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Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered.
Edwin Starr was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one hit "War".
Golden World Records was a record label owned by Eddie Wingate and Joanne Bratton. The recording studio was located in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The studio's national hits included "Oh How Happy" by Shades of Blue and "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet" by The Reflections. The early, pre-Motown songs by Edwin Starr, such as "Agent Double-O-Soul", were recorded in the Golden World studio.
The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972.
The Originals, often called "Motown's best-kept secret", were a successful Motown R&B and soul group during the late 1960s and the 1970s, most notable for the hits "Baby, I'm For Real", "The Bells", and the disco classic "Down To Love Town." Formed in 1966, the group originally consisted of baritone singer Freddie Gorman, tenor/falsetto Walter Gaines, and tenors C. P. Spencer and Hank Dixon. Ty Hunter replaced Spencer when he left to go solo in the early 1970s. They had all previously sung in other Detroit groups, Spencer having been an original member of The (Detroit) Spinners and Hunter having sung with The Supremes member Scherrie Payne in the group Glass House. Spencer, Gaines, Hunter, and Dixon were also members of The Voice Masters. As a member of the Holland–Dozier–Gorman writing-production team, Gorman was one of the co-writers of Motown's first number 1 pop hit "Please Mr. Postman", recorded by The Marvelettes. In 1964 The Beatles released their version and in 1975 The Carpenters took it to number 1 again. This was the second time in pop history that a song had reached number 1 twice as "The Twist" by Chubby Checker, reached number 1 in both 1960 and 1961. In 2006, "Please Mr. Postman" was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
"War" is a counterculture era soul song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Motown label in 1969. Whitfield first produced the song – an obvious anti-Vietnam War statement – with The Temptations as the original vocalists. After Motown began receiving repeated requests to release "War" as a single, Whitfield re-recorded the song with Edwin Starr as the vocalist, with the label deciding to withhold the Temptations' version from single release so as not to alienate their more conservative fans. Starr's version of "War" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970, and is not only the most successful and well-known record of his career, but it is also one of the most popular protest songs ever recorded. It was one of 161 songs on the no-play list issued by Clear Channel following the events of September 11, 2001.
The Flaming Ember was an American soul band from Detroit, Michigan, United States, who found commercial success starting in the late 1960s.
John William Bristol was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which he wrote an eponymous song. His composition "Love Me for a Reason" saw global success when covered by The Osmonds including a number 1 in the UK charts in 1974. His most famous solo recording was "Hang On in There Baby" recorded in 1974, which reached the Top Ten in the United States and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Both singles were in the UK top 5 simultaneously.
James Jay "J. J." Barnes is an American R&B singer and songwriter.
Johnny Bratton, also known as Honey Boy Bratton, was an American professional boxer and briefly reigned as the NBA welterweight champion in 1951. He fought many of the best fighters of his era in the division, earning nearly $400,000 in 83 fights, but ended up penniless and mentally impaired.
The San Remo Golden Strings were a studio group from Detroit, Michigan. A number of its members also played in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, while others were members of the Motown backing band, The Funk Brothers. Their albums were released on Ric-Tic, Motown and Gordy labels. They scored two hits in the U.S. in 1965: "Hungry for Love" and "I'm Satisfied". In 1971, they had some success, as the "San Remo Strings" with "Festival Time", which reached #39 in the UK Singles Chart and was popular on the UK's Northern soul music scene.
"Twenty-Five Miles" is a song written by Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua, and Edwin Starr for Starr's second album, 25 Miles (1969). The song was considered sufficiently similar to "32 Miles out of Waycross" by Hoagy Lands, written by Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler, that Berns and Wexler were eventually given co-writing credits. Essentially the same theme also appeared in late 1959 in the approaching miles section of the lyrics of Jimmie Rodgers' "Tucumcari".
The Fantastic Four were a Detroit based soul group, formed in 1965. "Sweet" James Epps, brothers Ralph and Joseph Pruitt, and Wallace "Toby" Childs were the original members. Childs and Ralph Pruitt later departed, and were replaced by Cleveland Horne and Ernest Newsome.
Richard Wayne Wylie, often known as Popcorn Wylie, was an American pianist, bandleader, songwriter, occasional singer, and record producer who was influential in the early years of Motown Records and was later known for his work on many records in the Northern soul genre.
Donald Davis was an American record producer, songwriter and guitarist who combined a career in music with one in banking.
Freddie Gorman was an American musician and record producer, most famous as a singer, songwriter for the Motown label in the late 1960s and mid 1970s.
Rose Batiste is an American rhythm and blues singer from 1960s Detroit, Michigan, United States. Her best known tracks were "I Miss My Baby" written by Richard Parker as "D. Peoples", and "Hit And Run". In 1970, Ian Levine brought records from the U.S. to England, including Rose Batiste's "Hit and Run". Batiste was filmed performing at the Blackpool Mecca for the video collection The Strange World of Northern Soul by Ian Levine. She drew a following after being rediscovered in England during the Northern soul movement.
"Just Another Lonely Night" is a 1965 song co-written and co-produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It was recorded by four Motown acts: The Temptations, Brenda Holloway, The Four Tops, and The Fantastic Four.
Andrew Alexander "Mike" Terry was an American saxophonist, songwriter, arranger, producer and musical director. His baritone sax solos feature on the breakthrough hits of Martha and the Vandellas, and The Supremes. As a member of the Funk Brothers he performed on thousands of Motown recordings from 1960-1967, including at least seven US #1 hits. As was Motown's policy at the time, none of the studio musicians were credited by name. Terry was the musical arranger of the 1966 hit "Cool Jerk" by The Capitols, and later became a record producer, with partners including George Clinton, Sidney Barnes, and Jack Ashford.
Ed Wingate Jr. was an African-American record label owner based in Detroit in the 1960s. Although never convicted, he was implicated as a major figure in the illegal numbers game in Detroit.
References
- 1 2 "Ric-Tic Records - The Epitome of Detroit Soul". www.groovesvilleusa.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ↑ "Ric-Tic Records". www.soulbot.com. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ↑ Motown Encyclopedia: Golden World Records, by Graham Betts