Archive for the ‘The Temptations’ Category
Sunday, December 11th, 2016
Listen: Misty / The Vibrations
Misty
There are many, many covers of this classic. Some people will complain it’s a schmaltzy adult bore, or that it’s too camp. But be informed, the greats have done it in varying styles: Aretha Franklin, Donald Byrd, Johnny Mathis, Sarah Vaughan, Richard Groove Holmes, Donny Hathaway, Julie London, Stan Getz even Timebox. I like them all. Interestingly, it can withstand many very different interpretations.
The Vibrations, like The Contours, were in that poor man’s Temptations or Four Tops category. Consequently, both often tipped into Northern Soul. Their version of ‘Misty’ though brings me right back to the Syracuse War Memorial October 30, 1965. The Vibrations, along with Pattie La Belle & The Blue Belles, were opening for The Rolling Stones. Bravely, they performed this clad in shiny purple chino suits; and the power of the vocal had ten thousand restless kids in silent awe. Check out the final high notes here, you’ll see what I mean.
Tags: Okeh, Patti La Belle & The Blue Belles, Syracuse War Memorial, The Contours, The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Vibrations
Posted in Aretha Franklin, Donald Byrd, Donny Hathaway, Johnny Mathis, Northern Soul, Okeh, Patti La Belle & The Blue Belles, Prestige, Richard Groove Holmes, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Syracuse War Memorial, The Contours, The Four Tops, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, The Vibrations, Timebox | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 1st, 2014
Listen: Gonna Get Along Without You Now/ The Vibrations
Gonna
According to one of my favorite books ever, THE NORTHERN SOUL PRICE GUIDE, this white label promo, in mint condition, easily goes for £50. Fun reading, but the real deal price guide these days is Popsike.com. There you get the past several years worth of final sale amounts for any record that commanded $25 or more. According to the site, a $52 May 2012 winning bid for the wlp of ‘Gonna Get Along Without You Now’ was it’s highest in three years. That’s as far as the data goes back.
Therefore my £24 (approximately $37) win was indeed a bargain when compared to the prices set in the guide. Never mind, this single’s a bargain at £100 if truth be told.
Having tastes that always ran toward the mid chart, or better yet, flop follow-ups, likewise my parallel fondness was for the seemingly second division players. Just as Inez & Charlie Foxx sat sideline when Ike & Tina Turner were in reach, so too did The Vibrations when say, The Temptations were around. According to the mainstream that is, but in my world, I coveted any single by either.
It’s seriously hard to recollect a song attempted in more diverse styles through the years than this. Country, reggae, alternative, disco, ska, Euro-dance, rock steady and even Latin via Trini Lopez, which is version that first introduced me to the track. No idea why his was played so heavily in upstate New York at the time (’67). Trust me, it wasn’t often a #93 BILLBOARD peak meant a record got hammered by both our local Top 40′s. And it’s not like there was a Latin scene going on in subzero Syracuse that winter either.
Unfortunately, The Vibrations’ version never graced my ears while current in ’66. Years later I stumbled on it, unable to ignore any Okeh single with their Cadbury purple labels and matching sleeves. One play and boom, the amphetamine mess of an arrangement and speed pitched chorus made me a fan for life.
Tags: Billboard, Ike & Tina Turner, Inez & Charlie Foxx, Northern Soul Price Guide, Okeh, The Temptations, The Vibrations, Trini Lopez
Posted in Billboard, Ike & Tina Turner, Inez & Charlie Foxx, Northern Soul, Northern Soul Price Guide, Okeh, The Temptations, The Vibrations, Trini Lopez | Comments Off
Wednesday, December 11th, 2013
Side 1:
Listen: Can You Jerk Like Me / The Contours
Can
Listen: That Day When She Needed Me / The Contours
That
Side 2:
Listen: Can You Do It / The Contours
Can
Listen: I’ll Stand By You / The Contours
ContoursIllStand.mp3
Looking back, The Contours probably released more dance instruction songs than anybody, with a possible exception being Chubby Checker. ‘Can You Jerk Like Me’ was one of their earliest.
