Dr. King Attorney Retracts Infringement Suit Against Motown Records
(Credit: Motown Museum)
DETROIT — Involvement of Motown Record Corporation in a multi-defendant infringement suit lodged last week by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was an error, and the company’s name has now been dropped from the suit, according to Motown spokesmen.
According to officials of Motown, King and the record company’s president, Berry Gordy Jr., are close friends and that when King’s attorney, Clarence Jones, filed the suit, he was not aware of this and of previous agreements made between the two men, and added the name of Motown to those of the other defendants, Mr. Maestro, Inc., and 20th Century-Fox Records.
The action stems from the alleged unauthorized use on records of King’s recitation, “I Have a Dream,” used at various integration rallies, on which he says he obtained a copyright.
The Motown use of the recitation appeared on an LP of a mass meeting and rally earlier this year in Detroit. Motown says it will soon issue another LP, titled “The Great March On Washington”. END
_______________
Information, credit and news source: Billboard, October 19, 1963
A MCRFB Note: For a more in-depth publication relating as close to this October 1963 Billboard story, read this TIME article dated February 20, 2020, HERE
Double click image for enlarged PC view. On mobile devices, stretch image across your device screen.
The Motown Records ad featured below (published in Billboard 10/12/1963) was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
Pathe-Marconi Red Carpets Motown in France, Promoting Gordy’s Acts and New Tamla-Motown Label
PARIS — Pathe–Marconi pulled out all stops this week to launch theTamla-Motown sound in France.
The European premiere of the T-M show was asell-out concert at the Paris Olympia Theater which featured most of the Berry Gordy Jr. team–the Supremes, the Miracles, Martha and the Vendettas, Stevie Wonder and the Earl Van Dyke Sextet.
To this concert Pathe-Marconi summoned their representativesinHolland,Sweden, West Germany, Italy, Switzerland,Belgium,Norwayand Denmark.Organizationcosts forthispilgrimage andthe lavish midnight cocktail party thatfollowedtheconcert amounted to some $4,000.
It was Pathe-Marconi’sbiggest promotion since the acquisition of the Capitol label 10 years ago.Advance publicity for the launching of the Tamla-Motown label included special point-of-salerecorddisplays and 50 huge posters—total area12,000 square yards–at strategic points throughout Paris. There were also display advertisements in France’s paper, France Soir.
SaidPathe-Marconipressman, M. Boullen: “The launching of the Tamla-Motown labelhere comes atatime when French record buyers are becoming more inclined to accept lyrics in English. There is now a very noticeable tendency for them to prefer the original record, in English, to the French language cover version.”
Enthusiastic Crowd
The Tamla team got an enthusiasticreception fromthe French audienceandBerry Gordy Jr. told Billboard afterwards he was well satisfied with the reaction.
Inashortspeechatthe cocktail party, Gordy said that his company always tried to put quality first and recalled that last year Tamla-Motown put out 65 singles, of which 44 got into the American charts.
First releases of the label in France include disks by the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Earl Van Dyke. Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, the Miracles, the Velvelettes, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Contours and Brenda Holloway.
Berry Gordy also announced that Tamla-Motown had signed French singer Richard Anthony. END
_______________
Credit source information (as published): Billboard, May 1, 1965
Motown’s House Band Finally Gets Their Recognition and Just Due
LOS ANGELES — After more than 40 years of obscurity, the Funk Brothers are finally earning their due.
Though this group of 13 jazz/blues artists crafted much of the sound for Motown Records’ Detroit-era hits, its contribution to the music industry only recently received widespread recognition with the Standing in the Shadows of Motown documentary (Artisan).
The title’s April 22 DVD release ($22.98, $19.98 for VHS) promises to attract an even wider American audience with such notable added-value content as extra jam-session footage and extended documentary featurettes, as well as through its joint promotional support from Artisan Home Entertainment and Universal Music Enterprises (UME). UME promoted the accompanying soundtrack, which was released on Hip-O/Motown.
PACKED WITH CELEBRITIES, HITS The Standing in the Shadows of Motown project first took wing in the 1980s. Writer/producer Allan Slutsky had been researching the bass playing of James Jamerson for a book about R&B hotbeds of the 1960s. Interest in the musician’s style led Slutsky to track down his widow, who informed him about Jamerson’s work with the Funk Brothers through out that decade and into the early 1970s. Slutsky ultimately wrote a book about the Funk Brothers and produced the documentary, which was released in theaters last November.
Through interviews and re-enacted scenes, the film documents the Funk Brothers’ rise and fall at Berry Gordy Jr.’sMotown Records. It also features performance segments with the surviving members of the house band and such contemporary vocalists as Joan Osborne, Chaka Khan, and Ben Harper. Pianist Johnny Griffith and drummer Richard “Pistol” Allen participated in the film, but they passed away before its theatrical release. (Griffith’s passing came just days before the film’s debut.)
The film’s soundtrack-which includes new recordings of “Heat Wave,” “Do You Love Me,””I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and other Motown hits–garnered the Funk Brothers’ first Grammy Awards this year, in the categories of best traditional R&B vocal performance (for “What’s Going On,”with lead vocals by Khan) and best compilation sound track album for a motion picture, television or other visual media. The project, released Sept. 24, 2002, has sold 13,000 units, according to Nielsen Sound Scan.
