Category: Motown

MOTOWN ACT THE DRIFTWOOD LOUNGE . . . MARCH 13, 1965

From the MCRFB news archive: 1965

‘HITSVILLE U.S.A.’ ACT IN DETROIT NIGHTCLUB A HIT

 

 

 

 

 

DETROIT — “Hitsville, U.S.A.,” the name of Berry Gordy’s talent firm, is presenting a swinging, solid show at the Driftwood Lounge here, situated on the second floor of Detroit’s popular 20 Grand. On the bill are Marvin Gaye, the Spinners, and the Earl Van Dyke Soul Orchestra (backed by Detroit blues orchestrator Choker Campbell).

The place to be for ‘soul’ happenings in the 1960s, the Driftwood Lounge, situated inside the 20 Grand, was located at 5020 14th at W. Warren in Detroit.

While the show is centered on Gaye, there is more than enough talent to go around. Motown’s own Spinners come on five strong and weave their musical, soulful strut while on stage, a standout each time they perform. They are a good sight act as well as potent purveyors of pop music and rock, interspersed with smooth ballads. Kim Weston is a young Detroit performer who can really belt a ballad. With strong pipes, she holds a solid vocal projection, coupled with fine hit materials with a solid backing by the Earl Van Dyke orchestra to hold the evening Driftwood crowd entertained all the way.

Marvin Gaye has come a long way since his first Motown hit in 1962. He has acquired tremendous stage presence and he knows how to inject excitement before crowds with his fine, bluesy-at-times vocalization, into what has now turned out to be — a polished act. His strings of hits carries his audience along with enthusiasm and applause, and he also gets crowd rave response for his glitzy, colorful apparel-clothing changes during his stage act. His exciting performance can easily project him into class night-spot clubs around the country as well, and possibly gaining further career exposure with more television appearances on many of today’s best variety shows.

The show’s emcee is Detroit radio deejay Sonny Carter, while Motown’s own Earl Van Dyke’s group does an outstanding work in delighting the audience throughout each session and performance. END

The 20 Grand Motel in Detroit. Former proprietor/owner was Detroit Golden World Records owner Ed Wingate. (Click image for larger view).
The 20 Grand Motel in Detroit. Former proprietor/owner was Detroit Golden World Records owner Ed Wingate. (Click image for larger view).

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A MCRFB Note: The Driftwood Lounge, at the time owned by Bill Kabbus and Marty Eisner, was situated inside the 20 Grand multiplex facility once located at 14th and W. Warren Avenue in Detroit. While the former 20 Grand location is a vacant Detroit lot today, the 20 Grand Motel is still situated nearby on West Warren Avenue. During it’s heyday in the 1960s, the 20 Grand Motel became part-and-parcel with the 20 Grand Driftwood crowd after a night of entertainment at the club.

At that time, the 20 Grand Hotel was owned by Detroit’s other soul record-mogul great, Ed Wingate. Wingate owned Ric-Tic and Golden World Records. Many of Wingate’s top soul recording performers (Detroit Emeralds; J.J. Barnes; Edwin Starr; Reflections; Al Kent; Fantastic Four and others) went on to become popular headliners at the 20 Grand Driftwood Lounge in 1965, ’66, ’67 and 1968. — Jim Feliciano

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(Information and news source: Billboard; March 13, 1965)

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SUPREMES NUMBER ONE . . . DECEMBER 19, 1964

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1964

SUPREMES ARE NO. 1 ON BILLBOARD; THIRD DISK IN A ROW

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK — Motown’s Supremes are living up to their title. The gal group captured the first place position on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart with their waxing of “Come See About Me.” This is the third No. 1 record in a row for the gals from Detroit, and they now represent the first femme group to achieve this status.

The Supremes ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ LP album; Motown Records; 1964. (Click on image for larger view)

To add to it all, Diana, Flo, and Mary have staged a turnabout on the British by invading their No. 1 position on their chart with “Baby Love,” the first American girl group to do so. The record also registers big here, having reached the No. 8 position on Billboard’s single listing and holding 15th place this week.

Their Motown albums have had the same response from record buyers. “Where Did Our Love Go,” formerly occupying the No. 1 position is No. 7 this week on Billboard’s LP chart with 14 weeks as a chart entry. Their most recent album release, “A Little Bit Of Liverpool,” has reached the 92 position this week after only a month on the chart. Indications are that the album should do as well as its predecessor.

