)
  12. Hang On Sloopy (Mono LP)
  13. Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (Stereo LP)
  14. This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You) (Stereo LP)
  15. You Can't Hurry Love (STEREO LP)
  16. Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over) (Stereo LP)
  17. Baby I Need Your Loving (Stereo LP)
  18. These Boots Are Made For Walking (Stereo LP)
  19. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) (Stereo LP)
  20. Get Ready (Stereo LP)
  21. Put Yourself In My Place (Stereo LP)
  22. Money (That's What I Want) (Stereo LP)
  23. Come And Get These Memories (Stereo LP)
  24. Hang On Sloopy (Stereo LP)
  25. Mickey's Monkey (Bonus Track)
  26. It's Not Unusual (Bonus Track)
  27. (I Can t Get No) Satisfaction (alternate vocal) (Bonus Track)
  28. Uptight (Everything's Alright) (alternate vocal) (Bonus Track)
  29. In My Lonely Room (alternate mix) (Bonus Track)

Disc: 2 - Bonus Tracks
  1. He s All I Got (alternate vocal)
  2. (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave (version 1)
  3. It's The Same Old Song (version 1)
  4. Mother Dear version 3 (alternate mix)
  5. Misery Makes It's Home In My Heart (alternate mix)
  6. Can I Get A Witness (alternate vocal)
  7. Don't Let True Love Die (alternate vocal)
  8. Just A Little Misunderstanding (alternate mix)
  9. Come On And See Me alternate mix
  10. This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You) (alternate vocal)
  11. Money (That's What I Want) (alternate vocal)
  12. Put Yourself In My Place (alternate vocal)
  13. These Boots Are Made For Walking (alternate vocal)
  14. Hang On Sloopy (alternate mix)
  15. Get Ready (alternate mix)
  16. Slow Down (alternate mix)
  17. What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted (alternate mix)
  18. What The World Needs Now Is Love (alternate mix)
  19. Blowin' In The Wind (alternate mix)
  20. With A Child's Heart (alternate vocal)
  21. Let The Music Play (alternate mix)
  22. Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over) (Supremes & Four Tops Duet)
  23. Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (early versions the scratch it mix)
  24. Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (The SupreMix)

NEW 7 LP- BOX VINYL SET: THE ARTISTRY OF MARVIN GAYE 1961-1965!

Seven-LP vinyl box set Marvin Gaye 1961-1965, Individual vinyl release of Trouble Man, Blu-Ray Audio of Let's Get It On, Double A-side vinyl 7" single of "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)"/"Once Upon A Time"

LOS ANGELES, March 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the most iconic singers of his generation, Marvin Gaye, "The Prince of Motown," would have been 76 years old on April 2 of this year. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, Gaye was cited for his "huge contribution to soul music in general and the Motown Sound in particular…[his] classic R&B voice was edged with grit yet tempered with sweetness…[projecting] an air of soulful authority driven by fervid conviction and heartbroken vulnerability." Read More HERE

MOTOWN BURNING NEW BOOK BY JOHN JEFFIRE

Author John Jeffire

"Motown Burning," which has just been released in e-book format on Amazon for Kindle owners. You can purchase the first chapter for only 99 cents to get a feel for it, or throw caution (and sanity) to the wind and purchase the whole thing for only $9.99! For those of you unfamiliar with the book, here is the synopsis: Detroit, late July of 1967, and the city boils over.
 

For Aram Pehlivanian, aka Motown, the Grande Ballroom and the music of the MC5 and Iggy Pop and The Temptations no longer provide a haven as destruction engulfs his city. However, escaping death in the streets during the '67 Detroit Riots only leads him to the jungles of Vietnam and away from Katie, the girl who might be his salvation.

Beaten on the streets of Detroit, hunted in the jungles of Vietnam, and fueled to survive by the music of the Motor City, Aram burns with one goal...to see Katie again. Winner of the 2005 Mount Arrowsmith Novel Competition and the 2007 Independent Publishing Awards Gold Medal for Regional Fiction. READ AN EXCERPT HERE

MOTOWN'S HISTORIC STUDIO B: ROCK PHOTOGRAPHER KEN SETTLE

Ken Settle
From the film archives: Many, many years ago, I wanted to go photograph what remained of the old Motown Studio B. Though everyone knows about Motown's "Hitsville" Studio A, relatively few people were familiar with Studio B on Davison near Livernois in Detroit. This was the location of Golden World Records, who had a hit with The Reflections "Just Like Romeo and Juliet." In the mid '60s, Berry Gordy purchased Golden World and turned it into Studio B.

This was the place where many of the incredible Motown vocals, horns and strings were overdubbed. Most pivotal to me, was that Marvin Gaye's vocals for the groundbreaking What's Going On masterpiece were done right here at Studio B.

Studio B sat vacant for much of the time after Motown moved to L.A. and has finally been torn down. At the time that I photographed this, you could still see a very weather worn Motown Studio B sign on the side of the battered structure.

