Motown Snapshot Flashback – Page 4 – Motor City Radio Flashbacks

A MOTOWN FOX THEATER ’64 MEMORY! THE SUPREMES

**THE SUPREMES * “COME SEE ABOUT ME”** [LIVE!] * 1964

A ’60S MOTOWN SNAPSHOT FLASHBACK: MARY WELLS

**MARY WELLS** ‘*The First Lady of Motown*‘ circa 1964

TWO LOVERS * acapella * MARY WELLS * 1962

MARV JOHNSON: EARLY MOTOWN PIONEER RECALLED

“MOTOWN PIONEER”

MARV JOHNSON

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Marv Earl Johnson (October 15, 1938 – May 16, 1993) was an American R&B and soul singer, notable for performing on the first record issued by Tamla Records, which later became Motown.

Johnson was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1938.He began his career singing with a doo-wop group, the Serenaders, in the mid-1950s. With budding talents not only as a singer but also as a songwriter and pianist, he was discovered by Berry Gordy while Johnson performed at a carnival.Gordy had already decided to form his first record label, Tamla, and Johnson’s recording of their song “Come to Me” was the label’s first single, released in May 1959.The fledgling label did not have national distribution, so the song was released by United Artists. It reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.Johnson went on to co-write another four songs with Gordy. After he issued the first release for the Tamla (Motown) label, Johnson was signed by United Artists. He released three albums and several singles for UA but continued to record in Motown’s homegrown studios at Hitsville USA.

He then re-signed with Motown in 1964, writing and producing as well as recording. “Why Do You Want to Let Me Go” was his first Motown single after he rejoined the company, released by Motown’s Gordy subsidiary in May 1965. Johnson’s final US chart appearance was “I Miss You Baby (How I Miss You)”, which was a minor hit, reaching number 39 on the R&B chart in April 1966. His next release, “I’ll Pick a Rose for My Rose”, issued in 1968, failed to chart; it was his last American single.

Johnson died of a stroke on 16 May 1993,in Columbia, South Carolina, at the age of 54. He was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit. His headstone reads “Motown Pioneer”.

(Source: Wikipedia; Marv Johnson)

A MOTOWN POSTER FLASHBACK: MOTOWN LEGENDS!

*(Click on above poster image 2x for largest view. On your mobile device? Tap to second window. Stretch image across your screen for detailed view)*

MOTOWN LEGENDS

‘The Sound of Young America’

Gladys Knight & The Pips; Smokey Robinson & The Miracles; Martha & The Vandellas; Diana Ross & The Supremes; Marvin Gaye; The Marvelettes; The Jackson 5; Stevie Wonder; The Four Tops; The Temptations

(Poster courtesy The Black Art Depot)

EDDIE KENDRICKS: A MOTOWN SNAPSHOT FLASHBACK

**THE TEMPTATIONS** co-lead, *tenor.* *Eddie Kendricks* circa 1971

JUST MY IMAGINATION (RUNNING AWAY WITH ME) * acapella * TEMPTATIONS * 1971

A MOTOWN SNAPSHOT FLASHBACK: CHRIS CLARK, ’66

**Chris Clark** *Motown* V.I.P. artist circa 1966

**Chris Clark** at Hitsville, U.S.A, studio A, 1966. With *Brian Holland* and *Stevie Wonder*

A SUPREMES’ ALBUM ’65: ‘WE REMEMBER SAM COOKE’

THE SUPREMES * We Remember Sam Cooke * APRIL 1965

ABOUT THIS ALBUM

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We Remember Sam Cooke is the fifth studio album recorded by The Supremes, issued by Motown in April 1965 (see 1965 in music). The album is a tribute album dedicated to soul musician Sam Cooke, who had died the previous December. Notable selections on the album, consisting entirely of Cooke covers, included covers of “A Change Is Gonna Come“, “You Send Me“ and “(Ain’t That) Good News” (led by Florence Ballard).

It was the second most successful in a series of themed albums enjoying a #5 peak on the Billboard R&B chart. It showcased the versatility of the group with a Brit-pop album under their belt, as well as, a country and western-themed album. According to Motown data, this album managed to sell over 325,000 copies. (Source: WiKipedia)

THE SUPREMES

WE REMEMBER SAM COOKE

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“OCCASIONALLY in any field of endeavor there arises upon the scene so unique and unusual that critics as well and disciples alike immediately take notice. Sometimes it takes that talent years to grow and mature to its full height. On other occasions the rise to the zenith is like a shooting star. Always, however, that rise is an absolute predictable and foreseeable event. Such a man was Sam Cooke, his very existence exploding with the pent up creativity that was his natural gift, striving ever in the allied fields.

A composer and lyricist of unusual talent, he seemed to have a finger on the pulse of the times . . . being that fortunate artist who usually did not have to look for material because he created his own.

With his eye to the future with a well planned approach, Sam Cooke breached the beach the beachheads from his early R&B oriented approaches to the mature and additional vistas available; witness his outstanding success at the Copacabana and class clubs of like nature.

His untimely passing, if on this basis alone, shocked the entire music world. To his contemporaries not only was a creator of originality but likewise he was a real person. To have this young, successful and ‘great’ removed from the scene was a fact of total incongruity that was first reaction who knew, respected and loved him was one of disbelief.

Rising somewhat in a parallel spiral, but dominated by their artistic creativity, the Supremes in their own way have reached unbelievable heights of acceptance and success. Nothing they or any of us can do will bring back Sam Cooke, the man, the artist, the creator. But more than just paying respect to Sam Cooke they are, in their way, doing what Sam Cooke would have wanted them to do . . . bring music into this world. Sam Cook’s creativity in the form of his renown compositions . . . the Supremes with their unsurpassed artistry . . . a Tribute to Sam Cooke.

In a way he will live forever. He saw to it, he made it that way.” — Scott St. James (Source of notes: LP B-side; ‘We Remember Sam Cooke’)