A little later than planned so hopefully it’s better late than never, as I’d like to talk about High On Sou! – Tell Me It’s Just A Rumor, Berry, a book published this month, chronicled by Al Abrams.  But first, a preamble – and you know how I love them – to set the mood.

It was September 2011 when I received Al Abram’s first book Hype & Sou!.  It blew me away. Neil Rushton did a fabulous job for Motown’s first press officer, as the book was crammed with pictures and information so vital to Motown fans. And this was just a smattering of the memorabilia Al had accumulated over the years.  Not only that, many were able to find within the pages a copy of the “Greetings To Tamla Motown Appreciation Society” single.   Pressed in red vinyl, this previously much-in-demand single, was available again in a limited number.  For those unaware, messages included were from Berry Gordy, Smokey and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Marvelettes, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, and The Supremes.   So, that’s the preamble done.

Following this publication, Detroit-born Al had plans for a second book because he felt his treasured files needed to be shared with Motown fans. However, tragedy hit as he died on 3 October 2015, having lost his fight against cancer.  In High On Sou!, his wife Nancy wrote that when the doctor told them Al had two days, two weeks or two months to live, he had begged her to fulfil the history of his life.  “Two weeks later, Al succumbed to cancer, but his last two weeks were filled with his desire to complete his life.”  He believed, as Motown’s press officer, that many historical facts about Motown would be reinvented, rewritten or simply whitewashed to “serve the whims and fantasies of those who were never with Motown in 1959 ….and Motown family members would change historical facts to enhance their own biographies.”  And he wanted to put this right.

Ironically, this was a subject I was talking to John Lester about just recently because like me, he was fed up reading factual commentary which was far from factual, written by people claiming to be ‘in the know’. The truth is, you either had to be there, or rely on, let’s say, aficionados who were.  Information is out there to be found, but some times it gets embellished to suit the writer. Don’t we all know someone who falls into this category!  Social media is a breeding ground for distorted stories and pictures, so if you’re not sure, check it out.  As John told me “The ‘being there’ when it all happened is what will be lost to the newer generation when we all reach for the sky.”  And we don’t plan to go yet, do we!

K, I’ve had my moment – so back to High On Sou!.  Thankfully for us, Al’s widow Nancy took on the challenge to ensure her husband’s work would go public as he had promised.  Indeed, during his final days, they worked together arranging this book and – the wording of his obituary. While his first book was a plethora of exclusive pictures, press releases and historical documents written in a light hearted manner,  High On Sou! – from Newhaven Publishing, www.newhavenpublishing.com  – is more serious as it tackles some of the darker sides of the company he worked for. There’s a generous collection of visuals scattered throughout too. On a couple of occasions, I found my eyebrow rising and me asking – ‘really?’  A little personal gripe now, while I love to read the press releases, I do wish they were in date order, and there’s a spelling error here and there, but that’s just me being overly critical.  Certainly didn’t detracted me from a page-turning read.

I’m sad to say I never met Al yet he treated me like a long lost friend via his chatty, informative emails.  He respected me as much as I obviously did him; after all we shared one thing in common – we both were publicists for Motown, a company we loved so much and were dedicated to promote.  He was a true, selfless inspiration and encouraged me to continue writing when I doubted I wanted to continue.

Although Berry Gordy wasn’t particularly fond of him at first, Al proved his worth within a short time by successfully encouraging radio DJs to give airtime to Motown’s music.  The two men became firm friends. “Berry became like a big brother to me” Al wrote. “He gave me clothing from his closet, and even learned some Yiddish to communicate with my mother….My commitment to Berry, Motown and all its artists helped Motown achieve its success.”

One of the artists who loved Al, Martha Reeves told Detroit Free Press, “In those very first days, when music was always getting categorised – R&B, pop black or white – Al was the one who broke down a lot of doors.  He was very important in our progress, and it was his efforts that got us through the doors that were always shut to us.”  She was also among those who spoke and sang at his funeral at The Dorfman Chapel, Farmington, Michigan, with Rabbi Harold Loss officiating.

Joining the company in early 1959, Al dreamt up ways to grab publicity for the artists from arranging photo shoots with local dignitaries to telling the media that Bob Dylan had dubbed Smokey Robinson ‘America’s greatest living poet’.  It wasn’t true: but everyone who read it believed it.  Al was gifted with sufficient charm to ensure things happened, often against his better judgment, but the result more than made up for any misgivings, because he brought Motown music onto the airwaves and into people’s homes.

He was press officer during some of America’s most significant and dangerous periods, including the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and the Kennedy assassinations.  Against these backgrounds, he navigated Motown’s music to fit and/or uplift the mood with his press statements.  As the company front man, he thought up slogans – ‘The Sound Of Young America’, was one.

However, the company plan was not to over-promote their artists’ Blackness, and to this end, released records without picturing the singers on the covers. In the book’s section where Al explains his unpublished Motown Memoirs manuscript, he wrote “We were worried that some of the Southern white disc jockeys might not play the records and record stores wouldn’t sell them.  But that turned out to be unfounded – once the breakthrough came, it came.  This was before ‘branding’ too.”

He then paid us, the UK, the highest compliment by stating that white kids in England “picked up quicker than white kids in America on Motown. And the Brits had a lot of tabloids that covered the news that had a lot of influence.  They had a Tamla-Motown Appreciation Society and came to visit us. ….If you look at a movie about the sixties or seventies that’s Motown on the soundtrack.  Motown displaced The Beatles.  Holland, Dozier, Holland wrote more hit records than Lennon and McCartney.”  Is that true I wonder?

