''Darling Baby'' is the debut studio album released in October 1966 by the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

group

The Elgins The Elgins were an American vocal group on the Motown label, active from the late 1950s to 1967. Their most successful record was " Heaven Must Have Sent You", written and produced by the Holland–Dozier–Holland team, which was a hit in the U ...

Details

The LP features female singer Saundra Edwards (previously on a solo contract with Motown), with Cleo "Duke" Miller, Norman McLean, and Johnny Dawson (who previously recorded for Motown as The Downbeats). Edwards sings lead vocals on all but two tracks, "634-5789" and "When a Man Loves a Woman", on which McLean sings lead. Released on Motown's V.I.P. subsidiary in 1966, the album contains the group's first two singles for Motown, " Put Yourself In My Place" and "

Heaven Must Have Sent You "Heaven Must Have Sent You" is a song written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland when at Motown, and first recorded by The Elgins in 1966. It was also a 1979 disco hit single by Bonnie Pointer. The Elgins The version by the Elgin ...

", which were both minor hits on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, making No. 72 and No. 50, respectively. "Heaven Must Have Sent You" was a Top Ten hit on the US

R&B Chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

, reaching No. 9, and the B-Side of "Put Yourself In My Place", "Darling Baby", made a separate chart entry and reached No. 92 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 4 on the R&B Chart. After one further single, "I Understand My Man", in 1967, Saundra Edwards left the group and was replaced by Yvonne Vernee Allen. She recorded with the group at Motown but nothing more was released, except for several Tamla Motown reissues in Britain. One of these, a 1971 reissue of "Heaven Must Have Sent You", became a UK hit, peaking at No. 3 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, thanks to its popularity on the Northern soul scene, and its follow-up, "Put Yourself In My Place", also made the Top 40, reaching No. 28. Yvonne Vernee performed with the group on their subsequent UK tour. The Elgins performed occasionally throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and a renewed version of the group recorded two albums for

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...

Motorcity Records Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists. History Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to recor ...

, the first of which, ''Take The Train'', was released some 24 years after this one.

Track listing

#"Darling Baby" ( Holland-Dozier-Holland) 2:34 #"

In The Midnight Hour "In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album ''The Exciting Wilson Pickett''. The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropp ...

" (

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

) 2:12 #"

" (Holland-Dozier-Holland) 2:40 #"I Understand My Man" (Holland-Dozier-Holland) 3:07 #"

Good Lovin' "Good Lovin is a song written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick that was a #1 hit single for the Young Rascals in 1966. Original version The song was first recorded by Lemme B. Good (stage name of singer Limmie Snell) in March 1965 and written b ...

" (

Arthur Resnick Arthur Resnick (born 1937) is an American songwriter, record producer and musician. His most successful songs as a writer include " Under the Boardwalk" (co-written with Kenny Young), "Good Lovin'" (co-written with Rudy Clark), and "Yummy Yummy ...

Rudy Clark Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch polit ...

) 2:38 #"It's Gonna Be Hard Times" (

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 la ...

) 2:23 #" Put Yourself In My Place" (Holland-Dozier-Holland, John Thornton) 2:25 #"634-5789" (

Eddie Floyd Edward Lee Floyd (born June 25, 1937) is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song " Knock on Wood". Biography Floyd was born in ...

, Steve Cropper) 2:25 #"No Time For Tears" (

Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...

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 Motow ...

) 2:53 #"

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" is a song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye from his fifth studio album of the same name (1965). It was written in 1964 by the Motown songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, and produced ...

" (Holland-Dozier-Holland) 2:52 #"Stay In My Lonely Arms" (Holland-Dozier-Holland) 3:01 #" When A Man Loves A Woman" (Andrew Wright, Calvin Lewis) 3:08

Personnel

* Saundra Edwards - lead vocals (tracks 1-7, 9-11); backing vocals (track 8 and 12) * Norman McLean - lead vocals (tracks 8 and 12); backing vocals (tracks 1-5, 7, 9-11) * Johnny Dawson - backing vocals (tracks 1-5, 7-12) * Cleo "Duke" Miller - backing vocals (tracks 1-5, 7-12) *

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Mar ...

- backing vocals (tracks 2-4, 9-11) *

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

- backing vocals (track 6) *

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

- instrumentation

References

{{Authority control 1966 albums Motown albums Albums produced by Brian Holland Albums produced by Lamont Dozier Albums recorded at Hitsville U.S.A.