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The '70s Anthology
''The '70s Anthology'' is a 2002 two compact disc set of many of the songs recorded by the 1970s groupings of The Supremes. The set features 42 tracks, of which 10 had never been released, and 6 were appearing in extended or unedited forms. The set features a 24-page booklet with liner notes written by Mary Wilson, who was the only member in every version of The Supremes through 1977. Probably the most notable of the new material are the songs "Oh My Poor Baby", "Make It With You", "I'll Let Him Know That I Love Him", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Walk With Me, Talk With Me Darling", which are all from the shelved '' Promises Kept'' album (recorded in mid-1971, to be released after the album ''Touch''). Instead the '' Floy Joy'' sessions, supervised by Smokey Robinson were recorded and released in 1972. Guide to lineups The 1970s Supremes featured several different lineups. *Lineup 1 (1970 to April 1972) - Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong (From Disc 1 - tracks 1 to 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal band, with 12 number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. It is said that their breakthrough made it possible for future African American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. ''Billboard'' ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time. Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original members, were all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit. They formed ''the Primettes'' as the sister act to the Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who went on to form the Temptations). Barbara Martin replac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cindy Birdsong
Cynthia Ann Birdsong (born December 15, 1939) is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebells. Biography Early life Birdsong was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey on December 15, 1939, to parents Lloyd Birdsong, Sr. and Annie Birdsong. After living in Philadelphia for a duration of her childhood, the family returned to New Jersey, settling in Camden. Birdsong set her sights on becoming a nurse and attending college in Pennsylvania. When Cindy returned to Philadelphia she was contacted by a longtime friend, Patsy Holt, in 1960 to replace Sundray Tucker in Holt's singing group The Ordettes. At twenty years of age, Birdsong was the oldest member of the group with the remainder of the group still in their mid-teens. Patti LaBelle and The Bluebells In 1961, after a year performing in jubilees, sock hops and school functions, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abdul "Duke" Fakir
Abdul Kareem Fakir (born December 26, 1935), professionally known as Duke Fakir, is an American singer. He is a founding member of the Motown quartet the Four Tops, from 1953 to the present day. A first tenor, Fakir is the group's lone surviving original member, performing today with Ronnie McNeir, Lawrence "Roquel" Payton Jr. (son of original member Lawrence Payton), and Alexander Morris. Biography Fakir was born on December 26, 1935, in Detroit, Michigan. His father was a factory worker who came from what is now Bangladesh. Fakir attended Detroit's Pershing High School, where he played basketball, football, and ran track. He first met fellow band member Levi Stubbs through neighborhood football games, even though he was not aware Stubbs was a singer. Later, attending a variety show featuring the Lucky Millinder band, the band announced a talented young singer who Fakir recognized as the boy he played football with. They became closer friends and Stubbs even traveled with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Payton
Lawrence Albert Payton (March 2, 1938 – June 20, 1997) was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops. In 1997, at 59 years old, Payton died of liver cancer. Biography Payton and Renaldo Benson both attended a Northern High School in Detroit and met Levi Stubbs and Abdul Fakir at a school birthday party. The four teenagers began singing in 1953 as The Four Aims but later changed their name to the Four Tops. Although successful in the local area as a performance group, recording success eluded them until signing with the newly established Motown label in 1963. They then became one of the biggest recording acts of the sixties, charting more than two dozen hits through to the early eighties. Payton is credited for the vocal arrangements and the "smooth seamless harmony" of the Tops' sound. He also sang lead on several songs such as "Feel Free" (from the ''Catfish'' album) and "Until You Love Someo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renaldo "Obie" Benson
Renaldo "Obie" Benson (June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perform with for over five decades, until April 8, 2005. He also co-wrote " What's Going On" which became a No. 2 hit for Marvin Gaye in 1971, and which Rolling Stone rated as No. 4 on their List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time released in 2004. Biography Early career 1954–1964 Benson attended Northern High School in Detroit, Michigan with Lawrence Payton. The pair met Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir while singing at a friend's birthday party in 1954 and decided to form a group called the Four Aims. Roquel Billy Davis, who was Payton's cousin, was a fifth member of the group for a time and a songwriter for the group. Davis played an instrumental role in the group being signed by Chess Records who were mainly interested ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynda Lawrence
