The Corporation (record production team)

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The Corporation
Origin Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
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The Corporation was a group of songwriters and record producers assembled in 1969 by Motown label head Berry Gordy to create hit records for the label's new act, The Jackson 5. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The four members of The Corporation—Berry Gordy, Alphonso Mizell, Freddie Perren and Deke Richards [3] —were responsible for the writing, production and arranging of The Jackson 5 number-one hit singles "I Want You Back" (1969), "ABC", "The Love You Save" (both 1970); as well as "Mama's Pearl" and "Maybe Tomorrow" (both 1971). [1] They were also responsible for writing and producing "Bless You", the last hit by Martha and the Vandellas before that group disbanded in 1972.

Like Motown's previous production team, the Clan, which was pulled together to create the singles "Love Child" and "I'm Livin' in Shame" for Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Corporation was intended as a replacement of sorts for Holland–Dozier–Holland, who had left the label in late 1967 to start Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records. Occasionally, they were joined by Perren's wife Christine Yarian.

Gordy created The Corporation because he did not want any more "back room superstars", which the H-D-H team had become. The group members were never billed individually on the original Jackson 5 releases they worked on; even the songwriters' credit was listed as "The Corporation™". [4]

The Corporation disbanded in 1972, after Hal Davis had assumed creative control of the Jackson 5's output. After its disbanding, Motown would credit Gordy, Mizell, Richards, and Perren individually on compilation releases containing Corporation-created Jackson 5 material. [5] [6] [7]

Songs

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berry Gordy</span> American music executive and record producer (born 1929)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want You Back</span> 1969 pop/soul song by the Jackson 5

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"The Love You Save" is a song recorded by the Jackson 5 for Motown Records. It was released as a single on May 13, 1970, and held the number-one spot on the soul singles chart in the US for six weeks and the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks, from June 27 to July 4, 1970. In the UK top 40 chart, it peaked at number 7 in August 1970. The song is the third of the four-in-a-row Jackson 5 number-ones released. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 16 song of 1970, one place behind the Jackson 5's "ABC".

<i>Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5</i> 1969 studio album by the Jackson 5

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mama's Pearl</span> 1971 single by The Jackson 5

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imagination (Tamia song)</span> 1998 single by Tamia featuring Jermaine Dupri

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<i>Something</i> (Shirley Scott album) 1970 studio album by Shirley Scott

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References

  1. 1 2 Gordy, Berry (1994). To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown (First ed.). New York: Headline Book Publishing. pp. 415–416. ISBN   0-7472-1417-4.
  2. Larkin, Colin (2011-05-27). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958.
  3. "Deke Richards, Motown Songsmith, Dead at 68". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  4. "Deke Richards, Motown Producer And Songwriter, Dies". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  5. "The Corporation | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  6. Dahl, Bill (2011-02-28). Motown: The Golden Years: More than 100 rare photographs. Krause Publications. ISBN   978-1440227837.
  7. Brown, Helen. "Michael Jackson and Motown: the boy behind the marketing". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-29.