The new year saw
Berry delegate more production duties to his
song writing personnel and it proved a success as the following chart
information for
1962 reveals.
Smokey Robinson
|
Artist |
Song |
Label |
R&B |
Pop |
Month |
|
Mary Wells |
The One
Who Really Loves You |
Motown |
2 |
8 |
March |
|
Miracles |
I'll
Try Something New (co-prod BG) |
Tamla |
11 |
39 |
April |
|
Mary Wells |
You
Beat To The Punch |
Motown |
1 |
9 |
July |
|
Mary Wells |
Two
Lovers |
Motown |
1 |
7 |
October |
|
Miracles |
You
Really Got A Hold On Me |
Tamla |
1 |
8 |
October |
Mickey Stevenson
|
Artist |
Song |
Label |
R&B |
Pop |
Month |
| Marvelettes |
Beechwood 4-5789 |
Tamla |
7 |
17 |
July |
| Marvin Gaye |
Stubborn Kind Of Fellow |
Tamla |
8 |
46 |
July |
| Marvin Gaye |
Hitch Hike |
Tamla |
12 |
30 |
Decem |
Brian Holland
|
Artist |
Song |
Label |
R&B |
Pop |
Month |
| Marvelettes |
Playboy (co-prod Robert Bateman) |
Tamla |
4 |
7 |
April |
| Marvelettes |
Strange I Know |
Tamla |
10 |
49 |
October |
Berry Gordy
|
Artist |
Song |
Label |
R&B |
Pop |
Month |
| Temptations |
Dream Come True |
Gordy |
22 |
n/a |
June |
| Contours |
Do You Love Me |
Gordy |
1 |
3 |
June |
| Supremes |
Let Me Go The Right Way |
Motown |
26 |
90 |
August |
| Contours |
Shake Sherrie |
Gordy |
21 |
43 |
Novem |
"Dream Come
True" was significant for launching the Gordy
label, a replacement for the failed Miracle
imprint which closed 6 months earlier.
Future luminary,
Clarence Paul also began producing that same
year, as did Popcorn Wylie, albeit briefly. Al
Klein became the main producer on Melody's C&W
output. Hal Davis and Marc Gordon handled the
production of songs for another new label, VIP,
which was opened in 1964 to accommodate an
expansion to Los Angeles
More writers soon joined the fold too; in particular Ivy Jo
Hunter, Sylvia Moy, James Dean, William Weatherspoon and Morris Broadnax.
The musician
complement was also subject to change:
Additional key players from 1959 to 1966
appeared as follows. Guitarist Joe Messina
joined in 1959, keyboard players Johnny Griffith
and Earl Van Dyke in 1961 and 1962 respectively,
percussionists Jack Ashford and Eddie "Bongo"
Brown in 1963, drummer Uriel Jones in 1964 and
bass player Bob Babbitt in 1966. Joe Hunter and Popcorn Wylie moved on to work
with most of Motown's local competition. Mike
Terry became one of the city's great arrangers
and worked with dozens of labels in Michigan and
beyond. His trademark baritone sax can be heard
on a number of Motown million sellers too.
Click
HERE to listen to a sample of the Funk
Brothers work.
Significant artists
during that same period included, Kim Weston and
The Velvelettes in 1963, The Four Tops/Junior
Walker/Brenda Holloway and Shorty Long in 1964,
The Isley Brothers/Tammi Terrell/The Spinners in
1965 and Gladys Knight & The Pips 1966.
Lamont Dozier
joined the company in April 1962 and straight
away sang and produced his first song on Melody,
another new imprint. "Dearest One" was also the
first song written by Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Secretary Martha
LaVaile got her chance in September when by
chance she was called in to do a song called "My
Baby Won't Come Back" for Mickey Stevenson.
Martha along with fellow former Del-fi's,
Annette Beard and Rosalind Ashford, became known
as Martha & The Vandellas.
By the end of 1962,
Berry Gordy Jr was well on the road to success.
He now had a powerful infrastructure in place,
some of the world's best musicians and an artist
roster to die for.
R&B was
still the preferred sound but that would almost
change overnight when "Come And Get These
Memories" by Martha & The Vandellas went down in
the Snake Pit just three weeks into the new
year. It was a new sound, the public loved it,
and it paved the way for many hit productions to
come from the immense talent of Holland, Dozier
and Holland.
Soon to become
known worldwide as the Motown Sound, it would
take Berry Gordy Jr to levels which he could
never have envisaged.....or did he?
music : "Standing At The Crossroads Of Love" -
The Supremes (Motown1051b)
[A Holland-Dozier-Holland Production - recorded
May 1963]
David Meikle -
2007
WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO:
BOOKS:
Berry Gordy - "To
Be Loved"/Raynoma Singleton - "Berry, Me And Motown"/Tony
Douglas - "Jackie Wilson".
WEBSITES:
Don't Forget
the Motor City
Soulful Kinda Music
CD LINER NOTES: The
Complete Motown Singles Volumes 1-4 (Universal)
- ESSENTIAL!
LABEL SCANS: Carl
Pellegrino, Robb Klein, The Old Miner
MUSIC UPLOAD
KNOW-HOW: Carl Dixon
MISCELLANEOUS: Bill
Dahl - Keith Hughes - Richie Hardin - Mike
McLean - SisDetroit - Kevin Goins
More Gordy songs from the
pre-Hitsville era
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