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Iris Gordy
Iris Gordy is an American songwriter, producer, and music executive. She is a former vice president at Motown, where she helped launch the careers of DeBarge, Teena Marie, and Rick James, Mandre, Bobby Nunn and Tata Vega. Her credits include albums by Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Rick James, Four Tops, DeBarge, Diana Ross, and Tata Vega. Background Gordy is the daughter of Mildred (née Hart) and Fuller Gordy, the brother of Motown founder Berry Gordy. Career In 1970, " The Bells", a song she co-wrote with Marvin Gaye, Anna Gordy Gaye, and Elgie Stover, became a huge hit for The Originals. It has been subsequently recorded by a variety of artists including Laura Nyro, Color Me Badd, Sam Harris, Aaron Neville, and Patti LaBelle. Later, while serving as an executive at Motown, she discovered a demo featuring Táta Vega on vocals. Vega, who was originally signed to the company as a member of the group Earthquire, had been languishing at the company for years. Gordy we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the United States. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area, and the 14th-largest in the United States. Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its historical automotive background. ''Time'' named Detroit as one of the fifty World's Greatest Places of 2022 to explore. Detroit is a major port on the Detroit River, one of the four major straits that connect the Great Lakes system to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The City of Detroit anchors the second-largest regional economy in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. They remain the best-charting female group in history, with a total of twelve number-one hit singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", and " Love Child". Following departure from the Supremes in 1970, Ross embarked on a successful solo career in music, film, television and on stage. Her eponymous debut solo album featured the U.S. number-one hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and music anthem "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". It was followed with her second solo album, '' Everything Is Everything'' (1970), which spawned her first UK number-one single " I'm Still Waiting". She continued her successful solo career by mounting elaborate record-setting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and frontwoman of the vocal group Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Following the group's name change to Labelle in the 1970s, they released the popular number-one hit "Lady Marmalade". As a result, after the group split in 1976, LaBelle began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, "You Are My Friend". LaBelle became a mainstream solo star in 1984 following the success of the singles "If Only You Knew", "Love, Need and Want You" (later sampled for 2002's "Dilemma"), " New Attitude" and "Stir It Up". Less than two years later, in 1986, LaBelle scored a number-one album ''Winner in You'' and its number-one duet single, " On My Own", with Michael McDonald. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aaron Neville
Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. "Tell It Like It Is", from 1966, also reached the top position on the Soul chart for five weeks. He has also recorded with his brothers Art, Charles and Cyril as the Neville Brothers and is the father of singer/keyboards player Ivan Neville. Neville is of mixed African-American, Caucasian, and Native American (Choctaw) heritage. Career The first of his singles that was given airplay outside of New Orleans was "Over You" (Minit, 1960). Neville's first major hit single was " Tell It Like It Is", released on a small New Orleans label, Par-Lo, co-owned by local musician/arranger George Davis, a friend from school, and band-leader Lee Diamond. The song topped ''Billboard''s R&B chart for five weeks in 1967 and also reached on the ''Billboar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Harris (entertainer)
Samuel Kent Harris (born June 4, 1961) is an American pop and theater musician as well as a television, theater and film actor. Career Singing Harris got his start as the grand champion singer of ''Star Search'' in its premiere season in 1983. He gained acclaim and became best known for his winning rendition of the song " Over the Rainbow" on the show. "Over the Rainbow" has since become his signature song. His appearance on ''Star Search'' led to him landing a contract with Motown Records. His first single, "Sugar Don't Bite", was a Top 40 hit, reaching #36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in November 1984. "Over the Rainbow" was released in Australia and peaked at number 65 in 1985. He is a multi-million selling recording artist with nine studio albums to his credit. He can also be heard on numerous concert, guest artist, and cast recordings. He has toured extensively in concert and has played to sold-out audiences at major venues including New York's Carnegie Hall, L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Color Me Badd
