1.
Detroit
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Detroit is the most populous city in the U. S. state of Michigan, the fourth-largest city in the Midwest and the largest city on the United States–Canada border. It is the seat of Wayne County, the most populous county in the state, the municipality of Detroit had a 2015 estimated population of 677,116, making it the 21st-most populous city in the United States. Roughly one-half of Michigans population lives in Metro Detroit alone, the Detroit–Windsor area, a commercial link straddling the Canada–U. S. Border, has a population of about 5.7 million. Detroit is a port on the Detroit River, a strait that connects the Great Lakes system to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Detroit Metropolitan Airport is among the most important hubs in the United States, the City of Detroit anchors the second-largest economic region in the Midwest, behind Chicago, and the thirteenth-largest in the United States. Detroit and its neighboring Canadian city Windsor are connected through a tunnel and various bridges, Detroit was founded on July 24,1701 by the French explorer and adventurer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and a party of settlers. During the 19th century, it became an important industrial hub at the center of the Great Lakes region, with expansion of the American automobile industry in the early 20th century, the Detroit area emerged as a significant metropolitan region within the United States. The city became the fourth-largest in the country for a period, in the 1950s and 1960s, suburban expansion continued with construction of a regional freeway system. A great portion of Detroits public transport was abandoned in favour of becoming a city in the post-war period. Due to industrial restructuring and loss of jobs in the auto industry, between 2000 and 2010 the citys population fell by 25 percent, changing its ranking from the nations 10th-largest city to 18th. In 2010, the city had a population of 713,777 and this resulted from suburbanization, corruption, industrial restructuring and the decline of Detroits auto industry. In 2013, the state of Michigan declared an emergency for the city. Detroit has experienced urban decay as its population and jobs have shifted to its suburbs or elsewhere, conservation efforts managed to save many architectural pieces since the 2000s and allowed several large-scale revitalisations. More recently, the population of Downtown Detroit, Midtown Detroit, paleo-Indian people inhabited areas near Detroit as early as 11,000 years ago. In the 17th century, the region was inhabited by Huron, Odawa, Potawatomi, for the next hundred years, virtually no British, colonist, or French action was contemplated without consultation with, or consideration of the Iroquois likely response. When the French and Indian War evicted the Kingdom of France from Canada, the 1798 raids and resultant 1799 decisive Sullivan Expedition reopened the Ohio Country to westward emigration, which began almost immediately, and by 1800 white settlers were pouring westwards. By 1773, the population of Detroit was 1,400, by 1778, its population was up to 2,144 and it was the third-largest city in the Province of Quebec
2.
Michigan
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Michigan /ˈmɪʃᵻɡən/ is a state in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions of the United States. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, Michigan is the tenth most populous of the 50 United States, with the 11th most extensive total area. Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit, Michigan is the only state to consist of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula, to which the name Michigan was originally applied, is noted to be shaped like a mitten. The Upper Peninsula is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, the two peninsulas are connected by the Mackinac Bridge. The state has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the world, being bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, as a result, it is one of the leading U. S. states for recreational boating. Michigan also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds, a person in the state is never more than six miles from a natural water source or more than 85 miles from a Great Lakes shoreline. What is now the state of Michigan was first settled by Native American tribes before being colonized by French explorers in the 17th century, the area was organized as part of the larger Northwest Territory until 1800, when western Michigan became part of the Indiana Territory. Eventually, in 1805, the Michigan Territory was formed, which lasted until it was admitted into the Union on January 26,1837, the state of Michigan soon became an important center of industry and trade in the Great Lakes region and a popular immigrant destination. Though Michigan has come to develop an economy, it is widely known as the center of the U. S. automotive industry. When the first European explorers arrived, the most populous tribes were Algonquian peoples, which include the Anishinaabe groups of Ojibwe, Odaawaa/Odawa, the three nations co-existed peacefully as part of a loose confederation called the Council of Three Fires. The Ojibwe, whose numbers are estimated to have been between 25,000 and 35,000, were the largest, French voyageurs and coureurs des bois explored and settled in Michigan in the 17th century. The first Europeans to reach what became Michigan were those of Étienne Brûlés expedition in 1622, the first permanent European settlement was founded in 1668 on the site where Père Jacques Marquette established Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan as a base for Catholic missions, missionaries in 1671–75 founded outlying stations at Saint Ignace and Marquette. Jesuit missionaries were received by the areas Indian populations, with relatively few difficulties or hostilities. In 1679, Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle built Fort Miami at present-day St. Joseph, in 1691, the French established a trading post and Fort St. Joseph along the St. Joseph River at the present day city of Niles. The hundred soldiers and workers who accompanied Cadillac built a fort enclosing one arpent, cadillacs wife, Marie Thérèse Guyon, soon moved to Detroit, becoming one of the first European women to settle in the Michigan wilderness. The town quickly became a major fur-trading and shipping post, the Église de Saint-Anne was founded the same year
3.
Rhythm and blues
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Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated as R&B or RnB, is a genre of popular African-American music that originated in the 1940s. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy. Lyrics focus heavily on the themes of triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, freedom, economics, aspirations, the term rhythm and blues has undergone a number of shifts in meaning. In the early 1950s it was applied to blues records. This tangent of RnB is now known as British rhythm and blues, by the 1970s, the term rhythm and blues changed again and was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. In the 1980s, a style of R&B developed, becoming known as Contemporary R&B. It combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop, popular R&B vocalists at the end of the 20th century included Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey. Although Jerry Wexler of Billboard magazine is credited with coining the term rhythm and blues as a term in the United States in 1948. It replaced the term race music, which came from within the black community. The term rhythm and blues was used by Billboard in its chart listings from June 1949 until August 1969, before the Rhythm and Blues name was instated, various record companies had already begun replacing the term race music with sepia series. In 2010 LaMont Robinson founded the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Museum, writer and producer Robert Palmer defined rhythm & blues as a catchall term referring to any music that was made by and for black Americans. He has used the term R&B as a synonym for jump blues, however, AllMusic separates it from jump blues because of its stronger, gospel-esque backbeat. Lawrence Cohn, author of Nothing but the Blues, writes that rhythm, according to him, the term embraced all black music except classical music and religious music, unless a gospel song sold enough to break into the charts. Well into the 21st century, the term R&B continues in use to music made by black musicians. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, arrangements were rehearsed to the point of effortlessness and were sometimes accompanied by background vocalists. Simple repetitive parts mesh, creating momentum and rhythmic interplay producing mellow, lilting, while singers are emotionally engaged with the lyrics, often intensely so, they remain cool, relaxed, and in control. The bands dressed in suits, and even uniforms, an associated with the modern popular music that rhythm. Lyrics often seemed fatalistic, and the music typically followed predictable patterns of chords, there was also increasing emphasis on the electric guitar as a lead instrument, as well as the piano and saxophone
4.
Soul music
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Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It combines elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States, where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music, catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music. Other characteristics are a call and response between the lead vocalist and the chorus and a tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds, Soul music reflected the African-American identity and it stressed the importance of an African-American culture. The new-found African-American consciousness led to new styles of music, which boasted pride in being black, Soul music dominated the U. S. R&B chart in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U. S. By 1968, the music genre had begun to splinter. Some soul artists developed funk music, while other singers and groups developed slicker, more sophisticated, by the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by psychedelic rock and other genres, leading to psychedelic soul. The United States saw the development of neo soul around 1994, there are also several other subgenres and offshoots of soul music. The term soul had been used among African-American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African-American in the United States, according to another source, Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the 60s. The phrase soul music itself, referring to music with secular lyrics, is first attested in 1961. The term soul in African-American parlance has connotations of African-American pride, gospel groups in the 1940s and 1950s occasionally used the term as part of their name. The jazz style that derived from gospel came to be called soul jazz, important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter, Hank Ballard, and Etta James. Ray Charles is often cited as popularizing the genre with his string of hits starting with 1954s I Got a Woman. Singer Bobby Womack said, Ray was the genius and he turned the world onto soul music. Charles was open in acknowledging the influence of Pilgrim Travelers vocalist Jesse Whitaker on his singing style, little Richard and James Brown were equally influential. Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson are also acknowledged as soul forefathers. Cooke became popular as the singer of gospel group The Soul Stirrers
5.
