For someone who has lived through the decade of the best music ever, when I write ‘fifty years ago’, I check myself because it’s hard to imagine half-a-century has passed, just like that. Or so it seems. Motown music has lived on through the decades, and who would have thought, let alone believe, that I’d still be writing about it today! Not me, that’s for sure! But, here I am – and the thrill lives on. When that stops, I’ll hang up my pen (I still write first drafts in longhand). So, let’s TCB with a Temptation.
I met Eddie Kendricks in 1970 in his London hotel suite when The Temptations were appearing at The Talk Of The Town. He arrived later than the others because he decided he’d had enough of the group’s constant back-biting and bitterness, citing arguments with Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams. It was this, and Norman Whitfield’s recording plans to move the group into the psychedelic movement, that led to him wanting to leave.
As you know, not only was Eddie a prominent lead vocalist, he also co-wrote some of their material, created their vocal arrangements and served as their wardrobe manager. Anyway, I believe Berry Gordy may have persuaded him to honour the Talk Of The Town commitment or perhaps Eddie got a conscience twinge. Either way, I was pleased because it meant I spent some time with him.
While we were chatting, he told me he was quitting the group and that nothing could change his mind. I remember that so well because I couldn’t wait to tell the other secretaries of Motown Ad Astra, the fan club we ran from our house in Ealing, and who were with the other Temptations somewhere around the hotel. “When I was with The Tempts, I gave them my heart and soul. Now that I have left, I don’t look back. I take my heart and soul with me…..I don’t believe in doing things halfway. I never have and never will.” He further told Billboard that it was a very depressing time: “Quitting was not a consideration. My mind told me I needed to stop, but my heart told me I couldn’t.”
The picture here of Eddie lying on the sofa is my copyright, so hands off! Anyway, I recalled this first meeting in Motown Spotlight last February, so let’s push on because all this preamble leads me to Eddie’s fifth solo album released in November 1974, on the Tamla label, a month later in the UK, fifty years ago!
Titled “For You”, it followed “Boogie Down” which was considered to be his strongest album, produced by Frank Wilson and Leonard Caston. On checking the record sleeve housing “For You”, Leonard was more or less the lead name as he co-produced and/or co-wrote five of the eight tracks, namely “Please Don’t Go Away”, “Deep And Quiet Love”, “Let Yourself Go”, “If You Think (You Can)” and “One Tear,” lifted as the first single. Others were versions of David Gates’ “If”, Jim Croce’s “Time In A Bottle” and “Shoeshine Boy”, on which the backing vocals were provided by its songwriters Harry Booker and Linda Allen.
“Shoeshine Boy” marked Eddie’s last of three US R&B chart toppers, and final top twenty pop hit. Linda Allen who worked for Frank Wilson, told Adam White and Fred Bronson in their book Number One R&B Hits that Motown’s senior executives wanted the single killed. “But Berry believed in the song so much. He said a shoeshine boy could be anybody, that he didn’t have to be black.”
In the same article, Frank Wilson was quoted “I know Eddie didn’t particularly like the [song at first], but we convinced him … that it had a lot of potential as a crossover record. We were basically interested in taking him just a little more pop, but try and maintain enough of the soul to go up the R&B charts.” Frank, who had produced solo Eddie from day one, had to convince him to sing in a lower register at times. “I thought to listen to falsetto all the way through an album might be somewhat boring. Just getting his confidence up was the key thing.”
With “Shoeshine Boy” causing grave concern within the halls of Motown, did anyone think to ask Berry about one of his first jobs? In his autobiography To Be Loved, he revealed he once buffed shoes outside Hudson’s, Detroit’s upmarket department store: “Popping my rag and singing, I was a real joy to my customers. But the downtown proprietors were anything but joyful. Not wanting a ragtag bunch of kids outside their premises, they ran us off every corner we tried to set up on.”
When Berry gave the go-ahead, recognising the song’s hit potential, Eddie had no choice but to follow orders. While the single catapulted to great chart heights in the US, it failed miserably in the UK, where buyers obviously preferred Eddie’s dance/funk singles. Ironically, the Tamla Motown single released directly after Eddie’s was The Temptations’ “Memories” from their “A Song For You” album, where Damon Harris’ vocals replaced Eddie’s on this UK-only release. Life goes on…..
Let’s back track to Eddie leaving the group by lifting a couple of quotes from Tony Turner’s book Deliver Us From Temptation when he wrote that Motown was more than happy with Eddie’s decision “because Dennis could carry The Temptations and Eddie was enough of a star to carry himself, which made two money makers out of one.”