''Color'' Me Badd is an American contemporary R&B group that was formed in 1985 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by lead singer Bryan Abrams (born November 16, 1969), tenor Mark Calderon (born September 27, 1970), second tenor Sam Watters (born July 23, 1970) and baritone Kevin Thornton (born June 17, 1969). Color Me Badd broke up in 1998 before reuniting in 2010, with various lineups since. Best known for their singles "I Wanna Sex You Up", "I Adore Mi Amor" and "All 4 Love", the group has sold over 12 million records worldwide,Sue White"Color Me Badd, Bell Biv DeVoe plan 'family' reunion with fans at Soaring Eagle Casinio,"MLive, October 22, 2015. had two number 1 hit singles, nine Top 40 hits and a triple-platinum album. They were nominated for two Grammy Awards, won two Soul Train Music Awards and one American Music Award, and were nominated for five others.Rob Collins"The former Color Me Badd members have never told their whole story in one place, until now," ''Oklahoma Gazette'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968) and '' New York Tendaberry'' (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and the 5th Dimension recording her songs. Wider recognition for her artistry was posthumous while her contemporaries such as Elton John idolized her. She was praised for her strong emotive vocal style and 3- octave mezzo-soprano vocal range. Between 1968 and 1970, a number of artists had hits with her songs: The 5th Dimension with "Blowing Away", "Wedding Bell Blues", " Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", and "Save the Country"; Blood, Sweat & Tears and Peter, Paul and Mary with "And When I Die"; Three Dog Night and Maynard Ferguson with "Eli's Comin'"; and Barbra Streisand with " Stoney End", "Time and Love", and "Hands off the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elgie Stover
Elgie Rousseau Stover (September 12, 1938 – July 11, 2011) was an American songwriter, composer, producer and background singer, most famous for his associations with cousin Harvey Fuqua and Marvin Gaye, co-writing two of Gaye's songs from the singer's 1971 album, '' What's Going On''. Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, Stover and his brother Kenneth later moved to Detroit, where the brothers worked closely with Harvey Fuqua on his Tri-Phi Records label. In the late-1960s, after befriending staff from Motown, the brothers signed with the label as staff songwriters and producers. Stover's most famous works came as the result of working so closely with Gaye, with whom he and Kenneth had befriended shortly after they signed with Motown. Stover co-wrote with Marvin, wife Anna and Iris Gordy on The Originals' 1970 classic, " The Bells". A year later, Stover's greatest contribution came when he took part in co-writing "Flying High in the Friendly Sky" and "God is Love" on Marvin's '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anna Gordy Gaye
Anna Ruby Gaye (née Gordy; January 28, 1922 – January 31, 2014) was an American businesswoman, composer and songwriter. An elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, she became a record executive in the mid-to-late 1950s distributing records released on Checker and Gone Records before forming the Anna label with Billy Davis and her sister Gwen Gordy Fuqua. Gordy later became known as a songwriter for several hits including the Originals' " Baby, I'm for Real", and at least two songs on Marvin Gaye's '' What's Going On'' album. The first wife of Gaye, their turbulent marriage later served as inspiration for Gaye's 15th studio album, ''Here, My Dear''. Biography Life and career Born Anna Ruby Gordy on January 28, 1922, in Oconee, Georgia, she was the third-eldest child of Berry Gordy Sr. (Berry Gordy II) and Bertha Ida (née Fuller) Gordy's eight children. Into her first year, Gordy's family relocated to Detroit. Following graduation from high school in 1940, Gordy reloca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of successes, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul". Gaye's Motown songs include "Ain't That Peculiar", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". Gaye also recorded duets with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Tammi Terrell, and Diana Ross. During the 1970s, Gaye recorded the albums '' What's Going On'' and ''Let's Get It On'' and became one of the first artists in Motown to break away from the reins of a production company. His later recordings influenced several contemporary R&B subgenres, such as quiet storm and neo soul. "Sexual Healing", released in 1982 on the album ''Midnight Love'', won him his first two Grammy Awards. Gaye's last televised appearances we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bells (The Originals Song)
"The Bells" is a 1970 single recorded by The Originals for Motown's Soul label, produced by Marvin Gaye and co-written by Gaye, his wife Anna Gordy Gaye, Iris Gordy, and Elgie Stover. History Shortly after the release of the Originals' first hit "Baby, I'm for Real", Motown issued this similarly produced record, which was a Marvin Gaye production. Gaye had proved skeptics at the label wrong by producing a hit song for another act. Both "Baby I'm for Real" and "The Bells" set the precedent for Gaye's 1971 landmark album '' What's Going On''. Primarily functioning as background session singers at Motown during much of the 1960s, The Originals would continue to provide background vocals for Gaye until 1973. "The Bells" peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, and reached number four on the Hot Black Singles chart. It remains the most successful single of the group's career, the rest of which included several more Gaye-produced R&B hits and the Frank W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades. As a songwriter, he composed or co-composed a number of hits including "Lonely Teardrops" and "That's Why" ( Jackie Wilson), "Shop Around" (the Miracles), and "Do You Love Me" (the Contours), all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit "Reet Petite" ( Jackie Wilson). As part of the Corporation, he wrote many hit songs for the Jackson 5, including "I Want You Back" and "ABC". As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Stevie Wonder. He was known for carefully directing the public image, dress, manners, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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