Pop music
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Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
6.
Rock and roll
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While elements of rock and roll can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s, the genre did not acquire its name until the 1950s. For the purpose of differentiation, this deals with the first definition. The beat is essentially a blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, classic rock and roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars, a double bass or string bass or an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. Beyond simply a style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and on television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes. In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and white American teens enjoyed the music and it went on to spawn various genres, often without the initially characteristic backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply rock music or rock. The term rock and roll now has at least two different meanings, both in common usage, the American Heritage Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary both define rock and roll as synonymous with rock music. Encyclopædia Britannica, on the hand, regards it as the music that originated in the mid-1950s. In 1934, the song Rock and Roll by the Boswell Sisters appeared in the film Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round, in 1942, Billboard magazine columnist Maurie Orodenker started to use the term rock-and-roll to describe upbeat recordings such as Rock Me by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. By 1943, the Rock and Roll Inn in South Merchantville, in 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style while popularizing the phrase to describe it. The origins of rock and roll have been debated by commentators. The migration of former slaves and their descendants to major urban centers such as St. The immediate roots of rock and roll lay in the rhythm and blues, then called race music, particularly significant influences were jazz, blues, gospel, country, and folk. The 1940s saw the use of blaring horns, shouted lyrics. In the same period, particularly on the West Coast and in the Midwest, similarly, country boogie and Chicago electric blues supplied many of the elements that would be seen as characteristic of rock and roll. Rock and roll arrived at a time of technological change, soon after the development of the electric guitar, amplifier and microphone. It was the realization that relatively affluent white teenagers were listening to music that led to the development of what was to be defined as rock. Because the development of rock and roll was a process, no single record can be identified as unambiguously the first rock. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
7.
Doo-wop
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Built upon vocal harmony, doo-wop was one of the most mainstream, pop-oriented R&B styles of the time. Doo-wop features vocal harmony, nonsense syllables, a simple beat, sometimes little or no instrumentation. The first record to use the syllables doo-wop was the 1955 hit When You Dance by The Turbans, the term doo-wop first appeared in print in 1961. During the late 1950s many Italian-American groups contributed a significant part in the doo-wop scene, the peak of doo-wop was in 1961. Doo-wops influence continued in soul, pop, and rock groups of the 1960s, at various times in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the genre has seen revivals. Doo-wop was a precursor to many of the African-American musical styles seen today, an evolution of jazz and blues, doo-wop also influenced many of the major rock and roll groups that defined the later decades of the 20th century. Doo-wop is iconic for its beats and using the off-beat to keep time. Doo-wop laid the foundation for musical innovations, for example. These were generally slow songs in swing time with simple instrumentation, the subject of the lyrics was generally love and relationships. This characteristic harmonic layout was combined with the AABA chorus form typical for Tin Pan Alley pop, a second stream of doo-wop oriented itself to the harmonic, formal and melodic means of jump blues. From the outset, singers gathered on street corners, and in subways, for instance, Count Every Star by The Ravens, includes vocalizations imitating the doomph, doomph plucking of a double bass. This art dates to The Mills Brothers, who first came to fame in the 1930s with their mimicking of instrumental music, radio, gramophone, and cinema inspired imitation in many U. S. cities. The late 1940s and early 1950s brought the bird groups, The Swallows. A number of names are also drawn from cars. The Orioles helped develop the sound with their hits Its Too Soon to Know. The term doo-wop first appeared in print in 1961 in the Chicago Defender, the phrase was attributed to radio disc jockey Gus Gossert but Gossert suggested doo-wop was already in use to categorize the music in California. The first record to use the syllables doo-wop in the refrain was the 1955 hit When You Dance by The Turbans, previously, the scat backing vocal doo-wop is heard in The Clovers 1953 release Good Lovin and in the chorus of Carlyle Dundee & The Dundees 1954 song Never. After some time, the term doo-wop finally caught on as both a description and category for R&B vocal group harmony, the definition expanded backward to include rhythm and blues groups from the mid-1950s, then cascaded even further back to include groups from the 1940s
8.
Motown
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Motown is an American record company. The record company was founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12,1958, the name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has also become a nickname for Detroit. Motown played an important role in the integration of popular music as an African American-owned record label that achieved significant crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as the Motown Sound, a style of soul music with a distinct pop influence. During the 1960s, Motown achieved spectacular success for a record company,79 records in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 record chart between 1960 and 1969. The company was sold to MCA Inc. Motown was later sold to PolyGram in 1994, before being sold again to MCA Records successor, Universal Music Group, Motown spent much of the 2000s as a part of the Universal Music subsidiaries Universal Motown and Universal Motown Republic Group, and headquartered in New York City. From 2011 to 2014, Motown was a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group division of Universal Music. On April 1,2014, Universal Music Group announced the dissolution of Island Def Jam and it now operates out of the landmark Capitol Tower. For many decades, Motown was the highest-earning African American business in the United States, Berry Gordy got his start as a songwriter for local Detroit acts such as Jackie Wilson and the Matadors. Wilsons single Lonely Teardrops, written by Gordy, became a huge success and he realized that the more lucrative end of the business was in producing records and owning the publishing. In 1959, Billy Davis and Berry Gordys sisters Gwen and Anna started Anna Records, Davis and Gwen Gordy wanted Berry to be the company president, but Berry wanted to strike out on his own. On January 12,1959, he started Tamla Records, with a loan from his family. Gordy originally wanted to name the label Tammy Records, after the hit song popularized by Debbie Reynolds from the 1957 film Tammy, when he found the name was already in use, Berry decided on Tamla instead. Tamlas first release, in the Detroit area, was Marv Johnsons Come to Me in 1959 and its first hit was Barrett Strongs Money, which made it to number 2 on the Billboard R&B charts. Gordys first signed act was the Matadors, who changed their name to the Miracles. Their first release, Got a Job, was a record to the Silhouettes Get a Job. The Miracles first, minor hit was their single, 1959s Bad Girl, released in Detroit as the debut record on the Motown imprint
9.
The Jackson 5
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The Jackson 5, or Jackson Five, also known as The Jacksons in later years, was an American popular music group. Formed in 1964 under the name the Jackson Brothers, the members were elder brothers Jackie, Tito. Younger brothers Marlon and Michael would join soon after and they participated in talent shows and performed in clubs on the chitlin circuit. They entered the music scene in 1967, signing with Steeltown Records. In 1969, the group left Steeltown Records and signed with Motown, the Jackson 5 was one of the first groups of black American performers to attain a crossover following, preceded by the Supremes, the Four Tops and the Temptations. In 1983, Jermaine reunited with the band to perform on Motown 25, Yesterday, Today, Forever, after the end of their tour to promote the album, Michael and Marlon Jackson promptly left the group. The remaining four released the poorly received 2300 Jackson Street album in 1989 before being dropped from their label. Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, following the death of Michael Jackson in 2009, the four eldest of the brothers embarked on their Unity Tour in 2012. The five Jackson brothers interest in music began in Gary, Indiana, bolstered by their father, in 1964, Joe caught Tito playing with his guitar after a string broke. Upon fixing the string, threatening punishment, Titos father had him play and was impressed enough to buy Tito his own guitar, Marlon, then seven years old, eventually joined, playing the tambourine. Johnny Jackson and Ronnie Rancifer eventually replaced Milford Hite and Reynaud Jones, during early 1968, the group also performed at strip clubs on Joes behest to earn extra income. Following initial recordings at Detroits Hitsville USA studio, Berry Gordy sent the Jacksons to Hollywood in July, hiring Suzanne de Passe to become a mentor of the brothers. Starting in August, the Jackson Five performed as the act for The Supremes. In October, their first single for Motown was released and the group promoted it while performing at the Hollywood Palace with Ross hosting, in December, the brothers made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Afterwards, their album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, was released that same month. In January 1970, I Want You Back topped the Billboard Hot 100, led by the Corporation, the Jackson 5 released two more number-one singles, ABC and The Love You Save. All four singles were almost as popular in countries as they were in the United States. Releasing a succession of four albums in one year, the Jackson 5 replaced The Supremes as Motowns best-selling group
10.
