A very belated soulful new year to you all.  I may be late with my wishes but rest assured the sentiments remain powerfully strong.  This start to 2025 happened without me, as I was one of hundreds who succumbed to the flu/cold/stomach virus that didn’t seem to have a name.  It was a nasty, horrible bug that showed no mercy, while deciding it liked me so much it stayed around for far too long.  However, that hopefully is now behind me as I’m gradually getting my energy back.  So that’s my tale of woe – and things can only get better.  So let’s TCB…

In the same breath as Diana Ross leaving The Supremes, the world was introduced to Berry Gordy’s new signing The Jackson 5.  Initially Berry refused to entertain the idea of any more ‘kid acts’ following the signing of Little Stevie Wonder, but soon changed his mind after watching the Jackson 5 in action.  “All of them moved, sang and played their instruments like winners… All the right clues were there – their professionalism, their discipline, their talent….(Michael) had an incredible knowingness about him that really made me take notice.  He sang his songs with such feeling, inspiration and pain, like he had experienced everything he was singing about.”

The musical mayhem caused by the J5 was instant, and through a continuous flurry of hype, publicity and performances, five young brothers from Gary, Indiana, embarked upon a career that would reach stratospheric proportions within a couple of years following the release of their first single “I Want You Back” in late 1969/early 1970.  In short, the world went crazy for them.

The hysteria attributed to The Beatles during the sixties had returned with a vengeance as J5 concerts were sold out before the printing on the tickets had dried, merchandising became a booming business, and exciting pandemonium followed the young brothers’ every move.  Motown’s film and television department was quick to exploit them, as following the success of Diana Ross’ Diana! TV special, the Jackson 5 starred in Goin’ Back To Indiana, an hour-long programme based around their triumphant return to their hometown.

This showcase of talent also featured Diana, alongside Sammy Davis, Jr., Bobby Darin, Tommy Smothers and Bill Cosby in a variety of sketches until the finale at Indianapolis Arena where the brothers performed before an enthusiastic audience. The show’s soundtrack was released in the US during September 1971, while the programme itself was offered to UK television stations but rejected as unsuitable. However, later on, the Jacksons’ animated series was seen over here.

Despite all the frenzy and fortunes generated by them, the J5 didn’t have it all their own way, because the media decided to drum up competition rumours between them and the equally popular Mormon brother group, The Osmonds.  And it was suspected at the time that Michael Jackson’s move into solo recordings was prompted by Donny Osmond’s success in the same field, although Michael hotly denied this, telling reporters  “I just wanted to try recording alone.  People seem to think that because The Osmonds became big with records that sounded something like ours, we should have something against them.  But it’s not like that.  I think they’re a good group and I certainly have nothing against them.”

At the same time, he denied he was leaving his brothers: “I could never go solo, not with the group being a family thing because it would be like breaking away from my family.  Anyway, the other guys are doing some solo things too and we’re still recording as a group.”  While the young Jackson denied the move, his father Joseph went on record as saying the success of Donny’s debut solo single “Sweet And Innocent” (a copy of Roy Orbison’s 1958 hit) and the chart topping version of Steve Lawrence’s “Go Away Little Girl” that followed, pushed him to instruct Berry Gordy to launch Michael as a soloist, adding, “then we can all make more money.”

Michael Jackson and Chris Clark

After much deliberation, they chose “Got To Be There”, originally planned for the J5.  As J Randy Taraborrelli observed in Michael Jackson:The Magic & the Madness, “Joseph never dreamed that he had just put into motion a plan that would one day separate Michael not only from his brothers, but from him as well.”  However, in the notes for the single in “The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 11B: 1971”, A&R assistant Suzi Ikeda told Berry,  “..Michael Jackson is a much better singer than Donny Osmond.  Why can’t he have a solo career and be with the Jackson 5?”  Berry agreed although was unsure “Got To Be There” was the right vehicle for the thirteen-year-old, particularly as the J5 were struggling with ballads.  Long story short, Suzie Ikeda remixed the track with engineer Russ Terrana, and the result was given the green light by the Motown boss.

“Got To Be There”, written by Elliot Willensky and featuring his brothers on backing vocals, had a UK release date of January 1972.  It was also the title of Michael’s first album, with the front cover showing a cheeky little guy wearing an oversized John Lennon cap and corduroy jacket. As the single climbed the UK chart to peak at four, the US version had hit the top five and was on the descent.

With his version of The Supremes’ “Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone” as the flipside, the follow-up was an alarmingly awful “Rockin’ Robin”, yet it chirped its way into the top three. The third US single, “I Wanna Be Where You Are” was the B-side of “Ain’t No Sunshine”, first recorded by Bill Withers. As Bill’s version failed to hit in the UK, Motown’s London office was quick to slap a Tamla Motown label on Michael’s take for single release.  They were rewarded with a top eight hit for three weeks.

All the above mentioned tracks were included on the “Got To Be There” album, which also offered the Willie Hutch-penned “Girl Don’t Take Your Love From Me”, a version of Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend,” The Corporation’s “Wings Of My Love” and Beatrice Verdi’s co-penned “In Our Small Way”, among the titles.  None appealed to me but his young fans lapped up every note sung. Anyway, before leaving the subject, during 2009 “Got To Be There” was remastered and reissued as part of the extremely attractive three-CD set “Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection”, showing Michael wearing the same John Lennon cap on the front cover!

Over on the Gordy label, two albums were highlighted for release:  The Temptations’ “Solid Rock” and “Face To Face With The Truth”.  Both were joined at the hip thanks to the extraordinarily talented Norman Whitfield who mixed and matched. I noticed that squashed in between these releases was a solo Martha Reeves album, prefix number G958, that never materialised.   Ouch!