They were never an act to achieve much more than lower chart success in the US, and excepting the reissue of ‘Just A Little Misunderstanding’, none in the UK. They mirror The Marvelettes in Motown’s history books. That being, there was always some other act getting the best songs from their in-house writing machines, and ultimately the push at radio.
And like The Marvelettes, for my two cents, that became a benefit. Not to take away from The Four Tops or The Temptations, clearly on the A list then, but the quick in/quick out studio policy meant The Contours’ records remained unpolished and messier in the best way.
So in Berry Gordy’s world, if The Marvelettes were to The Supremes as The Rolling Stones were to The Beatles, let’s take it a rung lower in the case of The Contours. They were to The Temptations what The Pretty Things were to The Beatles.
Hence I covet every single they ever recorded. And heavens knows, no price is too high for their only EP.
Tags: Berry Gordy, Chubby Checker, Motown, Tamla, The Beatles, The Contours, The Four Tops, The Marvelettes, The Pretty Things, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Temptations
Posted in Berry Gordy, Chubby Checker, Motown, Tamla, The Beatles, The Contours, The Four Tops, The Marvelettes, The Pretty Things, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Temptations | Comments Off
Saturday, September 21st, 2013
Listen: Ragamuffin Man / Manfred Mann
Ragamuffin
Manfred Mann may hold the record for having massive success with not two, but three different lead vocalists. It’s usually big trouble when that original lead singer is suddenly gone. A few exceptions like AC/DC, Van Halen, The Move and maybe The Small Faces come to mind. But three different ones. Let’s see, that’s a pretty short list. I can only think of The Temptations and Manfred Mann.
Their Mercury/Fontana patch with Mike D’Abo, loosely referred to as Manfred Mann Chapter II, is my favorite, but just. To be fair, I love singles from all the lineups, so it’s probably my involuntary addiction toward anything released on the Philips/Mercury/Fontana labels that swings it. Honestly, I get the shakes around their pressings, especially the promos.
The last 7″ from the Mike D’Abo era, ‘Ragamuffin Man’ has forever been tarnished with fulfilling the final contractual commitment, by then Manfred Mann himself having decided on a jazz direction and new lineup, etc, etc. But seriously, it’s just as strong as the singles preceding it: ‘Semi Detached Suburban Mr. Jones’, ‘Ha Ha Said The Clown’, ‘My Name Is Jack’ and ‘The Mighty Quinn’. The record is great. I still play it a ton.
Got to hand it to him, Manfred Mann could not only pick songs but had a real gift of stamping his keyboard dazzle to every single they ever made. He might even be the earliest guy to successfully bring synths and Moog to mainstream radio.
And for the record, THE MIGHTY QUINN album, assembled for the US only just a few months prior to ‘Ragamuffin Man’ being released, is exceptional. They always used the long-play format to showcase a virtuosity and range of influences away from the world of pop singles. Despite not being an album recorded intentionally as such by the band, it plays like one, and combines all their assets nicely. It’s getting scarce these days, especially in a mint sleeve. I recommend everyone own a copy.
Tags: AC/DC, Fontana, Manfred Mann, Mercury, Mike D'Abo, Philips, The Move, The Small Faces, The Temptations, Van Halen
Posted in AC/DC, Fontana, Manfred Mann, Mercury, Mike D'Abo, Philips, The Move, The Small Faces, The Temptations, Van Halen | Comments Off
Monday, December 5th, 2011
Listen: Shake Sherry / The Contours
Shake
The musical chairs surrounding the often interchanging members of The Contours will have your head spinning if you let it. Some of the guys still perform today, and a family tree type timeline is readily available on Wikipedia. But be forewarned, it’s for the clear headed only and I do commend whoever got all those details together.
‘Shake Sherry’, one of the many lyrically intentional dance songs the group recorded, followed up their only Top 10, ‘Do You Love Me’. As with the majority of their other 60′s Gordy label releases, it peaked mid chart (#43). Seemingly in the shadow of The Temptations and The Four Tops, apparently The Contours were the act whose wild live performances on those Motown Revue package tours would truly tear the house down.
