References and external links
 | This 1960s R&B/soul music song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| "Whole Lotta Woman" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Contours | ||||
| from the album Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance) | ||||
| B-side | "Come on and Be Mine" | |||
| Released | February 1961 (1st Ver.) May, 1961 (2nd Ver.) | |||
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1961 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:41 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Billy Hoggs, Billy Gordon, Smokey Robinson | |||
| Producer(s) | Berry Gordy, Jr. | |||
| The Contours singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Whole Lotta Woman" is a 1961 single recorded by the Contours for the Motown Records label. Written by Smokey Robinson (of The Miracles), and Contours group members Billy Hoggs and Billy Gordon (the group's lead singers), and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., it was the group's debut single for Motown.
Two versions of this song were released, with very notable changes. The first version was raw, more soulful, and had minimal orchestration. The second version was more conventional, and made for a national release. There was also a personnel change in between the two versions: The first one was the only recording of the group (other than the B-side "Come On And Be Mine") that feature the vocals of original member Leroy Fair, who was replaced by Sylvester Potts by the time they recorded the second version.
Both versions of the single received a lot of airplay on local Detroit stations, but it did not chart nationally. However, two singles later The Contours would finally score a hit with 1962's "Do You Love Me".
| | This 1960s R&B/soul music song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by British rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was released in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it became their first hit and was certified gold. Parts of the song's lyrics were adapted from Willie Dixon's "You Need Love", recorded by Muddy Waters in 1962; originally uncredited to Dixon, a lawsuit in 1985 was settled with a payment to Dixon and credit on subsequent releases.
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.
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Gettin' Ready is the fourth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1966. It marks the transition of the group from having Smokey Robinson as its main producer, with new producer Norman Whitfield taking over Robinson's position. Two #1 R&B hit singles, one from each producer, are included: "Get Ready" from Robinson with Eddie Kendricks on lead, and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" from Whitfield with David Ruffin on lead. Also included is the original version of "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby," which would be rerecorded as a hit for Marvin Gaye in 1969. The album was also one of the last albums to contain tracks co-authored by members of the group until the release of The Temptations Do The Temptations (1976). As with previous Temptations albums, several songs are written by members of The Miracles: Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Marv Tarplin.
"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.
"Money Honey" is a song written by Jesse Stone, which was released in September 1953 as the first single by Clyde McPhatter backed for the first time by the newly formed Drifters. McPhatter's voice, but not his name, had become well known when he was the lead singer for Billy Ward and the Dominoes. The song was an immediate hit and remained on the rhythm and blues chart for 23 weeks, peaking at number 1. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 252 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The recording was reported to have sold more than two million copies by 1968.
"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 Lot Of Shakin' In My Heart (Since I Met You)" is a 1966 R&B song by Motown Records group The Miracles, issued on Motown's Tamla Records subsidiary. Written by Motown staff songwriter Frank Wilson, it was one of only two singles the group released in 1966, taken from their album Away We A Go-Go.
"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 ".
The Ultimate Collection is a compact disc by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, released on Motown Records, catalogue 314530857-2, in February 1998. It is a collection of singles comprising many of the group's greatest hits, with liner notes written by Stu Hackel.
"That Day When She Needed Me", is a 1964 R&B song by the Motown Records group The Contours, on the label's Gordy Records subsidiary imprint. Issued as the "B" side of their hit "Can You Jerk Like Me", this song broke out as a hit on its own, reaching #37 on the Cash Box R&B listings that year.(Billboard had temporarily suspended its R&B Chart in 1964.)
"Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music" is a 1967 song co-written by Richard Drapkin and Marty Coleman. In 1968 it was assigned to Artie Fields' Top Dog label in Detroit and issued as a 45 by rhythm and blues singer Joe Towns.
"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.
"Give Me Just Another Day" (T54240F) is a song written by Leon Ware and released as a single in 1973 by Motown R&B group The Miracles, issued on that label's Tamla Records subsidiary. It was the first single release from the group's album, Do It Baby, which was released the following year.
"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.