Diana Ross & the Supremes
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The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motowns main songwriting and production team, founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit, formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes. Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the signed with Motown the following year as the Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, during the mid-1960s, the Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, at which point the groups name reverted to the Supremes. After 1972, the lineup changed frequently, Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne. The Supremes disbanded in 1977 after 18 years, since Ballard sang, as did Paul Williams girlfriend Betty McGlown, the Primess manager Milton Jenkins decided to create a sister group to the Primes called the Primettes. Ballard recruited her best friend Mary Wilson, who in turn recruited classmate Diane Ross, mentored and funded by Jenkins, the Primettes began by performing hit songs by artists such as Ray Charles and the Drifters at sock hops, social clubs and talent shows around the Detroit area. Receiving additional guidance from group friend and established songwriter Jesse Greer, after winning a prestigious local talent contest, the Primettes sights were set on making a record. Robinson liked the girls and agreed to help, but he liked their guitarist even more, with the Primettes permission he hired Tarplin, who became the guitarist for the Miracles. Undaunted, later that year the Primettes recorded a single for Lu Pine Records, a label created just for them, titled Tears of Sorrow, the single failed to find an audience, however. Shortly thereafter, McGlown became engaged and left the group, local girl Barbara Martin was McGlowns prompt replacement. Determined to leave an impression on Gordy and join the stable of rising Motown stars, eventually, they convinced Gordy to allow them to contribute hand claps and background vocals for the songs of other Motown artists including Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells. In January 1961, Gordy finally relented and agreed to sign the girls to his label –, the Primes had by this time combined with Otis Williams & the Distants and would soon sign to Motown as the Temptations. Gordy gave Ballard a list of names to choose from that included such as the Darleens, the Sweet Ps, the Melodees, the Royaltones. Ballard chose the Supremes, a name that Ross initially disliked as she felt it too masculine, nevertheless, on January 15 the group signed with Motown as the Supremes. In the spring of 1962, Martin left the group to start a family, thus, the newly named Supremes continued as a trio. Between 1961 and 1963, the Supremes released six singles, none of which charted in the Top 40 positions of the Billboard Hot 100, jokingly referred to as the no-hit Supremes around Motowns Hitsville U. S. A
11.
Smokey Robinson
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William Smokey Robinson, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as the Five Chimes until 1972 when he announced a retirement from the group to focus on his role as Motowns vice president. However, Robinson returned to the industry as a solo artist the following year. Following the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left the company in 1990 and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Robinson was awarded the 2016 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for his contributions to popular music. Smokey Robinson was born to an African-American father and a mother of African-American and his uncle Claude gave him the nickname Smokey Joe when he was a child. He attended Northern High School, where he was above average academically, at one point, he and Diana Ross lived several houses from each other on Belmont, he once said he has known Ross since she was about eight. Robinson said his interest in music started after hearing the groups Nolan Strong & the Diablos and Billy Ward, Robinson later listed Barrett Strong, a Detroit native, as a strong vocal influence. In 1955, he formed the first lineup of the Five Chimes with childhood friend Ronald White and classmate Pete Moore, two years later, in 1957, they were renamed the Matadors and included Bobby Rogers. Another member, Emerson Rogers, was replaced by Bobbys cousin Claudette Rogers, the groups guitarist, Marv Tarplin, joined them sometime in 1958. The Matadors began touring Detroit venues around this time and they later changed their name to the Miracles. In August 1957, Robinson and the Miracles met songwriter Berry Gordy after an audition for Brunswick Records. At that time during the audition, Robinson had brought along with him a Big 10 notebook with 100 songs he wrote while in high school, Gordy was impressed with Robinsons vocals and even more impressed with Robinsons ambitious songwriting. With his help, the Miracles released their first single, Got a Job and it was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration. During this time, Robinson attended college and started classes in January 1959, Robinson dropped out after only two months following the Miracles release of their first record. Gordy formed Tamla Records which was reincorporated as Motown. The Miracles became one of the first acts signed to the label, in point of fact, they had actually been with Gordy since before the formation of Motown Records. In late 1960, the recorded their first hit single, Shop Around
12.
The Temptations
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The Temptations are an American vocal group known for their success with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and flashy wardrobe, having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are one of the most successful groups in music history. As of 2015, the Temptations continue to perform with one member, Otis Williams. Featuring five male vocalists and dancers, the formed in 1960 in Detroit. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffin, who was the lead vocalist on a number of the groups biggest hits, including My Girl, Aint Too Proud to Beg, and I Wish It Would Rain. Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as Cloud Nine, the groups lineup has changed frequently since the departures of Kendricks and Paul Williams from the act in 1971. Over the course of their career, the Temptations have released four Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and fourteen R&B number-one singles, and their material has earned them three Grammy Awards. The Temptations were the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award - for Cloud Nine in 1969 -, six of the Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Three classic Temptations songs, My Girl, Just My Imagination, the Temptations were also ranked at number 68 on Rolling Stone magazines list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all time. Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams started singing together in church as children, by their teenage years, they formed a doo-wop quartet in 1955 with Kell Osborne and Wiley Waller, naming themselves the Cavaliers. After Waller left the group in 1957, the trio left Birmingham to break into the music business. The group settled in Detroit where they changed their name to the Primes under the direction of Milton Jenkins, the Primes soon became well known around the Detroit area for their meticulous performances. Jenkins later created a group, The Primettes, later known as the Supremes. Kendricks was already seen as an idol in the Detroit area while Williams was well received for his baritone vocals. Texas teenager Otis Williams moved to Detroit as a youngster to be with his mother, by 1958, Williams was the leader of a vocal group named Otis Williams and the Siberians. The group included Elbridge Al Bryant, James Pee-Wee Crawford, Vernard Plain, the group recorded a song, Pecos Kid for a label run by radio deejay Senator Bristol Bryant. Shortly after its release, the changed its name to The El Domingoes. Following this, Montgomery native Melvin Franklin replaced Arthur Walton as bass vocalist and Franklins cousin, Detroit-born Richard Street, signing with Johnnie Mae Matthews Northern Records, the group had their name changed again to The Distants
13.