Like Michael Jackson, The Temptations re-visited Bill Withers for “Ain’t No Sunshine” as a track on “Solid Rock” but it was a remake of Gladys Knight and the Pips’ dreamy ballad “It’s Summer” that was culled as the album’s first single. As you know, Norman Whitfield was notorious for restructuring songs for different acts: sometimes it worked, other times not. Those that did work included, of course, Gladys and the Pips and Marvin Gaye’s versions of  “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”.  As different as chalk and cheese, and both deserving their number one status.

Talking of Gladys, The Temptations also opted to record “The End Of Our Road” on their January 1972 album.  As an aside, it might be worth mentioning here, that by this time Eddie Kendricks had left the group, so the membership on “It’s Summer” was Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, and Paul Williams, with the latter due to be extracted following his worsening dependency on drugs and alcohol due to his battle with sickle cell anaemia.

Two replacements were drafted in, Richard Street and Damon Harris, and it was this line-up that appeared on the second single “Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)” which also turned up on The Undisputed Truth’s “Face To Face With The Truth”, alongside “What It Is?” although I’m unsure who first recorded the song.  The Temptations enjoyed a UK top thirty hit with “Superstar”, while the follow-up “Take A Look Around” hit the twenties. “Stop The War Now” and “Smooth Sailing (From Now On)” rounded off the album which peaked at thirty-four in the UK chart.

The Undisputed Truth

Norman Whitfield’s proteges The Undisputed Truth were caught up in the melee that resulted from The Temptations becoming tired of Norman using them as his ‘personal plaything’ or his ‘bread and butter money’, claiming he had with no regard for what they actually wanted to record.  Against this backdrop then, The Truth recorded a fair number of Temptations’ tracks with few original songs,  but still they held their own identity to achieve a certain amount of success, although not on the scale they should have.

Briefly then. Billie Calvin and Brenda Evans were members of The Delicates, who were introduced to Motown by Bobby Taylor.  The girls first worked as session singers on the Four Tops’ “Still Waters” project, Diana Ross’ “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and Edwin Starr’s “War” and “Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On”, among others.   In time, The Delicates disbanded, so Norman hired Joe Harris, one time member of The Fabulous Peps, to hook up with Billie and Brenda. “They represented a challenge to me,” Norman explained one time. “People were saying Motown had become stagnant so I set about making a new group with completely new ideas.  In a small way I did the same for The Velvelettes.”

It was The Truth’s second single “Smiling Faces Sometimes” – a Temptations’ track – lifted from their debut album “The Undisputed Truth”  that soared past gold status to elevate the trio as a saleable act.   Their second album “Face To Face With The Truth” was again entirely produced by Norman with most of the tracks recorded by The Temptations.

A couple were culled for singles ie their version of “You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth” followed by “What It Is?”  In The UK, “Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)” was the only single.  Once more, other titles were tried and tested like “Take Me In Your Arms And Love Me”, “Don’t Let Him Take Your Love From Me”, “Ungena Za Ulimwenga (Unite The World)”/”Friendship Train” – and, surprisingly, a version of Marvin’s “What’s Going On”.  We didn’t see that coming!

Sadly,  despite Norman’s high hopes, his dream slowly turned into a nightmare: “My efforts for The Truth were all in vain because the company simply was never into what the group meant.  They became pawns in a political situation that had nothing to do even with me.  I guess that this was indirectly what led to me leaving Motown.  As a company, they developed a lack of respect for what people were doing for them, and they lost their creative direction when certain people left.”

Two years prior to him walking, Norman opened Whitfield Records which he fully intended Motown to distribute.  However, negotiations between the two parties failed. “I guess the way they handled The Truth gave me an insight of the way it would be and I wanted no part of it.”  So he cemented a deal with Warner Brothers.

Over on the rock-orientated Rare Earth label – opened to accommodate a band of the same name – was a fascinating album “Jesus Christ Greatest Hits” by The God Squad featuring Leonard Caston.  Despite its crazy title, it was a very good listen, produced by Henry Cosby, and was largely instrumental with snatches of sung choruses. “My Sweet Lord”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Oh Happy Day”, “Spirit In The Sky”, “Wade In The Water” and “Superstar (From Jesus Christ Superstar)” were among the spiritual titles.  Apart from Leonard Caston playing keyboards,  I can’t find a reference to the musicians, but can say this album led the way for the brilliant, ground-breaking “Caston & Majors” elpee.

Moving on to the present day, and alongside the releases from Elemental Music which over the past few months have quelled Motown fans’ thirst for reissued catalogue titles, and as Ace’s Kent label lines up its “More Motown Guys” CD, comes news of West Grand, a new vinyl catalogue label opened by Neil Rushton and Glenn Gunton with involvement from Paul Nixon.

The initial releases will include two singles, namely Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Tears At The End Of A Love Affair” coupled with Kim Weston’s “Just Too Much To Hope For”, and Brenda Holloway’s “Think It Over (Before You Break My Heart)” with the band track from Earl Van Dyke and the Soul Brothers on the B-side.  I’m very grateful to my lifetime friend Adam White who broke the news of this label in his 10 January 2025 West Grand blog on adamwhite.com. So for more information do pay him a visit and say I sent you!

That’s it for this month, and I very much look forward to your company this year as we journey through Motown tales past, present and future – plus everything in between.

Sharon Davis

(All photos included are promo visuals from my own collection.  Except one: that of Michael Jackson and Chris Clark.  The copyright is hers, so hands off!)

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