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9 unusual facts about Motown


Gary Seligson

Currently, Gary can be found at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where he is the percussionist for Broadway musical Motown.

Jagwar Ma

Subsequently, loose jams and recordings started as anything from Motown to Electronica.

Lawrence Joseph

His essay on Motown music and Rhythm and Blues, "The Music Is," which originally appeared in Tin House, was included in Da Capo Best Music Writing 2003, chosen by Guest Editor Matt Groening.

Motown and Didi

He is Didi's lover, a loner, and named after the record company, Motown.

MXP4

The company has worked with labels and artists including Motown, Britney Spears, Pink, Basement Jaxx, Bat For Lashes, Paramore, Pet Shop Boys and David Guetta to create interactive versions of their tracks.

Pooley Hall

Pooley Hall is once again a private residence and was, until recently, the home of the late Edwin Starr, an American Soul and Motown Singer.

Sherrick

Sherrick was given his professional break by producer Raynoma Gordy Singleton (née Mayberry), former wife of Motown founder Berry Gordy.

Totally Táta

It is her second solo album and was released on Motown's Tamla label in 1977.

Vernon Tomlin

Vernon was prepared to leave Weatherfield, but returned after Liz made a Motown compilation tape which she gave to Lloyd Mullaney to play in his cab en route to the airport.


A Bit of Liverpool

A Bit of Liverpool is an album by singing group The Supremes, released in the fall of 1964 on the Motown label.

A Collection of Michael Jackson's Oldies

A Collection of Michael Jackson's Oldies is a compilation of the Motown Records released on December 8, 1972, with songs by Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 that were made between 1969 and 1972.

Al Cleveland

He had a long and distinguished writing career, initially for New York artists on the Wand/Sceptre labels such as Dionne Warwick(e) and Tommy Hunt, as well as Gene Pitney before moving to Motown, where he provided songs for Smokey & The Miracles, the Marvelettes, David Ruffin, the Four Tops and Chuck Jackson before hitting the big time with a co-authorship of Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On?" and "Save the Children."

Ann Vriend

The recording, produced by Vriend herself, was influenced by Nashville, Muscle Shoals, classic R&B and Motown sounds.

Asian hip hop

The beginnings of hip-hop culture in the Philippines can be attributed to several main factors; the innate of them being the heavy influx of American musical styles in that country as reflected in the widespread popularity during the 1960s of Motown artists The Temptations, The Supremes and The Jackson Five and later in the 1970s of Funk, Soul and Disco music.

Bluesfest International Windsor

It takes place outdoors at the Riverfront Festival Plaza on the banks of the Detroit River, in front of Caesars Windsor and opposite Motown.

Carl Bean

Before founding the first church of the denomination, the Unity Fellowship Church, Los Angeles, in 1975, Bean was a Motown and disco singer, noted particularly for his version of the early gay liberation song "I Was Born This Way".

Colour of My Soul

Rob Derbyshire is an experienced touring musician, having worked as keyboard player with legendary former Motown artist Edwin Starr, while the other group member and producer Paul 'Solomon' Mullings worked with reggae bands in the Midlands and was a guitarist in Pato Banton's band.

Commodores 13

It is their first album after Lionel Richie left the group, and their last album with guitarist Thomas McClary before his departure from the band (McClary recorded a solo album for Motown Records in 1984, and then retired from the music industry).

Diana Ross' Greatest Hits

Diana Ross' Greatest Hits is an album by Diana Ross released in 1976 on the Motown label.

Django Haskins

His family's love for music exposed him to the likes of Cole Porter, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Motown, Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, The Replacements and Elvis Costello, familiarising him with pop music and its many forms.

Edward Holland

Eddie Holland (Edward Holland, Jr., born 1939), American singer, part of Motown's Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team

Give Me Just Another Day

"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.

He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'

"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' is a soul song written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. in 1964 (see 1964 in music). The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group the Velvelettes, and a 1982 hit version (with the title altered to "Really Saying Something") by British girl group Bananarama.

In a Special Way

Produced, by El DeBarge and the writing credits varying from El, Marty, James and Bunny, the album reached gold after the releases of the following singles "Time Will Reveal" and "Love Me in a Special Way" (which features fellow Motown artist Stevie Wonder on harmonica), which hit number one on the Billboard R&B and adult contemporary singles chart respectively.

Ivy Jo Hunter

Hunter also produced and wrote songs for Motown artists like The Marvelettes, The Temptations and Gaye, for whom he produced the Top 40 hit single "You" in 1968, and The Contours' 1964 hit, "Can You Jerk Like Me".

Jack Brokensha

Brokensha moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was hired by Berry Gordy of Motown Records as a percussionist, becoming one of the few white members of Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. recording studio's house band, The Funk Brothers.

Kim Weston

Along with many former Motown artists, she signed with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records in the 1980s, releasing the single "Signal Your Intention", which peaked at #1 in the UK Hi-NRG charts.

Leonard Caston, Jr.

He recorded for both the Chess and Motown labels in the 1960s and 1970s, and co-wrote or co-produced several major hit records, including Mitty Collier's "I Had A Talk With My Man" (1964), The Supremes' "Nathan Jones" (1971), and Eddie Kendricks' "Keep On Truckin'" (1973) and "Boogie Down" (1974).

Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album

Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album is the second tribute album dedicated to Motown recording artist Marvin Gaye, released by Motown in 1999.

Mooretown, Shreveport, Louisiana

Mooretown (also known as Motown by many of its residents) is a neighborhood within the city limits of Shreveport, Louisiana, United States.

Mychal Simonz

He also studied music at the school of performing arts Erasmus Hall High School with fellow students, former Motown President Kedar Massenburg, jazz singer Will Downing and R&B singer D-Train during same time period in Brooklyn.

Pat Lewis

In 1989, Pat as well as The Andantes were among the invited artists to join UK producer Ian Levine's mega-project Motorcity Records, a label formed to record new material on former Motown artists.

Pharez Whitted

Since 1982, Whitted has performed throughout the United States and overseas, including gigs at the 1988 Presidential Inauguration, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Billboard Music Awards, Carnegie Hall, and the MoTown Music Showcase.

Robert Gordy

Robert Louis Gordy (born in 1931 in Detroit, Michigan) was the youngest child of Berry Gordy, Sr. and Bertha Fuller, and is best known as the youngest brother of Motown founder, Berry Gordy, Jr..

Rosalind Ashford

Rosalind "Roz" Ashford-Holmes (born September 2, 1943) is an American Soprano R&B and soul singer, famed for her work as an original member of the popular Motown singing group Martha and the Vandellas.

Scott Bomar

Bomar gained individual prominence playing bass for legendary Stax artists such as Rufus and Carla Thomas, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, Sun Records pioneer Rosco Gordon, and Motown session guitarist Dennis Coffey, both in studio session and on the road.

Soulsister

Paul Michiels went solo performing the same soulful, Motown-sounding music that made SoulSister a success, while Jan Leyers joined with Filip Cauwelier and Joost Van den Broek to play rock in the band My Velma (named after a character in the Raymond Chandler novel Farewell, My Lovely).

Suzanne de Passe

De Passe's long association with Mr. Gordy was featured in the December 2008 issue of Vanity Fair: Motown the Untold Story, The Labels Greatest Legends, In Their Own Words with photography by Annie Leibovitz.

Tainted Love

The track's Motown-influenced sound (featuring a fast tempo, horns, electric rhythm guitar and female backing vocals) fit in perfectly with the music favoured by those involved in the UK's Northern Soul club scene of the early 1970s, and Searling popularised the song at the Northern Soul club Va Va’s in Bolton, and later, at Wigan Casino.

The Fabulous Miracles

Tarplin does, however, appear on the cover of the group's 2009 Motown CD release,"The Miracles – Depend On Me: The Early Albums

The Miracles – Depend On Me: The Early Albums

The Miracles – Depend On Me: The Early Albums is a 2009 double-CD limited release by Motown Records' original vocal group The Miracles, released through Universal's Hip-O Select imprint to coincide with the legendary Motown label's 50th anniversary.In addition, this collection's release also coincided with The Miracles' being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 20 of that year.

The Motown Song

It paid tribute to Motown (featuring animated versions of The Temptations and The Supremes) and featured other charting stars of the time, including animated versions of Vanilla Ice, Sinéad O'Connor, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Elton John; along with both a live action and an animated Rod Stewart with his animated dog.

The Mystery Trend

Although they are categorized in the San Francisco Sound, they differed from other bands in the scene because they were not a folk rock group nor did they go psychedelic, but their sound was influenced more from the British rock and mod sound of The Kinks and The Who and the Motown sound writing of Holland-Dozier-Holland.

The Satintones

When Tamla Records (the precursor of what is now known as "Motown") was founded in January 1959, Sanders and Bateman were working for the label's owner Berry Gordy as backing singers.

The Supremes at the Copa

Berry Gordy and Motown's head engineer Lawrence Horn are credited as the producers, and the orchestra was arranged and conducted by Gil Askey.

The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland

The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland (issued internationally as The Supremes Sing Motown) is a 1967 album by The Supremes for Motown.

The Toyes

In late 1983 The Toys received a Cease and Desist letter from Motown Records' legal department threatening a lawsuit over the use of the name "The Toys", who were a signed act of Motown and who recorded "A Lover's Concerto".

There's a Place for Us

The album, composed of show-tunes and pop standards, was released by Motown and Hip-O Records in 2004 (see 2004 in music).

Universal Motown Records

In 2005 Motown Records was merged with the urban artists on Universal Records to create Universal Motown Records, headed by former CEO of Elektra Records Sylvia Rhone, and placed under the newly created umbrella division of Universal Motown Republic Group.

Vip radio

Its music format was 'Soulful Optimism' featuring Motown, Soul music, Disco, Philadelphia soul and related genres from 1964 onwards.

WRNB

The format is very similar to that of the defunct WEJM, playing Motown, Disco, funk, new jack swing, freestyle, and early hip hop from the 1960s-2000s.

WULM

During this time, its weekend programs along with NASCAR coverage included The Motown Show, Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast With The Beatles, Oldies Coast To Coast, Little Walter's Time Machine, Glenn Sauter's Hits of Yesteryear and Cool Bobby B's Doo Wop Stop.


see also