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Greetings! We're The Monitors
''Greetings! We're The Monitors'' is the debut album by The Monitors, released in 1968. Recording and release After recording several singles for Motown—including a charting cover of " Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)" in 1966—and touring to support more successful artists, Berry Gordy recommended that the group get their own album and moved them from the V.I.P. Records subsidiary to Soul Records for the release. It is composed of material that the group recorded from the three-year span of 1965 to 1968. Richard Street, who would later replace Paul Williams in The Temptations, is the lead singer of this group. Shortly after the album was released, the Monitors disbanded and didn't get back together again until 1990, when the group released a reunion album entitled ''Grazing in the Grass''. Reception A brief review in ''Billboard'' recommended this release to retailers for having a "rugged and romantic array of soul numbers" and predicted chart success that did not materialize ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Monitors (American Band)
The Monitors were an American vocal group who recorded for Motown Records in the 1960s. The group, which consisted of lead singer Richard Street, Sandra Fagin, John "Maurice" Fagin, and Warren Harris, had two minor hits, " Say You" (#36 R&B), and then a cover of the Valadiers' " Greetings (This is Uncle Sam)", which reached #21 on the Billboard R&B Chart, and #100 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart. Career Harris and Street were school friends of Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. Street became a member of the Distants with Williams and Franklin, but left before the group merged with the Primes to become The Temptations. Street recorded on Thelma Records, as Richard Street & the Distants, releasing the unsuccessful single "Answer Me", produced by Norman Whitfield, and also worked as a songwriter and as a member of another group, the Peps. Street and Harris then formed a group together with Sandra and John Fagin. Their first release, as The Majestics, was to have been "Hello L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Holland
Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. Holland, along with Lamont Dozier, served as the team's musical arranger and producer. He has written or co-written 145 hits in US and 78 in the UK. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. For a short time, he partnered with Robert Bateman, and together they were known as "Brianbert", collaborating on such hits as " Please Mr. Postman" for The Marvelettes. Holland has also had an on-and-off career as a performer. He released a solo single in 1958 under the name of "Briant Holland". He and longtime friend and future songwriting partner Freddie Gorman were in a short-lived group called the Fidalatones, and he was later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Say You (Temptations Song)
"Say You" is a 1965 soul song, written by Robert Dobyne, Robert Staunton and Charles Jones, and recorded by both The Monitors , who had a charting R&B Hit with the song, and The Temptations. The Monitors' version was recorded in July 1965 and released as the group's debut single for Motown Records. Their previous single, "Hello Love", was planned for release on Motown's VIP subsidiary (as VIP 25010) but cancelled. That single was scheduled for release under the group's original name, The Majestics. "Say You" was also released initially as crediting The Majestics before a name change was forced upon them by the existence of another Majestics group. Upon release, the song became a minor R&B hit, making #36 on the ''Billboard'' Soul Charts. "Say You" is also included on The Monitors' debut (and only) album for Motown, ''Greetings! We're The Monitors'', released in November of 1968. Motown's The Temptations had originally recorded the song about one month before The Monitors (in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Valadiers
The Valadiers are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who became notable as the first white vocal group signed to Motown in the early 1960s. The group was formed in 1959 by Stuart Avig (born 1943, lead vocals), Marty Coleman (lead, bass, baritone), and Art Glasser (second tenor), who had all attended Oak Park High School, and Jerry Light (bass, baritone), from Detroit Mumford High School. After auditioning for Motown, they received a contract and made recordings which went unreleased, before recording a song they had written, " Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)." The song was worked up by Motown staffers Robert Bateman, Brian Holland, and Ronnie Dunbar, who received co-writing credits, and was issued on the Miracle label, a Motown subsidiary for which this was its only hit record. The record reached #89 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart in 1961. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Horn
Lawrence Thomas "L.T." Horn (1939 – February 2017) was an American musician, record producer and chief recording engineer for Motown Records in Detroit and Los Angeles. He later served a life sentence for hiring a hit man to murder his ex-wife, Mildred Horn, their disabled son Trevor, and nurse Janice Saunders. The case quickly gained national interest, and went on to prompt a lawsuit with Paladin Press, the publishers of a book, '' Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors'', which had been used as a how-to manual by the killer. Career Horn gained experience working as a disc jockey on the USS ''Lake Champlain'' (CV-39)'s radio station. He began working with Motown Records in Detroit, during their heyday in the early 1960s as a sound engineer. He was the chief technician for artists such as The Temptations ( "My Girl") and Junior Walker and the All-Stars (" Shotgun"). Horn left Motown in 1968 to join a company owned by former Motown songwriting team Holl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Dunbar