I used the old Kodak Recording Film 2475 for this photo, because I wanted the incredibly grainy results that this film gave, along with its extended red sensitivity. I became real interested in that film for a time after I learned that many of the photos of the '67 Detroit riots were shot on this film. It was one of the first high speed (ISO 1000) films ever. Every time I look at this photo, I hear Marvin Gaye singing "Mother, Mother, there's too many of you crying."

Ken Settle Photography
Ken Settle Photography on Facebook

BAKER'S KEYBOARD LOUNGE TRIBUTE TO WILL AUSTIN

MOTOWN LEGEND MISS MAXINE POWELL SERVICE TODAY

Miss Maxine Powell Obituary

***A memorial service for Miss Powell will be held at 10 a.m. Friday October 18, 2013 at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, 18700 James Couzens, Detroit. The funeral will follow at 11 a.m.  Swanson Funeral Home is handling arrangements.***

Hartford Memorial Baptist Church

18700 James Couzens Fwy

Detroit, Mi. 48235

313-861-1300 (Church Office)

Directions/Map 

"The world is a little less elegant today..." Lovely audio essay on NPR about the inimitable Maxine Powell: 

Miss Maxine Powell was so important to the success of Motown records and the over all image of  successful musical acts of the 1960's.  It was her view that made the Motown cross over to mainstream even more important.
 

 Miss Maxine and dear friend Miss Martha Reeves

The sound was fabulous of course, the dancing too, but OMG the CLOTHES!!! I still am fascinated by her technique and style.

The beginning of the Supremes...

Miss Maxine taught more than just how to look, she taught behavior and polish. She was amazing and her skills were unmatched. She conducted her life in the utmost dignity and taught so many others to follow her lead... RIP

Maxine Powell directed the Motown Records' Artists Development Department, advising artists how to conduct themselves in public.

  Maxine Powell

DETROIT — Maxine Powell, who was responsible for developing the charm, grace and style of Motown Records' artists during the Detroit label's 1960s heyday, died Monday at age 98.

Motown Historical Museum CEO Allen Rawls said Powell died of natural causes at a hospital in Southfield, Michigan.

 Smokey Robinson Pays Tribute to Miss Maxine

She didn't sing or write songs, but those associated with Motown say Powell was as essential to the label's operations as any performer or producer.

She directed the label's Artists Development Department, also known as "Motown's Finishing School." Through it, she emphasized to many artists — including Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Jackson Five and the Supremes — how they should carry themselves, treat people and dress.

 Miss Maxine with Mary Wilson

History Maker Maxine Powell was born in Texarkana, Texas, and raised in Chicago, Illinois, by her aunt, Mary James Lloyd, who taught etiquette and refinement. Powell attended Keith and Willard elementary schools. Before Powell graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1933, her aunt passed away.

Maxine Powell attended Madame C.J. Walker’s School of Beauty Culture and worked as a manicurist to finance her acting studies; for eight years, she studied elocution with James Baron, playwright, producer, and director of the Negro Drama League. Powell also took dance and movement lessons from Chicago legend, Sammy Dyer.

She moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1945, and taught self-improvement and modeling classes before opening the Maxine Powell Finishing and Modeling School in 1951. She bought a large house in 1953, which became the largest banquet facility in Detroit for African Americans, and worked as a talent agent, bringing black productions and artists to Detroit theaters and placing black models in advertising campaigns...then she went to Motown...What an Amazing Life...

My thoughts are with her family, her enormous list of friends and former students.  

The New York Times pays Tribute to Miss Maxine!

Maxine Powell, Motown’s Maven of Style, Dies at 98

By MARGALIT FOX

Published: October 16, 2013

Tony Ding/Associated Press

Maxine Powell in 2009. “I teach class,” she said of her record-label work, “and class will turn the heads of kings and queens.”

Maxine Powell, the Miss Manners of Motown, who as the director of the label’s in-house finishing school in the 1960s was considered in no small part responsible for its early success, died on Monday in Southfield, Mich. She was 98. FULL STORY

DETROIT BASS DAY 2013 HONORS JAMES JAMERSON!

Get your tickets EARLY BIRD SPECIAL i$10 general admission and VIP $ 20 {Includes Bass Day T Shirt and Food,,,, BUY NOW via PayPal email address : kernbrantley@ymail.com / One Band Global...  TANGENT GALLERY

MOTOWN 100 ORIGINALS NOW AVAILABLE ON ITUNES!!

Motown the Musical 100 Originals album is available NOW exclusively at iTunes! For this and even more Motown visit www.itunes.com/Motown.

MOTOWN'S FUNK BROTHERS GET THEIR HOLLYWOOD STAR TODAY!!

DETROIT NEWS:

Jack Ashford (R) and Eddie Willis, surviving members of the Funk Brothers, attend a ceremony honoring the musicians with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 21, 2013 in Hollywood, California. / Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images

The Funk Brothers, Motown's famed backing musicians, will be getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 21 in Los Angeles.

