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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.
Motown 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.
Berry Gordy III, also known 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.
Martha Rose Reeves is an American R&B and pop singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, which scored over a dozen hit singles, including "Come and Get These Memories", "Nowhere to Run", "Heat Wave", "Jimmy Mack", and their signature "Dancing in the Street". From 2005 until 2009, Reeves served as an elected councilwoman in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Reeves at number 151 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.
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 the history of pop, soul, R&B and rock and roll music. The group's international fame in the 1960s, alongside other Motown acts, led to a greater acceptance of Rhythm & Blues and pop music in the U.S., with the group being considered influential and important in the development of modern popular music.
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 Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart, and Georgia Dobbins, who was replaced by Wanda Rogers prior to the group signing their first deal. They were the first successful act of Motown Records after the Miracles and its first significantly successful female group after the release of the 1961 number-one single, "Please Mr. Postman", one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act.
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.
"Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. Many artists later recorded the tune, including the Beatles in 1963 and the Flying Lizards in 1979.
Kim Weston is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms ", and with her duet with Marvin Gaye, "It Takes Two".
"The Tears of a Clown" is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder and originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label subsidiary of Motown, first appearing on the 1967 album Make It Happen. The track was re-released in the United Kingdom as a single in July 1970, and it became a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending September 12, 1970. Subsequently, Motown released a partially re-recorded and completely remixed version as a single in the United States as well, where it quickly became a number-one hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts.
Marvin Earl Johnson was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song "Come to Me," which was the first record issued by Tamla Records, the precursor to the famous label.
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.
Annette Beard, also known as Annette Helton or Annette Sterling, is an American R&B and soul singer. Beard is best known for her work with Motown and as an original member of the singing group Martha and the Vandellas during the 1960s. Beard is currently known as a member of the singing group The Original Vandellas.
"Buttered Popcorn" is a 1961 song written by Motown executives Berry Gordy and Barney Ales, produced by Gordy, and released as a Tamla label single by Motown singing group The Supremes. It was the group's second single after signing with Motown Records as well as their second, and last, single for the Tamla label, before moving to the Motown label.
"Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" is the debuting single for singer Marvin Gaye, released as Tamla 54041, in May 1961. It was also the first release off Gaye's debut album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, in which most of the material was the singer's failed attempt at making an 'adult' record compared to Motown's younger R&B sound.
The Fantastic Four were a Detroit based soul vocal 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.
Paul Riser is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the "Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of the other "Brothers", as his career has been overlooked and overshadowed by the stars of Motown that became household names. Some of the Funk Brothers he worked with include: Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, Robert White, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina, Dennis Coffey, Wah Wah Watson, James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, Eddie Watkins, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, Andrew Smith, Jack Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Benny Benjamin, Cornelius Grant, Joe Hunter, Richard "Popcorn" Wylie, Marcus Belgrave, Teddy Buckner and Stevie Wonder.
Anna Ruby Gaye was an American businesswoman, composer and songwriter. An elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, she became a record executive in the mid-to-late 1950s distributing records released on Checker and Gone Records before forming the Anna label with Billy Davis and her sister Gwen Gordy Fuqua. Gordy later became known as a songwriter for several hits including the Originals' "Baby, I'm for Real", and at least two songs on Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. The first wife of Gaye, their turbulent marriage later served as inspiration for Gaye's 15th studio album, Here, My Dear.
References
- 1 2 "Gospel Stars". Motown Junkies. 10 December 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ↑ Betts, Graham (June 14, 2014). Motown Encyclopedia. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1500471699.
- 1 2 "The Gospel Stars". Discogs. 1961. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ↑ "The Gospel Stars". 45cat. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ↑ "Detroit woman Lois Holden celebrating her 110th birthday". WJBK . February 2, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ↑ "Motown legend Lois Holden celebrates her 109th birthday". Michigan Chronicle . February 6, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2023.