Lynda Laurence (also spelled Lawrence, born Lynda Tucker; February 20, 1949) is an American singer. The youngest daughter of Louise and Ira Tucker, a gospel songwriter, producer, and singer, Laurence's siblings are Sundray Tucker and Ira Tucker Jr. Laurence is best known for being a part of two Motown acts: Stevie Wonder's backup group The Third Generation, and a member of The Supremes from April 1972 through October 1973, performing alongside lead singer Jean Terrell and founding member Mary Wilson, replacing Cindy Birdsong after her departure from the group. Biography Early years Laurence began her career singing with a group named the Pendelles. Her sister, Sundray Tucker, was also in this group. She eventually made her way to Stevie Wonder's group Third Generation a predecessor to Wonderlove in 1969. At this time, her sister was going by the name Cindy Scott, and rejoined Laurence in the group. Laurence, Scott and a third member, cousin Terri Hendricks, were billed a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Levi Stubbs
Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He has been noted for his powerful, emotional, dramatic style of singing. In 1990, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Tops. Stubbs was also a voice artist in film and television, and provided the voice of "Audrey II", the alien plant in the 1986 musical horror comedy film ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (an adaption of the stage musical of the same name), as well as Mother Brain in the 1989 TV series '' Captain N: The Game Master''. Stubbs was admired by his peers for his impressive vocal range, and influenced many later pop and soul artists, such as Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates. Stubbs was born and spent much of his life in Detroit, Michigan. He had five children with his wife Clineice Stubbs, to whom he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floy Joy (song)
"Floy Joy" is a song written by Smokey Robinson and released as a single in December 1971 by popular Motown female singing group The Supremes. The song, built on a retro sixties vibe reminiscent of past Supremes songs, was recorded by the group's former mentor Robinson, marking his first production of a Supremes song since 1969's "The Composer". The song featured original Supreme Mary Wilson and early-seventies Supremes lead singer Jean Terrell on lead vocals, featuring the third lead vocals by Wilson on a Supremes hit single. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, number sixteen on the American pop singles chart and number nine on the UK Singles Chart. Personnel *Lead vocals by Mary Wilson and Jean Terrell *Background vocals by Mary Wilson, Jean Terrell, Cindy Birdsong *Additional vocals by The Andantes *Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and Marv Tarplin of The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Mira ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathan Jones (song)
"Nathan Jones" is a song by American girl group the Supremes from their twenty-third studio album, '' Touch'' (1971). It was released on April 15, 1971, as the album's lead single. Produced by Frank Wilson and written by Kathy Wakefield and Leonard Caston, "Nathan Jones" was one of eight top-40 entries the Supremes recorded after its original frontwoman, Diana Ross, left the group for a solo career. Background The song centers around a woman's longing for her former lover, a man named Nathan Jones, who left her nearly a year ago "to ease ismind." Suffering through the long separation (''"Winter's past, spring, and fall"'') without any contact or communication between herself and Jones, the narrator is no longer in love with Jones, remarking that "Nathan Jones/you've been gone too long". Supremes version "Nathan Jones" is an unusual entry among the Supremes' singles repertoire for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that all three members of the group ( Jean Te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Tops
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, performing from 1953 until 1997 without a change in personnel. The Four Tops were among a number of groups, including the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, who established the Motown Sound heard around the world during the 1960s. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors. The group was the main male vocal group for the highly successful songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, who crafted a stream of hit sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Deep - Mountain High
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water. Small rivers can be referred to using names such as creek, brook, rivulet, and rill. There are no official definitions for the generic term river as applied to geographic features, although in some countries or communities a stream is defined by its size. Many names for small rivers are specific to geographic location; examples are "run" in some parts of the United States, "burn" in Scotland and northeast England, and "beck" in northern England. Sometimes a river is defined as being larger than a creek, but not always: the language is vague. Rivers are part of the water cycle. Water generally collects in a river from precipitation through a drainage basin from surface runoff and other sources such as groundwater recharge, springs, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoned Love
"Stoned Love" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the last ''Billboard'' Pop Top Ten hit for the group, peaking at number seven, and their last ''Billboard'' number-one R&B hit as well, although the trio continued to score top ten hits in the UK into 1972. In the UK, it was the post-Ross Supremes' biggest hit, reaching number 3 in the singles chart. The single spent six weeks in the UK top ten and five weeks in the US top ten. The BBC ranked "Stoned Love" at number 99 on ''The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart'', which ranks Motown releases solely on their all time UK downloads and streams. History Song information A plea for love and peace similar to those recorded by Sly & the Family Stone in the late 1960s, the lyrics of "Stoned Love" were a plea for the people of the world to end conflict and animosity between each other, specifically the Vietnam War. Writer Kenny Thomas chose the term "stone love" to define the concept of an unchanging bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
