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The Detroit Emeralds are an American R&B/soul
vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in se ...
, best known in the early 1970s. They enjoyed a run of successful records in the decade including their 1973 transatlantic
hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
, "
Feel the Need in Me "Feel the Need in Me" is a song written by Abrim Tilmon, a member of the American R&B/soul vocal group the Detroit Emeralds. It was released as a single by the group in October 1972 on the Westbound label. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Ch ...
".


Career

"The Emeralds" were formed as a vocal harmony group in
Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...
,
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, and originally composed of four brothers, Ivory (September 14, 1941 – September 13, 2014), Abrim (January 12, 1945 – July 6, 1982), Cleophus and Raymond Tilmon. After Cleophus and Raymond left, the remaining Tilmon brothers were joined by childhood friend, James Mitchell. Moving to
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 th ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, and expanding their name to the Detroit Emeralds, the trio had their first R&B
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
success on
Ric-Tic Records Ric-Tic Records was a record label set up in the 1960s in Detroit, Michigan, United States by Joanne Bratton and Eddie Wingate. Twinned with the Golden World label, Ric-Tic featured many soul music artists and was seen as an early competitor for ...
, with "Show Time" in 1968. In 1970, they joined another Detroit-based label,
Westbound Records Westbound Records was a Detroit-based record label founded by Armen Boladian in 1968. It had a distribution deal with Janus Records from 1970 to 1975, but then it switched distribution to 20th Century Records during 1975 and 1976, but again switc ...
. When touring in
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, they recorded some
demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
tracks at the Hi recording studios, run by top producer Willie Mitchell, to which they added
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
and
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
back in Detroit. This approach worked and brought them another
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
, "If I Lose Your Love", which was followed by a run of successes including " Do Me Right", " You Want It, You Got It", and " Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)" which all made the US R&B top 10, while the latter also reached number 24 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
in 1972. The song for which they are now best remembered, "
Feel the Need in Me "Feel the Need in Me" is a song written by Abrim Tilmon, a member of the American R&B/soul vocal group the Detroit Emeralds. It was released as a single by the group in October 1972 on the Westbound label. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Ch ...
", reached number 22 US R&B in 1973, and a new longer version four years later also charted. The original track made the top five 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 ...
in 1973, and the later production also made the UK chart in 1977 (number 12). "You Want It You Got It" was re-released in the UK as a follow-up to the initial "Feel the Need in Me", also reaching the UK top 20 in 1973. Abrim Tilmon wrote all of their hits, while also
arranging In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
and producing the tracks. The horns and strings were arranged by the Grammy award-winning arranger, Johnny Allen. The horns and strings were recorded in Detroit with Carl Austin as concertmaster and Johnny Trudell leading the horns. By 1974, the group was falling apart and, at one point, there were two outfits using the name. Abe Tilmon formed one new group using the Detroit Emeralds' name, whilst James Mitchell, along with Marvin Willis, wrote for another group,
the Floaters The Floaters were an American R&B vocal group, from the Sojourner Truth housing projects in Detroit, Michigan, that formed in 1976. The group are best known for their 1977 song " Float On", which reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ...
– Paul Mitchell of the Floaters being James's brother. James Mitchell, Ivory Tilmon and Marvin Willis continued touring as the Detroit Emeralds and stayed active on the oldies and cabaret circuit for some years. Abrim Tilmon died on July 6, 1982, at the age of 37, in his Southfield,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, home of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. It was said a reunion of the group was being planned at the time. He was survived by his wife Janyce, son Steve, and daughter Cathy. In 2019, the Detroit Emeralds was reformed by the group's founding member James Mitchell Jr. along with new members LaVel Jackson, Eddie Cameron and Dewayne Loc Lomax. They released a new single titled "Call Me, I'm Ready" in May 2019. In August 2021, they released the single "Victory". In November 2021, they released another single titled "Face 2 Face". In October 2022, they released another single titled "In My Life".


Discography


Studio albums


Compilation albums

*''Abe, James and Ivory'' (1973, Westbound) *''Greatest Hits'' (1998, Westbound)


Singles


See also

*
List of soul musicians This is a list of soul musicians who have either been influential within the genre, or have had a considerable amount of fame. Bands are listed by the first letter in their name (not including the words "a", "an", or "the"), and individuals are l ...
* List of disco artists (S–Z) *
List of Soul Train episodes This is a list of episodes for the musical variety show '' Soul Train'' that aired originally from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. The dates shown are original air dates, but some dates are approximate because in the 1970s, most syndication ...
* Music of Michigan


References


External links

* *
''The DETROIT EMERALDS'' singing ''"SHOWTIME"'' their first chart hit (1968)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Detroit Emeralds, The African-American musical groups American soul musical groups Musical groups from Detroit Ric-Tic Records artists 1960s establishments in Michigan