Stevie Wonder
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Stevland Hardaway Morris, known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A child prodigy, he is considered to be one of the most critically and commercially successful musical performers of the late 20th century, Wonder signed with Motowns Tamla label at the age of 11, and he continued performing and recording for Motown into the 2010s. He has been blind since shortly after birth, Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr. s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, in 2013, Billboard magazine released a list of the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles charts 55th anniversary, with Wonder at number six. Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1950, the third of six children of Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway, when Wonder was four, his mother left his father and moved to Detroit with her children. She changed her back to Lula Hardaway and later changed her sons surname to Morris. Wonder has retained Morris as his legal surname and he began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica and drums. He formed a partnership with a friend, calling themselves Stevie and John, they played on street corners. Before signing, producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder, because of Wonders age, the label drew up a rolling five-year contract in which royalties would be held in trust until Wonder was 21. He and his mother would be paid a stipend to cover their expenses, Wonder received $2.50 a week. Wonder was put in the care of producer and songwriter Clarence Paul, tribute to Uncle Ray was recorded first, when Wonder was still 11 years old. Mainly covers of Ray Charless songs, it included a Wonder and Paul composition, the Jazz Soul of Little Stevie was recorded next, an instrumental album consisting mainly of Pauls compositions, two of which, Wondering and Session Number 112, were co-written with Wonder. At the end of 1962, when Wonder was 12 years old, he joined the Motortown Revue, at the Regal Theater, Chicago, his 20-minute performance was recorded and released in May 1963 as the album Recorded Live, The 12 Year Old Genius. A single, Fingertips, from the album was released in May. The song, featuring a confident and enthusiastic Wonder returning for a spontaneous encore that catches out the replacement bass player, was a No.1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when Wonder was aged 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. The single was simultaneously No.1 on the R&B chart and his next few recordings, however, were not successful, his voice was changing as he got older, and some Motown executives were considering cancelling his recording contract. During 1964, Wonder appeared in two films as himself, Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach, but these were not successful either, sylvia Moy persuaded label owner Berry Gordy to give Wonder another chance. He also began to work in the Motown songwriting department, composing songs both for himself and his mates, including The Tears of a Clown, a No.1 hit for Smokey Robinson
14.
Four Tops
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The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit, Michigan who helped to define the citys Motown sound of the 1960s. The groups repertoire has included music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their singer, whereas most male. The group was the male vocal group for the highly successful songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland. These included two Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits for the Tops, I Cant Help Myself in 1965, after Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson, but generally with less success. When Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s, the Four Tops recorded for Casablanca Records, Arista Records and Motown, returning to that label on two occasions for brief stays. Apart from their album Indestructible, Universal Music Group controls the rights to their entire catalog and also their 1956 single. A change of lineup was forced on the group when Lawrence Payton died on June 20,1997, the group initially continued as a three-piece under the name the Tops, before Theo Peoples was recruited as the new fourth member. Peoples eventually took over the role of lead singer when Stubbs suffered a stroke in 2000, on July 1,2005, Benson died of lung cancer. Paytons son Roquel Payton replaced him, Levi Stubbs died on October 17,2008. Fakir, McNeir, Roquel Payton, and Harold Spike Bonhart, Fakir is the only surviving founding member of the group. All four members of the began their careers together while they were high-school students in Detroit. At the insistence of their friends, Pershing High students Levi Stubbs and Abdul Duke Fakir performed with Renaldo Obie Benson, the quartet decided to remain together and named the group the Four Aims. With the help of Paytons songwriter cousin Roquel Davis, the Aims signed to Chess Records in 1956, over the next seven years, the Tops had unsuccessful tenures at Chess, Red Top, Riverside Records and Columbia Records. Without any hit records to their name, they toured frequently, developing a stage presence. In 1963, Berry Gordy, Jr. who had worked with Roquel Davis as a songwriter in the late 1950s, during their early Motown years, the Four Tops recorded jazz standards for the companys Workshop label. In addition, they sang backup on Motown singles by the Supremes, Martha, in 1964, Motowns main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, created a complete instrumental track without any idea of what to do with it. They decided to craft the song as a mainstream pop song for the Four Tops
15.
The Miracles
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Formed in 1955 by Smokey Robinson, Warren Pete Moore, and Ronnie White, the group started off as the Five Chimes, changing their name to the Matadors two years later. The group then settled on the Miracles after the inclusion of Claudette Robinson in 1958, the most notable Miracles line-up included the Robinsons, Moore, White, Bobby Rogers and Marv Tarplin. In all, the group had over fifty charted hits by the time they disbanded, on the R&B charts, the Miracles scored 26 Top 10 Billboard R&B hits, with 4 R&B # 1s, and 11 U. S. R&B Top 10 Albums, including 2-#1s. Bobby Rogers and Ronald White revived the group as a touring ensemble sporadically during the 1980s, following Whites death in 1995, Rogers continued to tour with different members until he was forced into retirement due to health issues in 2011, dying less than two years later. The Miracles have been awarded many top music industry honors over the years, in 1997, the group received the Pioneer Award at the Rhythm and Blues Foundation for their musical achievements. Four years later, in 2001, they were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, in 2004, they were ranked thirty-two on the Rolling Stone magazines list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, retaining that same position seven years later, in 2011. Four of their hit songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, in 2009, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Throughout their careers, the Miracles were also enshrined with honors for their songwriting by both BMI and ASCAP, in 2008, Billboard listed them at #61 on their 100 most successful Billboard artists ever list. After much controversy, the Miracles were inducted to the Rock, the group that later became the Miracles was formed in 1955 by five teenage friends from Detroit, Michigan, under the name the Five Chimes. Three of the members, Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore. The group, influenced by such as Billy Ward and His Dominoes and Nolan Strong & the Diablos, featured Clarence Dawson. All FIVE CHIMESoriginal members attended Northern High School in Detroit, after Dawson quit the group and Grice dropped out to get married, they were replaced by Emerson Sonny Rogers and his cousin Bobby and changed their name to the Matadors. Ironically, both Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers were born in the hospital on the same month, date and year. In 1957, Sonny Rogers left to join the United States Army and Claudette Rogers, his sister, following two years of courtship, Smokey and Claudette married in November 1959. The group auditioned for Brunswick Records in front of Alonzo Tucker, Nat Tarnopol and one of the staff songwriters, Berry Gordy. Tucker was unimpressed by the audition, stating that there was the Platters that there couldnt be two groups in America like that with a woman in the group. Gordy recorded their first single, Got a Job, a song to the Silhouettes Get a Job in January 1958. Gordy shortly thereafter struck a deal with George Goldners End Records to distribute the single, before the song was released, the group changed their name to the Miracles, taking it from the moniker Miracletones, with the Tones taken out
16.
Jackie Wilson
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Jack Leroy Jackie Wilson Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter and performer. A tenor with a four octave range, he was nicknamed Mr. Excitement. He was considered a master showman, and one of the most dynamic and influential singers and performers in R&B and this included 16 R&B Top 10 hits, including six R&B number ones. On the Billboard Hot 100, he scored 14 Top 20 Pop hits and he remained semi-comatose for the nine years until his death in 1984, at the age of 49. Wilson was an inspiration to Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, James Brown and he was one of the most influential artists of his generation. A two-time Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee, Wilson was inducted to the Rock, in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jackie Wilson #69 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. was born on June 9,1934, in Detroit, Michigan, Eliza Mae was born on the Billups-Whitfield Place in Columbus, Mississippi. Her parents were Tom and Virginia Ransom, Jackie often visited his family in Columbus and was greatly influenced by the choir at Billups Chapel. Growing up in the rough Detroit area of Highland Park, Wilson joined a gang called the Shakers, Wilsons alcoholic father was frequently absent and usually out of work. Wilson began singing at an age, accompanying his mother, once a choir singer. In his early teens Jackie joined a quartet, the Ever Ready Gospel Singers, Jackie was not very religious, but he enjoyed singing, the money he and his group earned from performing usually was spent on cheap wine, which Wilson began drinking at age nine. Jack Sr. and Eliza separated shortly after Jackie turned nine, Wilson dropped out of high school at the age of 15, having already been sentenced to detention in the Lansing Corrections system for juveniles twice. During his second stint in detention, he learned to box and his record in the Golden Gloves was 2 and 8. After his mother forced him to boxing, Wilson married Freda Hood. It is estimated that Wilson fathered at least 10 other children prior to getting married, and that he was forced to marry Hood by her father. He gave up boxing for music, first working at Lees Sensation club as a singer, then forming a group called the Falcons, that included cousin Levi Stubbs. The other members joined Hank Ballard as part of the Midnighters, including Alonzo Tucker & Billy Davis, who would work with Wilson several years later as a solo artist. Tucker and Wilson collaborated as songwriters on a few songs Wilson recorded, Jackie was soon discovered by talent agent Johnny Otis, who assigned him to join a group called the Thrillers
17.
