Standing in the Shadows of Motown Page #4

singers on the record were

Lem Barney and Mel Farr

of the Detroit Lions...

The Miracles' Bobby Rogers

and Motown's other unsung heroes...

The Andantes:
Louvain Demps,

Marlene Barrow and jackie Hicks.

Eddie Willis stands on the

bridge to Detroit's Belle

Isle, where many Motown

company picnics took place...

and wherejamerson drove with friends,

despondent over Motown's move west.

The "hits to come" in Detroit

after "What's Going On"...

included The Temptations' "Papa Was A

Rolling Stone" and The Supremes' "Floyjoy. "

Motown had been recording

in Los Angeles since the mid-"60s...

and set up corporate offices in

Los Angeles in 1968.

Upon officially leaving

Detroit in '72, Motown left

behind a skeletal staff to

oversee occasional studio dates.

Jamerson's West Coast sessions

included The Sylvers' "Boogie Fever"...

The Hues Corp. 's "Rock

The Boat" and Marilyn McCoo

& Billy Davis's "You

Don't Have To Be A Star. "

Motown 25:
Yesterday, Today & Foreverwas

filmed at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Jamerson died at the age of 47,

August 2, 1983.

Jamerson's obituary in Rolling Stone by

singer/ Detroit native Marshall Crenshaw...

inspired Allan Slutsky to write the book

Standing In The Shadows Of Motown.

After Motown's L.A. move, Uriel and

Pistol stayed in Detroit to play gigs.

Jack became a producer,

then gave up music until

this film. "Bongo" played

until his death in 1983.

Eddie went on tour

with the Four Tops for 20 years...

Joe retired to open a chain

of car washes and jewelry stores...

while Robert slipped

in and out of music.

Joe kept playing after

"63. Earl toured with Freda

Payne and taught at

Detroit's public schools...

as did johnny, between his gigs.

Babbitt became a premier session bassist

in New York, Philadelphia and Nashville...

creating tracks for The Spinners, Elton

john, Alice Cooper and many others.

Montell and Chaka perform

Marvin Gaye and Tammi

Terrell's version of"Ain't

No Mountain High Enough"...

a Top 20 hit in spring 1967.

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

was originally recorded in Studio B...

as a solo track for Tammi

on December 20, 1966.

Standing 6'8", Montell is the only one

on stage taller than jack Ashford.

Chaka and her group Rufus got their

break when Motown's Stevie Wonder...

wrote their first hit,

"Tell Me Something Good. "

Uriel played with Benny

on the original version.

He played with Andrew Smith on

the 1970 remake by Diana Ross.

Postscript:
johnny

Griffith died hours before

the film's Detroit

premiere, Nov. 10, 2002.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes