Marv Johnson was only 19 years of age when he got his chance with Robert West.

The resultant "My baby-o"/"Once upon a time " was released on Kudo663, with the topside being a remake of a Fortune song by the Five Dollars.

Marv's Kudo sides were recorded at Special Recordings on Duffield, with Berry Gordy apparently in attendance.

According to Berry's ex-wife  Raynoma, she and Berry would meet up again with Marv a few weeks later, in Prince Adams Records, on 12th Street.

His light-tenor vocal had hooked them, as did his prowess as a songwriter. They took one of his songs, "Come to me," and issued it on Tamla101 the first release on the Motown group of labels.

United Artists took an interest in the song and gave it national distribution on their own label. It achieved Pop #30 and R&B #6.

The success led to UA taking over Marv's contract, a move which provided him with a further 6 Top 100 Pop songs.

NB. Special had an excellent reputation and was used extensively by Harry Balk and others and was based only half a mile from the United Artist building. It was also responsible for the recording of the highly successful Lone Ranger programs for radio. 

Kudo's follow up to Marv Johnson was a recording by Nancy Peters called "Cry baby heart"/"Don't worry me no more".

The "Band  of Harold Beans Bowles" are also listed on the 45 as Band or Orchestra naming was a feature on many records during that era.

Ron Murphy recalls buying the record from Frantic Ernie Durham's place back in the day. Written on the sleeve were the words "a 16 year old blond from McMichaels school in Detroit".

The Hindle Butts Band featured on the next 45, with lead provided by Barbara Tennant. Hindle had played drums with Detroit guitar genius Kenny Burrell for a number years prior to forming his own quartet, and around the time of the Kudo release the band were resident in Denny's Show Bar on Linwood.

Butt's name can be found on a number of record labels in the sixties including Kool Kat and M-S.

In November 1956, Radio Station WCHB became the first Black financed radio station in the United States.

Based in Inkster, it was owned by Haley Bell and Wendell Cox who brought in Joltin' Joe to lay the foundations which would help to make WCHB a serious competitor to WJLB in Downtown Detroit.

Joe recorded the station's first show and word soon spread.

It was obviously a shrewd move by West to use this new found popularity to good effect on Kudo666.

Joltin' Joe Howard

The launch was almost overshadowed by disaster however as reported in one of the Trade Magazines :-

"Detroit jockey Joltin' Joe Howard of WCHB survived
a serious auto crash the day before his first disking
effort was due for release. 

According to one account Howard was en route to his show in the early hours  of the morning following an all-night party with execs of Kudo and VeeJay Records when his car was hit broadside by another car that went thru a red light.

Howard said "Man, I just couldn't die. My first record
was due out right away." 

The record was the self penned "Baby Won't You Change Your Mind" c/w "Searching for my baby".

Continued