Martha and the Vandellas
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Martha and the Vandellas were an American vocal group who found fame in the 1960s with a string of hit singles on Motowns Gordy label. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motowns Gordy imprint. The groups string of hits included Come and Get These Memories, Heat Wave, Quicksand, Nowhere to Run, Jimmy Mack, Bless You and Dancing in the Street, the latter song becoming their signature single. During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha, Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Teenagers Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard first became acquainted after a music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named The Del-Phis. Ashford & Beard, along with then-lead vocalist Gloria Williams, performed at clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events. They were also being coached by Maxine Powell at Detroits Ferris Center, One of the groups first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks. The group originally had up to six members, shortened to four, in 1960, the group signed their first recording contract with Checker Records, releasing the Reeves-led Ill Let You Know. The group then recorded for Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records and that record, featuring Williams on lead vocals, also flopped. Briefly separated, Reeves returned to a career performing under the name Martha LaVaille. After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson noticed Reeves singing at a prominent Detroit club, Reeves showed up at Motown on a wrong date. Stevenson, initially upset, told Reeves to look out for clients, soon Reeves became Stevensons secretary and later was responsible for helping acts audition for the label. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts, prior to her success as lead singer of The Elgins, Sandra Edwards recorded the song Camel Walk, in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. Motown was so impressed by the groups vocals – and Marthas lead vocals in the song – that the label CEO Berry Gordy offered to give the group a contract, figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams opted out of the group. With Williams out, the trio of Ashford, Beard. It became The Vandellas first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, Heat Wave, became a record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance, around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964
18.
Oconee, Georgia
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Oconee is a city in Washington County, Georgia, United States. The population was 280 at the 2000 census, oconee is located at 32°51′23″N 82°57′16″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 1.1 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 280 people,94 households, the population density was 245.1 people per square mile. There were 102 housing units at a density of 89.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 61. 79% White,36. 43% African American,25. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12. 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was out with 16. 1% under the age of 18,9. 3% from 18 to 24,19. 3% from 25 to 44,25. 7% from 45 to 64. The median age was 48 years, for every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males, the median income for a household in the city was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had an income of $32,500 versus $12,344 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,262. About 17. 2% of families and 33. 2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17. 9% of those under the age of eighteen and 53. 1% of those sixty five or over
19.
Jimmy Carter
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James Earl Jimmy Carter Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center, Carter was a Democrat who was raised in rural Georgia. He was a farmer who served two terms as a Georgia State Senator from 1963 to 1967, and one as the Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. He was elected President in 1976, defeating incumbent President Gerald Ford in a close election. On his second day in office, Carter pardoned all evaders of the Vietnam War drafts, during Carters term as President, two new cabinet-level departments, the Department of Energy and the Department of Education, were established. He established an energy policy that included conservation, price control. In foreign affairs, Carter pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, the round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. On the economic front he confronted persistent stagflation, a combination of inflation, high unemployment. The end of his tenure was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. In response to the Soviet move he ended détente, escalated the Cold War, Carter won the 1980 primary with 51. 13% of the vote but lost the general election in an electoral landslide to Republican nominee Ronald Reagan, who won 44 of 50 states. His presidency has drawn medium-low responses from historians, with many considering him to have accomplished more with his post-presidency work and he set up the Carter Center in 1982 as his base for advancing human rights. He has also traveled extensively to conduct negotiations, observe elections. Additionally, Carter is a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity project, since surpassing Herbert Hoover in September 2012, he has been the longest-retired president in American history. He is also the first president to mark the 40th anniversary of his election and inauguration, in reference to current political views, he has criticized some of Israels actions and policies in regards to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has advocated for a two-state solution. James Earl Carter, Jr. was born on October 1,1924, at the Wise Sanitarium in Plains and he is a descendant of English immigrant Thomas Carter, who settled in Virginia in 1635. Numerous generations of Carters lived as farmers in Georgia. Carter is also a descendant of Thomas Cornell, an ancestor of Cornell Universitys founder and of Richard Nixon, Plains was a boomtown of 600 people at the time of Carters birth. His father, James Earl Carter, Sr. was a local businessman who ran a general store and had begun to invest in farmland
20.
Mercury (automobile)
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Mercury is a defunct division of the American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company. Marketed as a premium brand for nearly its entire existence. Forming half of the Lincoln-Mercury Division, the brand was intended to bridge the gap between the Ford and Lincoln vehicle lines. In a similar context, Buick and Oldsmobile played the role within General Motors while the Chrysler Division did so within Chrysler Corporation. Although the initial Mercury Eight was a design, for much of the existence of the division. To various extents, nearly all Mercury vehicles would be rebadged, during the development of the Edsel, this practice ran in reverse, as the vehicles were derived from Mercury chassis underpinnings. In the summer of 2010, Ford Motor Company announced the discontinuation of the Mercury division as it consolidated its marketing and engineering efforts on the Ford, production of Mercury vehicles ceased in the fourth quarter of 2010. At the time, Ford sold Mercury vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, U. S. Virgin Islands, the final Mercury automobile, a 2011 Mercury Grand Marquis, rolled off the assembly line on January 4,2011. Although the final vehicle of the division was produced in 2011, Mercury remains an active, while General Motors and upstart Chrysler Corporation both had a comprehensive line of brands, by 1935, Ford sold only its namesake brand and the cars of Lincoln Motor Company. Aside from the Cadillac V-16, the Packard Eight and Duesenberg Model J, as a solution, from 1936 to 1939, Ford began its own version of the Companion Make Program introduced by General Motors in the previous decade. Inside Ford, there was whether a medium-priced car should be a Ford model or a new marque entirely. Started as a company in 1937 by Edsel Ford, the Mercury name was selected from over 100 potential model. The Chevrolet Mercury was produced in 1933, becoming the Chevrolet Standard from 1934-1936, the body designs of the new car were completed by E. T. Bob Gregorie. For the 1939 model year, the Mercury made its debut with a vehicle line. An all-new car, sharing no body panels with any Ford or Lincoln, to minimize production costs, a 239 cubic-inch version of the Ford Flathead V8 engine was used in place of developing an engine specifically for the division. Over 65,800 cars were sold for 1939, at a price of $916. For the 1941 model year, the Mercury officially adopted the Mercury Eight nameplate used in sales literature, to lower production costs of the popular vehicle, the Mercury Eight shared much of its bodyshell with the Ford V8, but it sat on a four-inch longer wheelbase. During the war-shortened 1942 model year, the Mercury Eight introduced the first semi-automatic transmission by Ford Motor Company, following World War II, Ford Motor Company dropped the De Luxe Ford sub-brand and Lincoln-Zephyr was absorbed into Lincoln
21.
