“DEVIL WITH THE BLUE DRESS,” was a song that was written by William “Mickey” Stevenson and Shorty Long in 1964. The song would be the very first single Motown Records inaugurated for their new subsidiary label, SOUL, that same year. Shorty Long’s tenure while at Motown produced 8 singles and two albums, ‘Here Comes Da Judge’ and ‘The Prime Of Shorty Long,’ the latter LP posthumously released after his death in 1969. Long’s two biggest singles were “Function At The Junction,” having reached the #4 position on the R&B chart in 1966. His biggest hit was in 1968, when his single, “Here Comes Da Judge,” peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #8 and also hit #4 on the national R&B chart. Incidently, “Devil With The Blue Dress” never made the Billboard chart. Tragically, Shorty Long died on June 29, 1969. He was 29. (Source: Wikipedia; All Music) DETROIT FREE PRESSMonday, June 30, 1969
