Motown Grooves From The Crates
 |
| Flickr |
Tommy Good was a singer in local clubs around Detroit, when Motown boss Berry Gordy contracted him and released Baby I Miss You on Gordy, a subsidiary of Motown, in 1964. Tommy Good, one of the first white employees of the famous soul factory, recorded an album, but for reasons that are still unknown today, it was never released at the time and it stayed in the vaults for almost 40 years! In 2006 a collection gathering most of his recordings on the Motown label was released.
In 1963, at the age of 13, Carolyn Crawford signed a contract to Motown Records, after winning a talent contest. She recorded a few singles for the label and she also sang backup vocals for some of the Motown artists. Her final record for Motown, When someone's good to you, released in December 1964, failed to chart and her contract was not renewed. Ten years later Crawford was signed to Philadelphia International and released several strong singles with the Gamble and Huff label, like Good and plenty. It never came to a full album, maybe because the label was so focused on smooth singers like Jean Carn and Dee Dee Gamble. After singing lead vocals on the disco hit Let's start the dance by Hamilton Bohannon, she made 2 solo albums in the late 1970s and changed her name into Caroline Crawford.
Canadian singer-songwriter R. Dean Taylor is one of the most underrated acts ever to record for Motown. Although he wrote lots of chart-topping singles, like Love child for The Supremes, his own single Gotta see Jane received no promotion in the US. It was picked up in Europe and it became a hit in the Netherlands and the UK. After his American top 5 smash Indiana wants me in 1970, Gotta see Jane reached #67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, 4 years after its original release.
Tracklist:
Gladys Knight & The Pips – Who Is She (And What Is She To You) (1974)
Stevie Wonder – You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover (1970)
Diana Ross – Love Hangover (1976)
The Originals – You Are A Blessing To Me (1977)
David Ruffin – Questions (1977)
Brenda Holloway – You've Made Me So Very Happy (1967)
R. Dean Taylor – Gotta See Jane (1968)
Bottom & Company – Gonna Find A True Love (1974)
The Supremes – You've Got To Pay The Price (1970)
Marvin Gaye – It's A Bitter Pill To Swallow (1969)
Edwin Starr – Headline News (1966)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – I Second That Emotion (1967)
Chris Clark – Love's Gone Bad (1966)
The Temptations – There's A Definite Change In You (1966)
Carolyn Crawford – Forget About Me (1963)
P.J. – T.L.C. (Tender Loving Care) (1971)
Four Tops – Something About You (1965)
Martha & The Vandellas – You've Been In Love Too Long (1964)
Freddie Gorman – Take Me Back (1965)
Barbara Randolph – Can I Get A Witness (1967)
G.C. Cameron – I’m Gonna Give You Respect (1974)
The Monitors – Crying In The Night (1966)
The Marvelettes – Locking Up My Heart (1963)
Kim Weston – Helpless (1966)
Kiki Dee – The Day Will Come Between Sunday And Monday (1970)
Frankie Valli – Thank You (1975)
Tommy Good – I’ve Gotta Get Away (1964)
Comments