Even despite being written by Berry Gordy himself, and getting a top vocal drill by Billy Gordon, the record just didn’t get the muscle at radio from the Motown machine. Who the hell let that happen?
The Contours ended up benefitting from numerous Northern Soul dj’s bringing many of their records justice years later. And in fact, when ‘Do You Love Me’ was used in 1987′s DIRTY DANCING, the re-released single found it’s way back into the US BILLBOARD chart, peaking at #11. As we all know, a very uncommon result in America.
Tags: Berry Gordy, Billboard, Billy Gordon, Dirty Dancing, Gordy, Northern Soul, Oriole, The Contours, The Four Tops, The Temptations
Posted in Berry Gordy, Billboard, Billy Gordon, Dirty Dancing, Gordy, Northern Soul, Oriole, The Contours, The Four Tops, The Temptations | Comments Off
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Listen: Ain’t It Hell Up In Harlem / Edwin Starr
EdwinStarrHellHarlem.mp3
Edwin Starr had some surprising US pop hits quite early on in his career curve. Surprising given they were precursors to Northern Soul, and usually those titles didn’t chart. That was the whole point. But ‘Agent Double-O-Soul’ (#21, ’65), ‘S.O.S. (Stop Her On Sight)’ (#48, ’66) and ’25 Miles’ (#6, ’69) all did well and even at the time, they had that magnetic something special.
By 1970, he switched up labels, leaving Ric Tic Records for Motown. Simultaneously trading in his soul stylings for the intense Vietnam protest diatribe ‘War’, he transformed a Temptations album track into a #1 chart story. But his US success was short lived.
Europe and the UK proved more loyal, and given the nature of his earlier hits, Edwin Starr relocated to England in ’73. Ironically, during ’74, he recorded a very American ‘Ain’t It Hell Up In Harlem’, main title of the HELL UP IN HARLEM film, itself an official sequel to BLACK CAESAR.
Despite a slightly cluttered arrangement, the track perfectly snapshots the sound of Blaxploitation, a near official genre, briefly prevalent at that time and very much synonymous with grainy, washed out color cinema.
Tags: Billboard, Blaxploitation, Edwin Starr, Motown, Northern Soul, Ric Tic, The Temptations
Posted in Billboard, Blaxploitation, Edwin Starr, Motown, Northern Soul, Ric Tic, The Temptations | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Listen: The End Of Our Road / Gladys Knight & The Pips GladysEndRoad.mp3
Feeling victims, as were The Marvelettes and Mary Wells, of being tossed the leftovers, those songs passed on by Motown’s A level acts (The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations) according to legend, really pissed off Gladys Knight and her Pips (all family members as it turns out). Having moved from Vee Jay to Motown in ’65 with wider success in mind, they quickly found themselves relegated to subsidiary Soul, set up for the more RnB, less leaning pop acts. good call there. From ’66 – ’68, they recorded some of the label’s dirtiest and most raw sides. I’m sure to Berry Gordy’s surprise, ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ became the company’s biggest selling single at that point, leaping to #2 pop and bringing Gladys Knight’s signature rasp to the mainstream.
Even better was “The End Of Our Road’, it’s followup. Peaking at #15 on Billboard’s Hot 100, it was a mighty strong showing for such a picture perfect dirt and grime black single. Their performance, recording and mix are so aggressive, it’s impossible to not be dragged in. Played this a few nights ago at the Otis Clay show – it sounded mighty powerful through that big system, filled the room, every last head and foot surrendering.
Tags: Berry Gordy, Billboard, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Motown, Norman Whitfield, Otis Clay, Soul, The Marvelettes, The Temptations, Vee Jay
Posted in Berry Gordy, Billboard, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Motown, Norman Whitfield, Otis Clay, Soul, The Marvelettes, The Supremes, The Temptations, Vee Jay | No Comments »
