William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief songwriter and producer. He led the group from its 1955 origins, when they were called The Five Chimes, until 1972, when he retired from the group to focus on his role as Motown Records vice president. Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year. He left Motown in 1999.
Mary Wilson was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of the Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals.
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.
Syreeta Wright, who recorded professionally under the mononym Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs in collaboration with her ex-husband Stevie Wonder and musical artist Billy Preston.
The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers, among others. It is estimated they appeared on 20,000 recordings.
Brendan Benson is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released eight solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs.
Meet the Supremes is the debut studio album by The Supremes, released in late 1962 on Motown.
High Energy is the twenty-eighth studio album by American girl group the Supremes, released in 1976 on the Motown label. The album is the first to feature Susaye Greene; former member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove; and is notable for featuring the last Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 pop hit for the group, "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking". Of their 1970s releases, High Energy is the second-highest charting album on the US Billboard 200, the first being Right On (1970). In Canada, High Energy is the highest-charting Supremes album since TCB (1968).
Mary Wilson is the debut solo album by the founding Supremes member, Mary Wilson, released on the Motown label in 1979.
"Two Lovers" is a single released in 1962 by Mary Wells on the Motown record label. The song was the third consecutive hit to be both written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles and recorded by Mary Wells, the two previous charters being "The One Who Really Loves You" and "You Beat Me to the Punch." The song's cleverly devised lyrics at first appear to be about a girl singing to one lover who is "sweet and kind" and a second who treats her bad and makes her sad; eventually, the girl reveals that the two lovers are actually the same person. The song became Wells's most successful release to date, reaching #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and #7 on the Billboard pop chart. Its success would be eclipsed two years later by the singer's most successful release, "My Guy."
"Your Heart Belongs to Me" is a 1962 song written and composed by The Miracles' William "Smokey" Robinson and released as a single by Motown singing group The Supremes during their early years with the label. The song is about a woman whose lover is in the armed forces and has "Gone to a far-away land"; its narration has her tell him to always remember their love for each other if he ever gets lonely.
Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance is the debut album by Motown recording artist Mary Wells, released on Motown in 1961. The album didn't chart but yielded two hit singles for the teenaged Wells including "Bye Bye Baby", issued in late 1960, and "I Don't Want to Take a Chance", a song written for her by Berry Gordy and Mickey Stevenson. Wells' follow-up album, The One Who Really Loves You, was released in 1962.
Recorded Live On Stage is the name of a 1963 live album recorded by Motown star Mary Wells. The album was the only live album released by the soul singer during her short but successful tenure with Motown Records in the early sixties. The album starts off with an a cappella introduction of Wells by her backup vocalists, The Love-Tones, who are heard throughout the album. Her live version of her first release, "Bye, Bye, Baby" improved upon the studio version and became the way she would perform it from then on. The only other live performances Wells recorded on Motown can be found on the first two volumes of the Motortown Revue series. Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes, (Little) Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles also recorded albums in the Recorded Live On Stage series.
Mary Wells Greatest Hits is a greatest-hits compilation album released by Motown singer Mary Wells in 1964 on the Motown label. As the standout early star of Motown Records, Wells, thanks to producers such as Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, rose to prominence as Motown's first crossover star for a brief period between 1961 and 1964 before she left the label that year for 20th Century Fox Records. This collection collected the best of Wells' hits with the label.
Mary Wells Sings My Guy is the fourth studio album and fifth overall album released by Motown vocalist Mary Wells. The album features her signature hit of the same name and the proposed singles "Whisper You Love Me Boy" and "He's the One I Love", the latter later re-recorded by Tammi Terrell during her own brief Motown tenure. It turned out to be the last studio effort Wells released for Motown as she left the label that year for 20th Century Fox Records.
Vintage Stock is a compilation album consisting of hit singles, b-sides and unreleased material recorded by Mary Wells during the R&B singer's tenure at Motown. It was released two years after she departed from the label.
Mary Wells is the self-titled sixth studio album released by Mary Wells. The album was her first album with 20th Century Fox, a year after she left her old label, Motown, the label that she had produced its first hits with. While this album was boosted by the top 40 success of the Motown-esque "Use Your Head", the album received little notice and its following singles including the top 50 hit, "Ain't It the Truth?" and "Stop Taking Me for Granted", which peaked at a dismal number 88 pop, performed poorer for an artist who a year ago had scored her first No. 1 hit with "My Guy". This and Love Songs to the Beatles were the only albums she released with 20th Century Fox.
In and Out of Love is the tenth studio effort and first album in thirteen years for R&B/soul singer Mary Wells, released on the Epic label.
"Whisper You Love Me Boy" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland and recorded by at least three Motown female acts: early Motown star Mary Wells, popular Motown singing group The Supremes and blue-eyed soul Motown label mate Chris Clark in 1964, 1965 and 1967 respectively.
Motown Chartbusters is a series of compilation albums first released by EMI under licence on the Tamla Motown label in Britain. In total, 12 editions were released in the UK between 1967 and 1982. Volumes 1 and 2 were originally called British Motown Chartbusters; after this the title Motown Chartbusters was used.