“Baby Love,” also reached the chart pinnacle for four consecutive weeks. The Supremes have recently returned from a much-heralded tour in England and Europe. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; December 19, 1964)

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FOUR TOPS’ ’67 CLUB SCENE . . . SEPTEMBER 23, 1967

From the MCRFB news archive: 1967

Room At The Top, Motown’s Own Four Tops Customizing Song Selections For Nightclub Acts

 

 

 

 

Hollywood — The Four Tops, who closed their first booking at the Cocoanut Grove with a live LP recording, have learned to custom-tailor their repertoire to suit the level of the room audience. Four years ago the Detroit quartet was still hustling around the “chitlin’ circuit.”

The Four Tops.

Today, the male vocalists are a top Motown act and a new find for such rooms as the Grove and New York’s Copa, Washington D.C.’s Shoreham, Cherry Hill, New Jersey’s Latin Casino, and Hollywood, Miami’s own Diplomat — all forthcoming bookings.

On recordings, the quartet sings the pop love songs of Eddie Holland-Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. On stage, they dip into the Broadway and film repertoire for adult-oriented tunes which fit the Tops’ pleasant harmonies.

“We try to keep the composer’s beauty in the material,” explains Renaldo Benson, who along with Levi Stubbs, Jr., Lawrence Payton, and Abdul (Duke) Fakir formed the group thirteen-years ago.

During their Grove engagement the quartet included an Academy Award medley as its customizing salute to the film-oriented audience. Wade Marcus, the group’s musical director, along with Payton produced the live LP, for which Motown’s chief engineer was flown here for the special event.

The Four Tops circa 1966.

Benson, the “philosopher” in the group, feels that as a result of the Grove appearance, the group sought a wider musical scope in selections of other songs they were to perform. “For the last four years we’ve been playing rock concerts where sounds are really not that important. Here, we have to truly work to stimulate the audience.” Benson says they never “jive the audience” because they’ve been through the scuffling bit and appreciate the opportunity to work in the big time.

The Tops’ troupe numbers nine (including rhythm section) which involves a healthy weekly pay, but they are earning substantially more than their “chitlin’ circuits” salaries of from $1,000 to $1,500.

Two months ago the artists worked the Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip, where their repertoire was more tuned to their Motown singles hits. Their booking into the downtown prestige room here in Los Angeles was so soon after the Whiskey exposure, that it was a surprising bit of scheduling for the Tops.

 

When they play for colleges, the students ask for the single hits. This fall the quartet is planning a new act for the Ivy circuit, which also considerably pays better than the “chitlin'” clubs they frequented just five-years earlier.

The Tops now plan to begin producing records, which is a characteristic of the Motown operation where executives are artists, and where writers are the artists as well. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; September 23, 1967)

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GLADYS’ KNIGHT DEBUTS THE ‘COPA… JULY 20, 1968

From the MCRFB news archives:

Gladys Knight & The Pips Put On One Pip Of A Show In NYC

 

 

 

 

By ED OCHS

 

NEW YORK — Gladys Knight & The Pips, another one of Motown’s crack soul squads, proved once again in their Copacabana debut on Thursday night, July 18, 1968, that, in the Motor City, the motor is soul – powered and gassed up with Motown premium. Bongos and blues flavored with that old-time rock harmony struck the right cord for perky Gladys Knight and her three Pips.

Gladys Knight and the Pips circa 1967.

A shade shorter than Martha Reeves and a hair-do higher than Diana Ross, Gladys Knight switched from R&B to clean pop vocal as easily as she changed gowns mid-show from red to green. Whether whipping the beat in “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” their biggest hit thus far, or cooing the blues in “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” she proved fluent in either language. Singing support for Miss Knight came from the Pips, whose driving sounds were tempered with straight-forward harmony and answering echoes. In “Girl Talk,” the Pips, minus Gladys Knight, cooled off the beat with a folksy, street-corner session.

Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1969. (Click on image for larger view).

