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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.
Berry Gordy III, known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.
The Miracles were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups in pop, rock and roll, soul and R&B music history.
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.
Brenda Holloway is an American soul singer who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s. Her best-known recordings are the hits "Every Little Bit Hurts", "When I'm Gone", and "You've Made Me So Very Happy". The latter, which she co-wrote, was later widely popularized when it became a Top Ten hit for Blood, Sweat & Tears. She left Motown after four years, at the age of 22, and largely retired from the music industry until the 1990s, after her recordings had become popular on the British "Northern soul" scene.
The Contours is one of the early American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records. The group is best known for its classic chart-topping 1962 hit, "Do You Love Me", which sold over 1 million copies and became a major hit again in 1988.
Meet the Supremes is the debut studio album by The Supremes, released in late 1962 on Motown.
"Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 1988.
Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance) is the only album issued by The Contours during their recording career at Motown Records. Issued on Motown's Gordy subsidiary in October 1962 (see 1962 in music), the album includes the hit title track and the number 21 R&B hit single "Shake Sherry". Also including the early singles "Whole Lotta' Woman" and "The Stretch", Do You Love Me is notable as the first LP to be released by Gordy Records. The song was also performed in the movies Dirty Dancing, Getting Even With Dad, Teen Wolf Too (by Ragtime), and "Beethoven's 2nd". It was performed by Bootsy Collins and the Funk Brothers in the movie Standing in the Shadows of Motown and in 2016 was used in a Pepsi-Cola commercial featuring Janelle Monáe. It also appeared in a 2020 Boston Dynamics commercial featuring dancing robots.
Greatest Hits from the Beginning is a compilation double LP by The Miracles released in 1965. This was the first double album ever released by the Motown Record Corporation. It covers most of the group's hits from their pre-1965 albums, such as "Shop Around", "Who's Lovin’ You", "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" and "Mickey's Monkey", as well as the non-album singles from 1964: "I Like It Like That" and "That's What Love Is Made Of". The album was a success, reaching #21 on the Billboard Pop Album Chart. It was also the first Miracles album to chart on the Billboard R&B Album chart, where it was an even bigger success, peaking at #2.
"First I Look At the Purse" (G7044) is a 1965 song recorded by R&B group the Contours on Motown Records' Gordy label. It was written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers, the authors of the Temptations' first hit single, "The Way You Do the Things You Do".
"Whole Lotta Woman" is a 1961 single recorded by the Contours for the Motown Records label. Written by Smokey Robinson, and Contours group members Billy Hoggs and Billy Gordon, and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., it was the group's debut single for Motown.
"Can You Jerk Like Me" is a 1964 R&B song by Motown Records group The Contours, issued on its Gordy Records subsidiary. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #47, and a Top 20 hit on its R&B chart, reaching #15. A single-only release, it did not appear on any original Contours studio album, as the group only had one album release during their five years on the label, 1962's "Do You Love Me ".
"Shake Sherry" was a 1962 R&B song by Motown Records group The Contours, issued on its Gordy subsidiary label. It was the follow-up to the group's million-selling top-5 hit single "Do You Love Me", and was taken from their album of the same name.
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.
"Just a Little Misunderstanding" (G7052) is a 1966 song by Motown Records R&B group The Contours on the company's Gordy subsidiary label. It was composed by Stevie Wonder, along with Motown staff songwriters Clarence Paul and Morris Broadnax. The song did not appear on any original Contours studio album. Paul and Motown A&R Director William "Mickey" Stevenson were the song's producers, and Wonder plays drums on the recording.
Joe Stubbs was an American R&B/soul singer who became the lead singer of four different groups throughout his recording career. He was the younger brother of The Four Tops' lead Levi Stubbs.
Joseph Billingslea, Jr. is an American singer and performer. He is most noted for being the lead singer and the founder of the R&B band The Contours in 1959. The Contours were best known for its 1962 hit single, "Do You Love Me".
Hubert Johnson was an American singer and performer. Johnson is best known for being one of the original members of the Motown R&B vocal group The Contours. Johnson was also the cousin of the late Jackie Wilson.
Sylvester Potts was a singer and composer as well as an off and on member of The Contours and a one time member of The Four Sonics. Songs that he has either composed or co-composed have been recorded by The Contours, Mamie Galore, Jimmy Ruffin and The Temptations.
References
- 1 2 Administration, The Nixon (1 August 2012). "510. The Contours: "That Day When She Needed Me"" . Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ "Mirwood Records". SoulBot. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ↑ "YouTube". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ "The Contours - Can You Dance" . Retrieved 19 June 2016.