Al Green
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Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, Green was referred to on the museums site as being one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music. He has also referred to as The Last of the Great Soul Singers. Green was included in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, Al Green was born Albert Leornes Greene on April 13,1946, in Forrest City, Arkansas. The sixth of ten born to Cora Lee and Robert G. Greene, Jr. a sharecropper. The Greene family relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the late 1950s, Al was kicked out of the family home while in his teens, after his religiously devout father caught him listening to Jackie Wilson. I also listened to Mahalia Jackson, all the great gospel singers, but the most important music to me was those hip-shakin’ boys, Wilson Pickett and Elvis Presley. Whatever he got, I went out and bought, in high school, Al formed a vocal group called Al Greene & the Creations. Two of the members, Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James. In 1968, having changed their name to Al Greene & the Soul Mates, they recorded the song Back Up Train, the song was a hit on the R&B charts. However, the groups subsequent follow-ups failed to chart, as did their debut album, while performing with the Soul Mates, Green came into contact with Memphis record producer Willie Mitchell, who hired him in 1969 to be a vocalist for a Texas show with Mitchells band. Following the performance, Mitchell asked Green to sign with his Hi Records label, having noted that Green had been trying to sing like Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett and James Brown, Mitchell became his vocal mentor, coaching him into finding his own voice. Before releasing his first album with Hi, Green removed the final e from his name, subsequently, he released Green Is Blues, which was a moderate success. His follow-up album, Al Green Gets Next to You, featured the hit R&B cover of the Temptations I Cant Get Next to You, Greens next album, Lets Stay Together, solidified his place in soul music. The title track was his biggest hit to date, reaching number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts, the album became his first to be certified gold. His follow-up, Im Still in Love with You went platinum with the help of the singles Look What You Done for Me and the title track, both of which went to the top ten on the Hot 100. His next album, Call Me, released in 1973, produced three top ten singles, You Ought to Be with Me, Call Me and Here I Am. Greens album Livin for You, released at the end of 1973, was his last album to be certified gold, Green continued to record successful R&B hits in the next several years including Livin for You, Lets Get Married, Sha-La-La, L-O-V-E and Full of Fire. His last Hi Records album, Truth n Time, was released in 1978, two years later, he left Hi for Myrrh Records and recorded only gospel music for the next decade and a half
22.
Reet Petite
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Reet Petite is a song made popular by Jackie Wilson. It was his first solo hit after leaving the Dominoes and, the song was written by Berry Gordy, Gwen Gordy Fuqua and Wilsons cousin Roquel Billy Davis and produced by Dick Jacobs, and its title was taken from the Louis Jordan song Reet, Petite and Gone. It was Jackie Wilsons first recording as a solo artist, the song peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1957 and reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart. With the success of the song, Gordy was able to fund the launch of Motown Records, the song was reissued in 1986 following the showing of a clay animation video on the BBC Two documentary series Arena. The video was directed by Giblets, a London-based animation studio, the reissued version proved so popular that in December 1986, almost three years after Wilsons death, the song became a No.1 in the UK for four weeks, some 29 years after its chart debut. This was the record for the longest time between a songs debut on the chart and it reaching number one, until it was overtaken by Tony Christies Amarillo in 2005. The clay animation video used was ever meant for a showreel. The song was covered in 1963 by Dee Dee Sharp, the song was covered in September 1964 by Dinah Lee and reached the #1 position in New Zealand and a #6 position in Melbourne
23.
Etta James
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Etta James was an American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with such as The Wallflower, At Last, Tell Mama, Somethings Got a Hold on Me. She faced a number of problems, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse. James powerful, earthy voice bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll and she won six Grammy Awards and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone magazine ranked James number 22 on its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, Hawkins was born on January 25,1938, in Los Angeles, California, to Dorothy Hawkins, who was 14 at the time. Her father has never been identified, James speculated that he was the pool player Rudolf Minnesota Fats Wanderone, whom she met briefly in 1987. Her mother was absent from their apartment in Watts, conducting relationships with various men. James referred to her mother as the Mystery Lady, under his tutelage, she suffered physical abuse during her formative years, with her instructor often punching her in the chest while she sang to force her to voice to come from her gut. As a consequence, she developed a strong voice for a child her age. She became a popular singing attraction, and Sarge tried unsuccessfully to pressure the church into compensating their family for her singing, Sarge, like the musical director for the choir, was also abusive. During drunken poker games at home, he would awaken Jamesetta in the morning hours. She was a bed-wetter and often soaked with urine on these occasions, the trauma of her foster father forcing her to sing under these humiliating circumstances led to difficulties for her to sing on demand throughout her career. In 1950, Mama Lu died, and Jamesettas biological mother took her to the Fillmore district of San Francisco, within a couple of years, she began listening to doo-wop and was inspired to form a girl group, the Creolettes. At the age of 14, she met the musician Johnny Otis, stories on how they met vary. In Otiss version, she came to his hotel after one of his performances in the city, another story was that Otis spotted the Creolettes performing at a Los Angeles nightclub and sought for them to record his answer song to Hank Ballards Work with Me, Annie. Otis took the group under his wing, helping them sign to Modern Records and he also gave the singer her stage name, transposing Jamesetta into Etta James. James recorded the version, for which she was given credit as co-author, in 1954, the original the name of the song was Roll with Me, Henry, but it was changed to avoid censorship due to the off-color title
24.
Chess Records
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Chess Records was an American record company, founded in 1950 in Chicago and specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. Over time it expanded into music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess, Checker, Argo. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records. Founded and run by Jewish immigrant brothers from Poland, Leonard and Phil Chess, the musician and critic Cub Koda described Chess as Americas greatest blues label. Chess was based at different locations on the south side of Chicago. The most famous location was 2120 S, Michigan Avenue from around 1956 to 1965, immortalized by the Rolling Stones in 2120 South Michigan Avenue, an instrumental recorded there during the groups first U. S. tour in 1964. The Stones recorded at Chess Studios on two more occasions, the building is now the home of Willie Dixons Blues Heaven Foundation. In the mid-1960s, Chess relocated to a larger building, at 320 E. 21st Street. Leonard bought a stake in Aristocrat Records in 1947. in 1950, he brought his brother, Phil, into the operation, in the same year they brought in a third partner, Evelyn Aron, and renamed the company Chess Records. The first release from Chess was a 78 RPM single, My Foolish Heart, backed with Bless You, by Gene Ammons, issued as Chess 1425 in June 1950, which became the labels biggest hit of the year. In 1951, the Chess brothers began an association with Sam Phillips, of the Memphis Recording Service, one of the most important artists that came out of Memphis was Howlin Wolf, who stayed with the label until his death in 1976. Many songs created by Chess artists were covered by many famous rock-and-roll artists, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones. Musical figures created for Chess by Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and others were the basis of much subsequent rock, in 1952, the brothers started Checker Records as an alternative label for radio play. In December 1955, they launched a jazz and pop label, Marterry and this was quickly renamed Argo Records, but the name was changed again in 1965 to Cadet Records to end confusion with a British spoken-word label. In 1953, Leonard Chess and Gene Goodman set up Arc Music BMI, a publishing company, several of Chesss releases gave a writing credit to Alan Freed. During the 1950s, Leonard and Phil Chess handled most of the production and they brought in producer Ralph Bass in 1960 to handle the gospel output and some of the blues singers. Bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon was also involved in organizing blues sessions for the label and is now credited retroactively as a producer on some re-releases. In 1958, Chess began producing their first LP records which included such albums as The Best of Muddy Waters, Best of Little Walter, in 1962, Chess Records was sued by Peacock Records for recording their artists Reverend Robert Ballinger and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
25.
