At the time Martha Reeves and the Vandellas name-checked Detroit ("can't forget the Motor City!") in the 1964 summer smash Dancing in the Street, Motown was the largest and most successful independent record company in the U.S. Owner Berry Gordy Jr., who had worked at Ford's Lincoln-Mercury plant, brought a similar assembly-line approach to rolling out new product. The famous "Hitsville, U.S.A." sign at Motown was nothing but the truth—Gordy had found the pulse beat of America.
William "Smokey" Robinson helped Gordy get the company off the ground. Deemed "America's greatest living poet" by Bob Dylan, Robinson was also an ace producer and one of the most charismatic singers in the business. He convinced Gordy to distribute his own records, and shortly Robinson's 1960 hit with the Miracles, Shop Around, became the label's first million-seller, and Ooo Baby Baby made Smokey romantic soul brother No. 1. After he went solo in 1972, Smokey's crooning style triumphed in the disco era with Cruisin' and in the early '80s when he cut Being with You after unsuccessfully pitching it to Kim Games' former producer.
Robinson's Motown colleagues the Temptations released a string of socially conscious singles before reverting to mid-'60s form in 1971, handing the lead vocals to Eddie Kendricks on Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me). Marvin Gaye stayed topical with Let's Get It On, the title song from his album. "I can't see anything wrong with sex between consenting anybodies," Gaye declared in the liner notes of the LP that also included Distant Lover as part of an erotic side-long suite. The venerable Four Tops left Motown in 1972 and returned 10 years later—after their last single for Casablanca, I Believe in You and Me. The Tops hold the record (44 years) for the longest-running group without a change in personnel. As runners-up in the longevity department, the Dells crossed over big time in 1968 when they remodeled their 1965 version of Stay in My Corner. Fellow Chicagoans Rufus boasted a genuine soul diva in Chaka Khan, who turned Sweet Thing into her most requested song—later covered by Mary J. Bligeand Boney James, among others.
Back in Detroit, the Originals did backing vocals at Motown until notching their own hits, notably The Bells, written and produced by Marvin Gaye. The Dramatics left Motown with their producer for Stax/Volt in Memphis and shot to No. 1 with In the Rain. Ready for the World pumped up their audience numbers with Oh Sheila, but it took the ballad Love You Down to ease them back to the top. The Floaters coasted along thanks to Float On, a dreamy, nearly 12-minute slow jam in its full album glory. Each member states his zodiac sign, name and personal likes—material comedians Cheech and Chong parodied handily in Bloat On.
In 1971, Motown moved to Los Angeles. The Commodores arrived at the label by way of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. They succeeded with hot funk workouts at first, before Lionel Richie realized that career stability meant concentrating on original material like Just to Be Close to You. Inspired by his parents' 30th wedding anniversary, Richie composed Three Times a Lady to honor his wife.
LA. also played home to L.T.D. ("Love, Togetherness and Devotion"). Vocalist Jeffrey Osborne converted Love Ballad, which many singers spurned because the title never appears in the lyrics, into a chart topper. LT.D.'s fortunes rose and fell with Osborne: they faded after he went solo in 1980, while he flourished with such hits as You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song). Barry White's cronies snickered when they heard the demo of It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me played on an out-of-tune piano; veteran A&R man White heard a hit. A throbbing bass line and White's boudoir-ready low tones did the trick. Months later Playing Your Game, Baby followed as another slow grind of ecstasy. L.A. funkateers the Brothers Johnson, guided by producer Quincy Jones, scored their first gold single with I'll Be Good to You, a song about commitment co-written by guitarist George Johnson.
On the East Coast, the battle for falsetto supremacy was between Eddie Holman and the Stylistics' Russell Thompkins Jr. Holman reworked Hey There Lonely Boy by Ruby and the Romantics into his only hit, the gloriously plaintive Hey There Lonely Girl. Thorn Bell co-wrote and produced the Stylistics' You Make Me Feel Brand New, a classic slice of Philly soul that foreshadowed the "quiet storm" movement. Name and label changes launched Ray, Goodman and Brawn (billed as the Moments until 1978), who brought old-school vocal group values to Special Lady. Kool and the Gang ditched the funky stuff in the late 70s for a slicker sound, solidified by the addition of James "J.T." Taylor, the lead singer on Joanna.
Hometown diva Patti LaBelle signed with Philadelphia International in 1981, and landed her first No. 1 hit in almost a decade with If Only You Knew. Her duet with Michael McDonald, On My Own, started out as a solo effort, but co-writer Carole Bayer Sager wanted to add another voice. McDonald recorded his part in L.A.—and the duo met for the first time just before performing their smash on The Tonight Show. Broadway veteran Stephanie Mills took a song originally submitted to LaBelle, I Feel Good All Over, to the top in 1987. Songwriter Wendy Waldman shopped around Save the Best for Last until Vanessa Williams' label boss grabbed it, giving his artist the biggest hit of her career. British synth-poppers Tears for Fears "discovered" Oleta Adams at her nightclub gig in Kansas City. After backing them on their The Seeds of Love album and tour, she got her own recording contract and covered the Brenda Russell ballad Get Here.
Berry Gordy Jr. sold Motown Records to MCA and Boston Ventures in 1988, and the new owners signed Boyz II Men, the most commercially successful R&B group ever. Their boy-next-door appeal and rich harmonies resulted in massive crossover sales, with their biggest single, I'll Make Love to You, topping the pop charts for 14 weeks. Through it all, they remained the quietest multimillion-sellers imaginable well into the new millennium.
- Charles McCardell
Charles McCardell is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, Musician and American Record Guide.