Sandwiched in between their latest chart winner, “It Should Have Been Me,” the group stomped through “Every Road Leads Out Of Here,” followed with “Just Walk In My Shoes” and a soulful “Fever,” which dropped to funky part-way before it was rescued by the bluesy Miss Knight. The group, heard on the Motown Soul record label, charged up the opening-night crowd with their fancy footwork, burst of choreography and rally-round-the-microphone in sync while harmonizing. Even Al Foster and the Copa band reeled with the festivities, often overwhelming the voices with blaring horns and a beat falling like sequoia trees. END.

 

(Information and news source: Billboard Magazine; July 20, 1968).

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RUFFIN LEAVES THE TEMPTATIONS… JULY 20, 1968

From the MCRFB news archives:

David Ruffin Leaves The Temptations — Will Go Solo

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK — David Ruffin, former lead singer with the Temptations, has quit the group to pursue a solo career. Dennis Edwards replaced Ruffin starting with the recent Valley Forge Music Fair, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Former lead singer of the Temptations, David Ruffin circa 1969.

The Temptations, one of the top recording and in-person acts for Motown Records, will appear at the Westbury Music Fair for one week, beginning Monday, July 22. After the week’s stay, the group will return to the Motown studios in Detroit for recording sessions. The Temptations will also tape an NBC-TV special starring Diana Ross and the Supremes which will be aired December 9.

Ruffin will continue to record for Motown and will be managed by International Management Co., the management wing of the Detroit-based recording complex.

The five Temptations, with Ruffin on lead vocals, are currently on the charts with “I Could Never Love Another,” another hit from the group’s long standing recordings with the Motown Gordy label. END.

Lead vocal David Ruffin on stage with the Temptations at the Apollo Theater, NYC, in 1967.

 (Information and news source: Billboard Magazine; July 20, 1968).

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MOTORTOWN ROUNDUP DETROIT… FEBRUARY 16, 1963

From the MCRFB news archive:

Detroit R&B Roundup 1963

 

 

 

 

By NICK BIRO

 

Motown Review 1965 poster

Tamla-Motown’s all-star revue was SRO during it’s recent Brevoort Theater stint in Brooklyn. It broke an attendance record previously set by  Jackie Wilson.

Home for a record-cutting session now, the troops included: the Miracles, Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Marvin Johnson, the Supremes, and Little Stevie Wonder…. Of the five awards given by BMI to Jobete Music, a Tamla-Motown affiliate, two belong to Bill (Smokey) Robinson, lead singer with the Miracles. Bill seem well on his way to some more awards this year. Robinson is the writer for Mary Wells’ “Two Lovers” and the Miracles’ “You Really Got A Hold On Me.” They’ve been one and two on Billboard’s R&B charts for weeks. END.

 

(Information and news source: Billboard Magazine; February 16, 1963).

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THE DETROIT FREE PRESS: MARVIN GAYE ON TEEN BEAT!

Detroit Free Press: ‘TEEN BEAT’ Interviews Marvin Gaye, 1966

 

 

 

 

Motown recording artist Marvin Gaye circa 1966

During 1966, Detroit’s morning paper, the Detroit Free Press ran a weekly feature on Fridays called ‘Teen Beat.’

The feature article would comprise of interviews, photos, the music, the fads and anything else that was of special interest to the teenage scene in Detroit during that time.

Here is a rare, recorded interview Marvin Gaye gave to Teen Beat with Loraine Alterman. Loraine was the teen-editor for the Detroit Free Press when she interviewed Marvin Gaye for the Free Press column at the time.

Listen in once again as Marvin answered some of Alterman’s questions, such as,

What do you think of ‘Mod’ clothes and long hair? What’s your favorite record? Whose your favorite singer? If you were not a singer, what would you like to be? How do you like living in Detroit?

“The Teen Beat Song,” by Marvin Gaye, on Side A. The Marvin Gaye interview with Loraine Alterman, was on Side B.

In 1966, Marvin Gaye even recorded a song for the Detroit Free Press’ Teen Beat on Motown Records, but the recording was intended only for non-commercial distribution and was not to be sold. And we’ll include that M.G. rarity here as well. And who knows? Maybe you might have read about this same Marvin Gaye interview in Teen Beat one Friday morning a long time ago, just before you went off to school.

Teen Beat. Fridays. “Only in the morning Free Press.”

 

 

 

 

MARVIN GAYE * THE TEEN BEAT SONG * 1966

LORAINE ALTERMAN * INTERVIEW * MARVIN GAYE * 1966

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