Tony also reported that when Eddie told Motown he wanted out, they refused to let him go. He even offered to buy himself out of his contract: “Motown wanted him to sign an agreement to relinquish all future royalties… The situation escalated so much that the company had him up in a hospital seeing psychiatrists. I assume that’s when Eddie signed the agreement, but (he) would never say….If there was something he wanted you to know, he’d tell you….After ten years with Motown, he didn’t trust anyone anymore.”
When his close friend Temptation Paul Williams died in strange circumstances, Eddie was acutely affected. After all, they had travelled north together to follow their dream, and with hard work and determination, eventually reached their goal. Paul’s death made his friend more wary of Motown, resurrecting past demons, and as Eddie stood back to watch The Temptations enjoying hit after ‘psychedelic’ hit, he must have wondered when his time would come. If ever. In the end, it took over two years, but the wait was worth it when “Keep On Truckin'” set the world on fire.
With this change of fortune, Eddie was at one point elevated to the heights of Marvin and Stevie as the company’s best selling male artists. However, Eddie wanted more: he wanted to be the male version of Diana Ross but, of course, Berry ensured no-one else was ever given that kind of star treatment. Naturally, this riled Eddie, as it did, other Motown acts.
From all that I’ve read over the years, the relationship between ex-Temptation and Motown boss was fractured; they tolerated each other, until the crunch came when they fell out over the cover of Eddie’s 1976 “He’s A Friend” album. The cover picture showed two clasped male hands. Berry believed this depicted gay overtones, and would offend Motown’s wholesome mid-American image. Eddie fought back and won the battle.
Subsequently “He’s A Friend” was poorly promoted, whereupon Berry reputedly told the singer that his career would go much further if he’d be like Diana and just do what he was told. A defeated Eddie left Motown during 1978 for Arista Records, later Atlantic, where he struggled to regain some of his past glory. The next chapter in this remarkable man’s life will be taken up in a future Motown Spotlight.
As I’ve mentioned Leonard Caston’s work with Eddie, this month in 1974 also saw the release of the “Caston & Majors” album. To be honest, I’ve written so much about this album and later CD version – which included the bonus tracks of nine titles earmarked for a second LP – that I’ve probably sent people to sleep.
So, here’s what another reviewer thought: “A strange hybrid that combined the elements of soul, gospel, Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, and The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper period.” Sounds about right to me. Three UK singles were lifted for 1975 release, namely, “Child Of Love” (the album’s lead title), “Sing” and “I’ll Keep My Light In My Window”. Tamla Motown had tremendous faith in this album; they invested considerable time, money and energy into its promotion without being rewarded with a hit. Pity the same can’t be said for the country of its origin. Shame on you.
Other albums released on the Motown label during November 1974 included Willie Hutch’s “Mark Of The Beast”, David Ruffin’s “Me & Rock ‘N’ Roll Are Here To Stay”, alongside G C Cameron’s “Love Songs And Other Tragedies”. Across the Atlantic in the UK, one title was released “Dancing Machine” from the Jackson 5. So, happy 50th birthday to them all!
“Motown Records Proudly Present The Artists And Music That Started It All” was the long title of a celebratory release of a six- hour radio programme to honour the 21st anniversary of “The Sound Of Young America”. Adam White penned the script and chose the music across these albums with Brenda Holloway, Edwin Starr, Mary Wells, Mary Wilson, Jermaine Jackson, Syreeta, among the talking head contributors.
The sleeve notes indicated that an intensive search was made for former Motown artists who were responsible for some of the classics that introduced the music to the world: “Some of (them) had not been in touch with Motown for more than a decade. Some would not consent to be interviewed. Most of them, however, were pleased with the opportunity to talk about their roles as hitmakers of the sixties.”
The process had a domino effect which started in Detroit with The Contours’ Joe Billingslea and Council Gay. They in turn contacted Jimmy and David Ruffin, while Motown Senior VP Esther Edwards found The Marvelettes’ Katharine Schaffner (tut tut, Marvelettes spelt wrongly on the album sleeve). The search then spread across Los Angeles where the other talking heads mentioned above were found. They were then all brought together for interviews at KDAY Radio: “Smokey Robinson, the expert’s expert on Motown history, narrated the story during the week that his single ‘Being With You’ claimed the number one spot on the national pop charts. This compilation of never-before-heard interviews, old conversations, and the most memorable hits of all time provides a panoramic perspective of how an upstart independent like Motown became the single most influential label in history.”
To be honest, this 1981 limited release of celebration was a joy and, by contrast to other records in my collection, this remained in good shape but that’s obviously due to my not playing it that often. However, one album I intend to re-visit now is Eddie Kendricks’ “For You” to celebrate its fiftieth birthday, with a glass of red wine on the side. Cheers!
Sharon Davis
