“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
“YOU’VE REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME,” was a song written and composed bySmokey Robinsonof theMiracles. The single became the 10th single the Motown group released to hit the Billboard Hot 100, having peaked #8 in February 1963. The single also hit the #1 position on the U.S. R&B chart that year. In 1963,the Beatles recorded their cover-versionof the Smokey Robinson composition. Their Motown-titled song cover was released as an album track, one of three Motown compositions that was included in their U.S. 1964 Capitol Records LP, ‘The Beatles Second Album.’
CAROLYN CRAWFORD (age 13) won a 1963 talent contest staged by radio station WCHB in Detroit, the prize being a contract with the city’s biggest label, Motown Records. Her debut single, which she wrote, “Forget About Me,” proved unsuccessful at the time (1963). But she had a minor US hit in 1964(R&B; #39) with Smokey Robinson’s “My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down).” Her third release, “When Someone’s Good To You,” flopped in the USA, but became a cult record among British soul fans. “I’ll Come Running,” written by her as well, would be Carolyn Crawford’s last single she would record for the Detroit label. Crawford would depart from Motown Records sometime before the end of 1964. (Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin)DETROIT FREE PRESSWednesday, July 8, 1964. In this newspaper ad, Carolyn Crawford is denoted having been the named winner, previous year, of the WCHB Talent Contest in 1963.
‘EVERYBODY NEEDS LOVE‘ became the debut album for Gladys Knight & The Pips. It was recorded in 1966 and also in 1967, prior its release in September. The group having been signed in 1966 to the Motown SOUL label, their LP made the Billboard Top 200 peaking at No. 60, late-1967. The album ranked much higher at No. 12 on the Billboard R&B LP chart. Two tracks off the LP made the singles chart. “Everybody Need Love,” was also the group’s debut single. It reached No. 39 in early-1967. The second single from the LP, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” peaked at No. 1 (R&B) and hit No. 2 (Pop) in December 1967. The album was produced byNorman Whitfield, Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol, andSmokey Robinson.GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS1967
KIM WESTON, Motown artist, 1965. Her biggest hit was her fifth single released under the Tamla label. In late-1965, Weston was paired as a duet to record withMarvin Gayea song written by (her then husband)Mickey StevensonandSylvia Moy, “It Takes Two.” It was also her only single (to her credit) having made Top 20 on Billboard (#14), and it also broke Top 10 (#4) on the Billboard R&B chart that year as well. “It Takes Two” was also the last single for Kim Weston with Motown Records. The single would be included in the duet’s album, ‘Take Two,’ which was released by the label in August, 1966. Weston and her husband, William “Mickey” Stevenson left Motown for M-G-M Records in 1967.
RELEASED BY MOTOWN RECORDS, January 1965, the group’s self-titled ‘Four Tops‘ studio album would be their very first for the Motown label. Produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland, six of the album’s 11 tracks were written by the Motown song-writing trio. Two of the H-D-H songs would become singles. The first, “Baby I Need Your Loving” (Pop; #11) would become their first million-selling single, released, July 1964. Their follow-up, “Without The One You Love (Life’s Not Worth While)“ (Pop; #43) was released by Motown in the fall of 1964. The Four Tops‘ third single was written by Mickey Stevensonand Ivy Joe Hunter. “Ask The Lonely“ (Pop; #24) was released in February 1965. The album peaked at #63 on the Billboard Top 200 LP chart, 1965.THE FOUR TOPScirca 1964
RELEASED IN MAY, 1971, MARVIN GAYE‘S ‘WHAT’S GOING ON‘was the 11th album he recorded for the Tamla label. It was also his very first LP he was credited in having solely produced — in its entirety. The album’s origin centered when Gaye began work on the single, “What’s Going On” (Pop #2; R&B #1), (released in January 1971; album titled as same) in June, 1970. Three other tracks from the LP would be released as singles. “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) (Pop#4; R&B #1),”“Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler) (Pop #9; R&B #1),” and“Save The Children (UK only; #41).” The album would become Gaye’s biggest of his career at the time, until 1973. It was also Gaye’s first album having cracked Top 10 (#6) in the Billboard Top LP chart, and, having charted there for almost a year. The British music publication New Musical Expressranked the LP #1 in their ‘All-Times Top 100 Albums’ in 1985. According to Wikipedia, “Gaye was the first male solo artist to place three top ten singles on the Hot 100 off one album, as well as the first artist to place three singles at number-one on any Billboard chart (in this case, R&B), off one single album.” In a 1999 poll conducted by The Guardian, it named the LP the “Greatest Album of the 20th Century”.MARVIN GAYEApril 1971(photo credit: Jim Hendin)
‘GOING TO A GO-GO,’ was the 8th album the Miraclesrecorded for the Tamla label. Released in November 1965, the album was the first LP headlining the group’s new billing, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. The album produced four Top 20 singles.“OOO Baby Baby” (Pop; #16), “The Tracks Of My Tears” (Pop; #16), “My Girl Has Gone” (Pop; #14) and “Going To A Go-Go” (Pop; #11), their biggest selling single from the album. All four singles released were produced by Smokey Robinson. All songs (except one track in the LP) were written by Smokey Robinson and credited named members of the Miracles. All four singles off the album were released in 1965. ‘Going To A Go-Go,’ the LP, became the only album in their career to break Top 10 (#8) and would remain on the Billboard LP chart for 40 weeks before dropping off the album chart, September 1966. The LP was produced by Smokey Robinson, Frank Wilson and William “Mickey” Stevenson. SMOKEY ROBINSON and the MIRACLES, performing on stage in the U.K., in Motown’s first European Tamla-Motown tour, 1965.
IN JULY 1967 THE FOUR TOPS released their 6th LP, ‘Reach Out,’ for the Motown label. It would become the group’s most successful album of their career. The album produced 7 singles, including “Standing In The Shadows Of Love,”“Bernadette,”“Walk Away Renee,”“7-Rooms Of Gloom,”“I’ll Turn To Stone,”“If I Were A Carpenter,” (1968) and the album’s self-titled #1 single, “Reach Out.” It was also their last album produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland. The song-writing trio having left Motown in late-1967. The album was recorded at Hitsville Studio A between 1966 and 1967. ‘Reach Out,’ the album, peaked #11 on the Billboard LP chart, 1967.THE FOUR TOPS performing live at the Detroit Roostertail Supper Club‘The Upper Deck,’ 1966.