Debbie Reynolds
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Mary Frances Debbie Reynolds was an American actress, singer, businesswoman, film historian, and humanitarian. In 1959, she released her first pop album, titled Debbie. She starred in How the West Was Won, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown and her performance as Brown earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other films include The Singing Nun, Divorce American Style, Charlottes Web, Mother, and In & Out. Reynolds was also a cabaret performer, in 1979 she founded the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio in North Hollywood, which still operates today. In 1969 she starred on television in the The Debbie Reynolds Show, in 1973 Reynolds starred in a Broadway revival of the musical Irene and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance in A Gift of Love, at the turn of the millennium, Reynolds reached a new younger generation with her role as Aggie Cromwell in Disneys Halloweentown series. In 1988 she released her autobiography titled, Debbie, My Life, in 2013, she released a second autobiography, Unsinkable, A Memoir. She served as president of The Thalians, a dedicated to mental health causes. Reynolds continued to perform successfully on stage, television, and film into her eighties, in January 2015, Reynolds received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. In 2016, she received the Academy Awards Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, on December 28,2016, Reynolds was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following a medical emergency, which her son Todd Fisher later described as a severe stroke. She died from the stroke that afternoon, one day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher. Reynolds was born on April 1,1932, in El Paso, Texas, to Maxene Minnie and Raymond Francis Ray Reynolds and she was of Scottish-Irish and English ancestry and was raised in a strict Nazarene church. She had a two years her senior. Reynolds was a Girl Scout, once saying that she wanted to die as the worlds oldest living Girl Scout and her mother took in laundry for income, while they lived in a shack on Magnolia Street in El Paso. And Im trying to inculcate in my children the same sense of values and her family moved to Burbank, California in 1939. When Reynolds was a student at Burbank High School in 1948. Soon after, she had a contract with Warner Bros and acquired the nickname Debbie via Jack L. Warner, One of her closest high school friends said that she rarely dated during her teenage years in Burbank
26.
United Artists Records
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Brazilian soprano Bidu Sayão was the featured soloist on the unusual recording, which was released on both LP and reel-to-reel tape. Berry Gordy placed a number of early Motown acts with UA including Marv Johnson, UA signed Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller ro produce the variety of artists signed to the label after they left Atlantic. They had hits with the Exciters, Bobby Goldsboro, Jay and the Americans, UA also covered folk with the inclusion of Gordon Lightfoot on the roster, and easy listening mood music with the piano duo Ferrante & Teicher. The soundtracks from the James Bond movies and A Hard Days Night were very popular United Artists releases in the 1960s. However, the soundtrack album of United Artists film musical, West Side Story, was released by Columbia Records. As Henry Mancini was signed to RCA Victor, that handled the soundtracks of the United Artists films that he composed the music for. In addition to soundtracks and pop output, United Artists also produced a series of records under the Tale Spinners For Children name throughout the 1960s. These were album-length adaptations of fairy tales and childrens stories done in an audio drama format. United Artists also had a few labels, Unart, Ascot, United Artists Jazz, Musicor Ultra Audio. Unart was initially created in 1958 and was only in operation until 1959 producing some vocal group 45 singles, United Artists involvement with jazz was significant. The company recruited Alan Douglas in 1960 to run its new jazz department, the companys jazz included albums by Duke Ellington and Art Farmer, although there were only a few jazz titles after about 1963. In 1961, designer and photographer Frank Gauna who worked with Alan Douglas joined the company as art director after Candid Records was discontinued, Gauna photographed and designed a variety of album covers for the company. Around 1966 a subsidiary jazz label Solid State was founded, which lasted until 1969, on recordings by the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and Chick Corea. After the merger, Libertys ownership of Blue Note resulted in Solid States artists being transferred to the more prestigious label, and Solid State itself was wound up. In 1966 United Artists acquired the masters of Sue Records, a New York R&B/soul label whose artist roster included Ike & Tina Turner, Justine Baby Washington, some Sue material was reissued on Unart. United Artists Special Projects were budget records designed for product and movie tie-ins, in 1969, United Artists merged with co-owned Liberty Records and its subsidiary Imperial Records. Mainstream pop acts were signed to the label, among them being Traffic, the Spencer Davis Group, Peter Sarstedt, Shirley Bassey, the label also attempted, without success, to update the style of 1950s rock group Bill Haley & His Comets with a 1968 single. Later, through a deal with Don Ardens Jet Records
27.
Bobby Parker (guitarist)
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Robert Lee Bobby Parker was an American blues-rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1961 song Watch Your Step, a single for the V-Tone record label reached the Billboard Hot 100, the song was performed by, and influenced. Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, but raised in Los Angeles, California, by the 1950s, Parker had started working on electric guitar with several blues and R&B bands of the time, with his first stint being with Otis Williams and the Charms. Over the next few years, he played lead guitar with Bo Diddley, toured with Paul Williams, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter. He first recorded, as Bobby Parks, with the Paul Williams band in 1956 and his first solo single, Blues Get Off My Shoulder, was recorded in 1958, while he was still working primarily with Williams band. The B-side, You Got What It Takes, also written by Parker, was recorded for Motown by Marv Johnson. Parker told the Forgotten Hits newsletter in 2008, I wrote Youve Got What It Takes, even had the Paul Hucklebuck Williams band playing on it behind me. And then Berry Gordy just stole it out from under me, I was just trying to make a living, playing guitar and singing, how was I going to go on and fight Berry Gordy, big as he was, and Motown Records. There wasnt really nothing I could do about it - it was just too big, Parker also performed frequently at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and in the late 1950s toured with Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. By the early 1960s, he had settled into living in the Washington, D. C. area and he recorded the single Watch Your Step for the V-Tone label in 1961. The song was written by Parker, inspired by Dizzy Gillespies Manteca and it reached no.51 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961, although it did not make the national R&B chart. The songs guitar riff inspired the introduction to the Beatles 1964 hit single I Feel Fine, in relation to the Beatles use of the riff, Parker said, I was flattered, I thought it was a cool idea. But I still had, back of my mind, that I should have gotten a little recognition for that. Led Zeppelin also used the riff as the basis for their instrumental Moby Dick, jimmy Page was a fan of the obscure bluesman and several years later, in the mid-seventies, wanted to sign Parker to Swan Song Records. Page offered an advance of US$2000 to fund the recording of a tape, but Parker never completed the recording. On January 1,2012, Parkers Watch Your Step sound recording became Public Domain in Europe, for the next two decades, Parker played almost exclusively in the D. C. area. By the 1990s, he started to again for a broader audience. He recorded his first official album, Bent Out of Shape, for the Black Top Records label in 1993, with a follow-up in 1995, in 1993, he also was the headliner for the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Festival
28.
Barrett Strong
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Barrett Strong is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best known for his work as a songwriter, among his most famous work at Motown, Strong wrote the lyrics for many of the songs recorded by the Temptations. He was born in West Point, Mississippi, Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry Gordys fledging label, Tamla Records, and was the performer on the companys first hit, Money, which reached No.2 US R&B in 1960. The single was released on Tamla, Motowns first label, but was then leased to the Anna label as it was getting airplay. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA, Strong claims that he co-wrote Money with Gordy and Janie Bradford, his name appears on the songs original copyright registration with the United States Copyright Office. Gordy disputed these claims, stating that Strongs name was included because of a clerical error. In the mid 1960s, Strong became a Motown writer lyricist, Strong received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1973 for Papa Was a Rollin Stone. Strong and Whitfield also co-wrote the ballad Just My Imagination, a 1971 Billboard No.1 that also marked the last Temptations single to feature original members Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. After Motown moved its operations base from Detroit, Michigan, to Los Angeles, California, Strong left the label and he signed with Epic in 1972. Strong left the label for Capitol Records, where he recorded two albums in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Strong recorded Rock It Easy on an independent label, co-wrote the Dells Stay In My Corner, and wrote You Can Depend on Me and he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004. Strong has re-released his latest album, Stronghold II, which he wrote and composed in collaboration with rocker/songwriter Eliza Neals in 2008, in digital format only. In 2010, Strong appeared in Misery, his first music video in his fifty years of recording music, co-produced by Eliza Neals and Martin Tino Gross with Strong at the helm
29.