This whole chapter makes for extremely interesting reading, although as I work myself through the book there’s some repetition which is a little irritating.  That aside, one item that instantly caught my eye, was Al explaining why his first memoir wasn’t published after he left Motown.  Yeah, you’ve probably guessed why.  He knew too much – and Berry Gordy, via Michael Roshkind, asked Al to put a hold on his book.  This put him in a difficult position as he had his widowed mother to care for and needed an income.  An envelope full of dollars paid for Al’s temporary silence.  “Whether Berry actually knew how Roshkind was going to temporarily block my Motown manuscript from being published is unknown as I only had direct contact with Roshkind. (He) told me that Berry told him to handle the matter.”

And this is the man, Al wrote, who awarded himself a ‘medal of valor’ for a fabricated military story, and when Mr. Abrams brought this to Berry’s attention, Roshkind was promoted to Motown’s president. Later on, Al publicly apologised to the United States Military men and women for this false claim.

During 1967, Motown and its first press officer parted company, and this was down to said Michael Roshkind, who “told Berry that I was no longer needed at Motown as Motown needed more Hollywood glitz and glamour associated with it…Motown was now a success story that required a press guy with more polish, credentials and West Coast connections.”   It was their loss. Within a heartbeat, Al formed his own public relations company to represent the likes of James Brown, Stax Records, Invictus and Hot Wax.

He then eased himself into journalism during the eighties by working as a reporter and editor at The Windsor Star and freelancing for other publications.  He also authored at least eleven books on a variety of topics, being proudest of his 1985’s Special Treatment: The Untold Story Of Thousands Of Jews In Hitler’s Third Reich. 

Moving forward, he wrote the musical, Memories Of Motown with Mickey Stevenson, and staged a month long run in 2009 in Berlin, with Martha Reeves, The Contours and members of The Temptations participating, to coincide (more or less) with the company’s 50th anniversary.   And during 2013, his travelling exhibit Motown Black & White celebrated the music heroes who were willing to cross ‘Black & White’ lines together to create an American dance floor that united a nation. (www.motownblackwhite.com)

High On Soul! is a fitting finale to Mr Alan A. Abrams’ career.  And thank you Nancy, for getting it all together for us. The story is now complete.  “I’m not going to claim I knew this (memorabilia) would become as big as it turned out, but I did always feel that one day this stuff may really matter,” so sayeth the man.

Finally.  As Adam White wrote in the sleeve notes for West Grand’s “A Cellarful Of Motown! A Northern Soul Love Affair”, three young woman held the key to unlock the treasures included on this album.  Billie Jean Brown, Fran Heard and Janie Bradford were a formidable team of unsung heroes who were responsible for keeping the music filed, cross-referenced and safely stored.

Billie Jean, who was responsible for the Quality Control Department, said, “I don’t think Mr Gordy ever came out of this office without having twelve mixes that he really liked, and he’d want discs cut on all twelve. Or maybe he’d say, ‘just cut the last four’.” Billie Jean would get them cut immediately and cut acetate disc versions on the others.

So, much of what is heard on this exceptional album would have been among those acetates, cut between 1965-66, and it’s with thanks to these ladies that we’re able to enjoy them today.  As Motown’s tape librarian, Fran, said, “I don’t think any of us realised at the time, the magnitude of what Motown would become.”   For sure, these ladies and so many more, formed the backbone to Berry’s growing company, yet received little credit.  Hopefully that will change next year with the publication of a new book Those Legendary Ladies Of Motown.

Compiled for West Grand by Neil Rushton and Glenn Gunton, the mouth-watering album tracks include Chris Clark’s “Come On And See Me”, Tammi Terrell’s “I Gotta Find A Way To Get You Back”, Kim Weston’s “You Hit Me Where It Hurt Me”, Barbara McNair’s “Baby A Go-Go”, and others from the likes of The Spinners, The Contours, The Monitors, Marvin Gaye, J.J. Barnes, and The Originals.  What’s not to like?

Really hope this was worth the wait….

Sharon Davis

HIGH ON SOU! TELL ME IT’S JUST A RUMOR,BERRY (US)

HIGH ON SOU! TELL ME IT’S JUST A RUMOR,BERRY (UK)

A CELLARFUL OF MOTOWN! A NORTHERN SOUL LOVE AFFAIR LP (UK)

A CELLARFUL OF MOTOWN! A NORTHERN SOUL LOVE AFFAIR LP (US)

Side A
1. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Tears At The End Of A Love Affair
2. Brenda Holloway – Think It Over (Before You Break My Heart)
3. Jimmy Ruffin – He Who Picks A Rose
4. Gladys Knight And The Pips – If You Ever Get Your Hands On Love
5. The Originals – Suspicion
6. Barbara McNair – Baby A Go-Go
7. J. J. Barnes – (Tell Me) Ain’t It The Truth
8. The Funk Brothers – Tell Me It’s Just A Rumour Baby

Side B
1. Marvin Gaye – This Love Starved Heart Of Mine (It’s Killing Me)
2. The Monitors – Crying In The Night
3. Kim Weston – You Hit Me Where It Hurt Me
4. Carolyn Crawford – Keep Stepping (Never Look Back)
5. The Contours – Baby Hit And Run (Alternate Vocal)
6. Tammi Terrell – I Gotta Find A Way To Get You Back
7. The Spinners – Memories Of Her Love Keep Haunting Me
8. Chris Clarke – Come On And See Me