The funky "My Momma Didn't Lie" would surely have been smash if it'd had the prerequisite airplay and promotion. But alas, that's something that could be said about most of her recordings.

 "My Momma Didn't Lie" - Johnnie Mae Matthews (Big Hit 108a)

Johnnie Mae resurrected her Northern label at the tail end of the 70's with two more releases. But by then the whole music business had changed way beyond recognition from when she'd first started out; it was no longer possible to turn up at a radio station, befriend the DJ and get your 45 played on the spot. Multi-track recording had seriously jacked-up session costs, and delivering records to neighborhood mom and pop stores from the back of a car was history. Without ever really establishing herself outside of Michigan she focused her energy on producing The ADC Band, and drifted out of the limelight.

As Detroit music books macro-focus on Motown Records and the roster of famous stars, Johnnie Mae understandably felt that her own significant contribution had been ignored. No books give her credit for her involvement in the city's incredible history and to cap it off The Temptations movie portrayed her as an opportunistic money-grabber. She once lamented to me, "I just didn't get my props. Everybody in Detroit knows that. Everybody"

"Cut Me Loose" - Johnnie Mae Matthews (Art 002a))

Most of her Detroit 45s were pressed in relatively small quantities, sometimes as few as 100 copies, and consequently are not easily available. I only know of her bluesy Blue Rock recordings having been released on CD, which seems felonious, but hopefully we'll soon have a chance to listen to some of her great work. Both Ace-Kent Records in England and Tuff City Records in New York have been negotiating a license her catalogue, so let's all keep our fingers crossed that we don't have to wait too long before something is on the market.

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