Money (That's What I Want)
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Money is a song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford that became the first hit record for Gordys Motown enterprise. The song was recorded in 1959 by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label and it went on to be covered by many artists, including the Beatles in 1963 and the Flying Lizards in 1979. The song was recorded by Barrett Strong and released on Tamla in August 1959. Anna Records was operated by Gwen Gordy, Anna Gordy and Roquel Billy Davis, the song has Strong curtly insisting that money is what he needs, more than anything else. In the US, the single became Motowns first hit in June 1960, making it to number 2 on the Hot R&B Sides chart, the song was listed as number 288 on Rolling Stones The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Greil Marcus has pointed out that Money was the song that brought Strongs name near the top of the national music charts. Piano and lead vocals were supplied by Barrett, guitar on the track was played by Eugene Grew. Virtually all of the records issued were 45s, the 10-inch 78 format, singer Barrett Strong claims that he co-wrote the song with Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford. His name was removed from the copyright registration three years after the song was written, restored in 1987 when the copyright was renewed, Gordy has stated that Strongs name was only included because of a clerical error. Barrett Strong – piano and lead vocals Eugene Grew – guitar The Beatles recorded Money in seven takes on July 18,1963, a series of piano overdubs was later added by producer George Martin. The song was released in November 1963 as the track on their second UK album. According to George Harrison, the group discovered Strongs version in Brian Epsteins NEMS record store and they had previously performed it during their audition at Decca Records on January 1,1962, with Pete Best still on drums at the time. They also recorded it six times for BBC radio, a live version, taped at a concert date in Stockholm, Sweden in October 1963, was included on Anthology 1. An unexpected hit, this peaked at number 5 in the UK chart. It also peaked at number 22 on the US dance charts, the song has been covered by many artists, with several of the versions appearing in a variety of charts. For example, the Kingsmen reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 6 in the US R&B charts in 1964, Jennell Hawkins hit number 17 in the R&B charts with her recording in 1962. Jr. Walker & the All Stars reached number 52 on the Hot 100 and number 35 on the R&B charts in 1966 and Bern Elliott and the Fenmen reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1963. It was included as the track on Jerry Lee Lewis 1964 UK-only release Live at the Star Club, Hamburg
30.
You've Really Got a Hold on Me
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Youve Really Got a Hold on Me is a song written by Smokey Robinson which became a 1962 Top 10 hit single for The Miracles on Motowns Tamla label. One of the Miracles most covered tunes, this song received a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It has also selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock. It was covered by English rock group the Beatles on their album, With the Beatles. The song was recorded in Motowns Studio A on October 16,1962 with Robinson on lead vocals, Robinson was the producer, and he had Eddie Willis and Miracle Marv Tarplin share the guitar parts. The song was released on the Tamla label on November 9,1962 as the B side to Happy Landing, Happy Landing charted regionally, however, the nations Dee-Jays flipped the record over, because they liked Hold On Me better. The Miracles original version is a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee and it was also the groups second single to sell over a million copies, after Shop Around. It was included on the album The Fabulous Miracles over three months after its release and this filmed performance, according to the DVDs liner notes, is the only known recorded live footage of the group with original Miracles member Claudette Robinson. They also performed it live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium the following year for the American International Pictures concert film and it was also chosen for the soundtrack of the award-winning 1964 Ivan Dixon film, Nothing But a Man, and many others. Show More American Graffiti The Wanderers Alien Nation Roseanne Mermaids Breaking the Rules Striptease Strike, the Beatles acquired an imported copy by the Miracles and included it in their repertoire early in 1963. In a 1968 interview, Smokey Robinson reported that he liked their cover, the Beatles recorded the song on July 18,1963. It was completed in seven takes, four of which were complete, the group then recorded four edit pieces. The final version was an edit of takes 7,10 and 11, the Beatles also recorded You Really Got a Hold on Me on four occasions for BBC radio in 1963. One of these, from July 30,1963 was included on the Live at the BBC collection, a live version recorded in Stockholm, Sweden in October 1963 was released in 1995 on Anthology 1. The song was performed again in 1969, during the Let It Be recording sessions. Group member Mary Wilson sang in close unison with Diana Rosss leads in their version, the Temptations version, produced by Smokey Robinson, was included on their 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey. Eddie Kendricks sang lead vocal with Paul Williams providing harmony co-lead vocal on verses 1 and 2, the Zombies covered the song in their 1965 debut LP Begin Here. Laura Nyro recorded the song in 1971 on her album, Gonna Take a Miracle and these versions were among the first recorded that did not have dueling unison leads
31.
I'll Try Something New (song)
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Ill Try Something New is a song written by Smokey Robinson and originally released in 1962 by The Miracles on Motown Records Tamla subsidiary label. Their version was a Billboard Top 40 hit, peaking at #39, the Miracles original version peaked number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts and number 11 on the R&B singles chart. It became the track from their 1962 album, Ill Try Something New. Several years later, in 1969, the groups Motown label-mates The Supremes and The Temptations released a version that became a hit reaching number 25 on the Hot 100. Disco/pop group A Taste of Honey also covered the song 20 years later, in 1982
32.
Mary Wells
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Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. She was one of Motowns first singing superstars, Mary Esther Wells was born near Detroits Wayne State University on May 13,1943, to a mother who worked as a domestic, and an absentee father. One of three children, she contracted spinal meningitis at the age of two and struggled with partial blindness, deafness in one ear and temporary paralysis, during her early years, Wells lived in a poor residential Detroit district. By age 12, she was helping her mother with house cleaning work and she described the ordeal years later, Daywork they called it, and it was damn cold on hallway linoleum. Misery is Detroit linoleum in January—with a half-froze bucket of Spic-and-Span, Wells used singing as her comfort from her pain and by age 10 had graduated from church choirs to performing at local nightclubs in the Detroit area. However, a tired Gordy insisted Wells sing the song in front of him, impressed, Gordy had Wells enter Detroits United Sound Systems to record the single, titled Bye Bye Baby. Wells early Motown recordings reflected a rougher R&B sound than the style of her biggest hits. Wells became the first Motown female artist to have a Top 40 pop single after the Mickey Stevenson-penned doo-wop song, I Dont Want to Take a Chance, hit No.33 in June,1961. In the fall of that year, Motown issued her first album and released a third single, when that record bombed, Gordy set Wells up with the Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson. Nevertheless, Wells early hits as one of the few female solo acts did make her the labels first female star. Wells teaming with Robinson led to a succession of hit singles over the two years. Their first collaboration, 1962s The One Who Really Loves You, was Wells first smash hit, peaking at No.2 on the R&B chart, the song featured a calypso-styled soul production that defined Wells early hits. Motown released the similar-sounding You Beat Me to the Punch a few months later, the song became her first R&B No.1 single and peaked at No.9 on the pop chart. The success of You Beat Me to the Punch helped to make Wells the first Motown star to be nominated for a Grammy Award when the received a nod in the Best Rhythm & Blues Recording category. In late 1962, Two Lovers became Wells third consecutive single to hit the Top 10 of Billboards Hot 100, peaking at No.7 and this helped to make Wells the first female solo artist to have three consecutive Top 10 singles on the pop chart. The track sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc, Wells success at the label was recognized when she became a headliner during the first string of Motortown Revue concerts, starting in the fall of 1962. The singer showcased a rawer stage presence that contrasted with her softer R&B recordings and you Lost the Sweetest Boy was one of the first hit singles composed by the successful Motown songwriting and producing trio of Holland–Dozier–Holland, though Robinson remained Wells primary producer. Wells and Robinson also recorded a duet titled I Want You Round, in 1964, Wells recorded My Guy