Motown music’s ability to captivate modern audiences is not surprising to Funk Brother Jack Ashford, a tambourine player, who says, “Each Funk Brother had a unique signature to what he did, and these combinations made Motown’s music which in turn, collectively, created theMotown sound.”
Motown’s Funk Brothers Joe Hunter, Eddie Willis and Joe Messina inside Hitsville’s Studio A, “The Snakepit.” (Click on image for largest detailed view)
Pianist Joe Hunter adds that the film “is the biggest recognition that [the Funk Brothers] have ever gotten. And because of Allan, I saw a whole lot of people I hadn’t seen in 35 years. By the time we had played our third tune together, we were at it again.”
Viewers will gain further insight into the ongoing history of the Funk Brothers through the DVD’s special features. Among these selections are a commentary with Slutsky and director Paul Justman, biographies of individual Funk Brothers, and a featurette recorded at a dinner with the group. The interactive recording-studio extra also enables viewers to arrange and record variations of the Funk Brothers tunes.
“I think the DVD will be most rewarding, because it is going down in history,” says Funk Brother Joe Messina, a guitarist who had stopped playing music for 30 years before participating in the project.
MOTOWN MARKETING Artisan and UME’s joint promotional plans are designed to interest consumers in the video and the soundtrack. UME senior director of sales and marketing Ken Patrick says, “The goal is to try to create overall Motown excitement.”
The companies will run joint consumer print ads and are working on a variety of retail promotions. For example, Tower stores will feature end caps with the CD and DVD, while a sampler of Motown songs will be free with the purchase of the DVD at Circuit City outlets.
The Albany, N.Y.-based Trans–World chain is also running print and radio ads touting the titles. Trans World video buyer Mark Higgins says, “I think the DVD is going to do great. This is a natural for us, because our business is still primarily music.”
Artisan and UME will also provide support for the Funk Brothers’ April tour with Osborne. Artisan president of sales and marketing Jeff Fink notes, “We’re trying to include our retail accounts in the tour as much as possible. We will offer concert ticket giveaways at various stops.” Tour stops are still being determined. END
_______________
Credit source information (as published): Billboard, March 22, 2003
The Funk Brothers jammin’ on stage at Detroit’s legendary Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in 2002. [L-R] Joe Messina (guitar), Jack Ashford (tambourine), Johnny Griffith and Joe Hunter (keyboardists), Bob Babbitt (bass), and Richard “Pistol” Allen (drums). (Photo credit: Karen Sas)
Motown Monday!A special THANK YOU to CKLW and Big 8 Radio’s own Charlie O’Brien for permitting Motor City Radio Flashbacks to display his fabulous lithograph (recently having discovered online) he penned of The Motown Records Museum, a.k.a. Berry Gordy’s house he personally had named — Hitsville U. S. A. Suitable for framing . . . that is one great sketch, Charlie!
_______________
Note: Click on the featured image 2x for largest detailed PC view.
Released October 16, “Can I Get A Witness” peaked at 22 (1 week; week-ending December 28) on the Billboard Top Pop Singles charts in 1963. Final week on Billboard (16 total weeks on the charts) drops out at #47, week-ending, February 1, 1964.
Released November 2, 1963, “Can I Get A Witness” peaked at #1 (3 weeks; charted 22 total weeks overall) on the Billboard Top R&B Singles charts in 1964. B-side: “I’m Crazy ‘Bout My Baby”
TAMLA 54087 Sources: Billboard Top Pop Singles and Billboard Top R&B Singles
[Audio digitally remastered by Motor City Radio Flashbacks]
Released January 16, “My Girl” peaked at #1 (1 week; week-ending March 6) on the Billboard Top Pop Singles charts in 1965. Final week on Billboard (week-ending April 10; 13 total weeks on the charts) drops out at #29.
Released January 9, “My Girl” peaked at #1 (6 weeks; charted 16 total weeks overall) on the Billboard Top R&B Singles charts in 1965. B-side: “Don’t Look Back”
GORDY 7038 Sources: Billboard Top Pop Singles and Billboard Top R&B Singles
[Audio digitally remastered by Motor City Radio Flashbacks]
In U.K., Gordy Slated to Personally Pitch Detroit for Beatles’ Second North American Tour
Detroit — Teenagers here may still be able to see the Beatles “in person” this summer.
International Talent Management Incorporated (ITMI), the booking agency arm of Detroit’s Motown Record Corporation, will attempt to add an appearance in Detroit to the tentative schedule already announced for the British foursome’s second American tour, which begins later in the year, Aug. 15. Berry Gordy Jr., Motown President, is currently in London and will meet with Beatles manager Brian Epstein to this end.
During their first visit to Detroit last September, the Beatles named many Motown recording artists, including the Miracles, the Supremes, as their personal favorite performers. The Beatles have also recorded many of the songs which had first reached popularity as recordings by Motown artists.
A spokesman for ITMI said, “If we are able to bring the Beatles to Detroit, it will be Motown’s way of saying ‘Thank you’ to Detroit; and to the teenagers of Detroit, for the constant support that they have given to Detroit’s recording artists.”END
_______________
Information, credit and source (as published): Record World, April 3, 1965
THE BEATLES at the Detroit Olympia, Sunday, September 6, 1964.
Dr. King Attorney Retracts Infringement Suit Against Motown Records
Double click image for enlarged PC view. On mobile devices, stretch image across your device screen.