Percussionist Jack Ashford and guitarist Eddie Willis, as well as several of the late Funks' family members will be there to bask in the glow of the Tinseltown honor.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity; I couldn't miss this," said Joe Hunter Jr., son of the late pianist Joe Hunter, the first bandleader for Motown's band in 1959. He scraped up the money to fly out with his wife. "Too many people sacrificed to make this happen."

The march of time has depleted the ranks of the Motown band over the years since their 1960's heyday. Most of the Funks were older than the Motown stars they backed up, having come to the "Snakepit" recording studio at 2648 W. Grand Blvd. as seasoned pros from Detroit's vibrant jazz scene.

Hunter had already been touring for years backing up Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, Little Willie John and other R&B greats before setting foot in Motown's studio.

Several key members of the group were gone well before Allan Slutsky's book about Motown bass legend James Jamerson, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" came out in the late 1980s. Jamerson died, largely unknown, in 1983, and drummer Benny Benjamin had passed on years before that in 1969. FULL STORY HERE

With Willis and Ashford positioned on the red carpet where the star awaited unveiling, family members representing musicians James Jamerson, Johnny Griffith, Joe Hunter, Bob Babbitt and others stood behind the podium looking on.

Ailing guitarist Joe Messina watched the ceremony online from home in Michigan, said Stu Miller, the Los Angeles car dealer who led a $25,000 fund-raising campaign to secure the star.

Former Motown A&R man Mickey Stevenson paid tribute to the group that performed on countless Motown hits.

"These guys were just magic," he said. "The gift came from upstairs, but the touch they formed together."

RETRO: HISTORIC MOTOWN PHOTOS

THE GODFATHER AND THE MOB/THE REAL SOPRANOS

I had never seen this documentary before tonight! How did I miss this drama back in the 1970's when they were shooting The Godfather?  Watch this show it was really good...

This documentary features the inspiration behind the Sopranos Television show. It features "The DeCavalcante crime family" as they are labeled.They spell out all the similiarities from real life and the Sopranos show.

HOLLAND DOZIER HOLLAND: TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS

Holland Dozier Holland

"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" is a song written by the premier Motown songwriting/production team of the 1960's Holland–Dozier–Holland: the song had its highest profile via a 1975 recording by the Doobie Brothers.

Eddie Holland of Holland-Dozier-Holland made the original recording of "Take Me in Your Arms" in 1964: the version was not released commercially until 2005.

Holland-Dozier-Holland had Kim Weston record the song in 1965 her version being released that September to reach #5 on the R&B chart in Billboard crossing-over to #50 on the Hot 100.

In 1967 Holland-Dozier-Holland had the Isley Brothers remake the song: their version released in March 1968 reached #22 R&B.

The Isley Brothers came to Motown in late 1965, their first hit was "This Old Heart Of Mine", In 1968 Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown, and The Isley Brothers version of "Take Me in Your Arms" was the last H-D-H single for Motown Records The Doobie Brothers remade "Take Me in Your Arms" for their 1975 Stampede album: Tom Johnston who was then the Doobies frontman would later recall: "I had been a fan of that song since it came out somewhere in the '60s.

I just loved that song. So somewhere around '72 I started lobbying to get the band to do a cover of that. And I didn't get anywhere until '75. Then finally in 1975 we actually did it."

Doobies members Jeff Baxter said of the Doobies recording of "Take Me in Your Arms": "That song was like a dream come true for us. Every musician I've ever known has at some point wanted to achieve Motown's technically slick soul sound - it's so dynamic.

We sat down to try to duplicate it, and to see if our version could emerge as a successful single." According to Doobies member Patrick Simmons: "At first the band sounded like the Grateful Dead doing the Four Tops, but gradually it came together quite accurately." Motown veteran Paul Riser was enlisted to arrange the track.

JAMES "WHITEY" BULGER ARRESTED!!

Whitey Bulger, inspiration for the Jack Nicholson character in the movie "The Departed" Has been on the lam since the 1990's has finally run out of time... Finally caught in Santa Monica, CA.

***new***

Bulger brother may pay bail, legal fees

James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. (born September 3, 1929) is an alleged former crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang based in Somerville, Massachusetts in the United States. He also served as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a controversial arrangement that allowed him to continue his criminal activities. The disclosure in 1997 by The Boston Globe of the involvement of federal agents with Bulger was a major embarrassment for the agency.

On August 19, 1998, Bulger became the 458th person added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was wanted for racketeering (under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)), 19 counts of murder, extortion, money laundering, conspiracy and narcotics distribution. On June 22, 2011, he was arrested at the apartment he had lived in for fifteen years in Santa Monica, California, along with his girlfriend Catherine Greig. He was 81 years old at the time of his arrest...

Bulger is the older brother of William "Billy" Bulger, former President of the Massachusetts State Senate and a former President of the University of Massachusetts.

FBI informant

Whitey Bulger's alleged hit list...

What does Whitey Know About 1990 Gardner Museum Art Heist?