Ronald Dunbar (April 15, 1939 – April 3, 2018) was an American songwriter, A&R director and record producer who worked closely with Holland–Dozier–Holland, and with George Clinton. His co-writing credits include the hit songs "Give Me Just a Little More Time", " Band of Gold", and " Patches", for which he won a Grammy. His Grammy award was sold for $2,350 to the owners of TV show ''Pawn Stars''. It was later returned to the Dunbar family, after it was discovered that the buying and selling of Grammy trophies is not allowed. Life Born in Detroit, Michigan, he began working for Motown when it was formed in the late 1950s, and was first credited as a co-writer for the Valadiers' minor 1961 hit, " Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)". He continued to work with songwriters and record producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, in an uncredited capacity, until they left Motown over a financial dispute in 1968. Dunbar remained with the three when they set up Holland–Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Bateman (songwriter)
Robert Bateman (April 30, 1936 – October 12, 2016) was an American R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. Among other songs, he co-wrote the hits " Please Mr. Postman" and "If You Need Me". Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, he was one of the founding members of vocal group the Satintones in Detroit, Michigan, in 1957. Bateman was the bass singer. "Correc-Tone: Introduction", ''Soulful Detroit.com'' Retrieved 16 October 2016 In 1959, the group made their first recordings for , and Bateman did additional work for the company as a |
Denny Randell
Denny Randell (born 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Sandy Linzer and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let's Hang On!", "Working My Way Back to You", and " Native New Yorker", and was nominated with Linzer for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) in 2012. Life and career He was born in New York City and later moved to Silver Spring, Maryland. He played piano and accordion, and performed in various local bands in his teens, as well as starting to write songs. One of his songs came to the attention of New York music publishing company Shapiro Bernstein, who started to employ him as a staff songwriter. This in turn led to his introduction to Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe, the record producers and writers behind the success of The Four Seasons. Randell began working for the Four Seasons as a writer and arranger in the early 1960s. Gaudio's a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandy Linzer
Sandy Linzer (born 1941) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Denny Randell and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let's Hang On!", "Working My Way Back to You", " Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache", " Native New Yorker", and " Use It Up and Wear It Out". He was nominated with Randell for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) in 2012. Life and career In the early 1960s, Al Kasha, an associate of singer, songwriter and record producer Bob Gaudio, introduced Linzer to Randell. They began writing together in 1963, initially for The Rag Dolls and Barbara Lewis. The pair wrote several Top 10 songs for Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, including "Working My Way Back to You" (also a hit for The Spinners in 1979, and in Ireland for Boyzone in 1994), " Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me)", and, with Bob Crewe, "Let's Hang On!". Linzer also co-w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan. His group gave Marvin Gaye a start in his music career. Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy, distributed the first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", on their record label, Anna Records. Fuqua later sold Anna Records to Gwen's brother Berry Gordy and became a songwriter and executive at Motown. He was the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of the Ink Spots and the uncle of the filmmaker Antoine Fuqua. Biography Fuqua was born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. He was the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of the Ink Spots. In 1951, with Bobby Lester, Alexander Graves and Prentiss Barnes, he formed a vocal group, the Crazy Sounds, in Louisville, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Bristol
John William Bristol (February 3, 1939 – March 21, 2004) was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which he wrote an eponymous song. His composition "Love Me for a Reason" saw global success when covered by The Osmonds including a number 1 in the UK charts in 1974. His most famous solo recording was "Hang On in There Baby" recorded in 1974, which reached the Top Ten in the United States and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Both singles were in the UK top 5 simultaneously. Motown producer Bristol first came to local attention in the Detroit area as a member of the soul duo 'Johnny & Jackey' with Jackey Beavers, an associate Bristol met while in the US Air Force. The pair recorded two singles in 1959 for Anna Records, a label owned by Gwen Gordy (Berry Gordy's sister) and Billy Davis and four 45s for Gwen Gordy and Harvey Fuqua's Tri-Phi labe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Whitfield
Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s.allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motown Sound and of the late-1960s subgenre of psychedelic soul. During his 25-year career, Whitfield co-wrote and produced many enduring hits for Motown artists, including "Ain't Too Proud to Beg",Ain't Too Proud to Beg - The Temptations , AllMusic - Song Review by Ed Hogan "", " |
