From the category archives:

Co-ed Vocal Groups

“Oh How Happy” Performed by Shades of Blue (1966), Edwin & Blinky (1969) & The Jackson 5 (1971)

March 11, 2010 · 0 comments

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#12 Billboard Top 100, #16 R&B Singles Chart

In 1961 a group of Detroit high school students   formed a singing group called the Domingos who naturally patterned their sound after Motown.  When another local group suggested they audition for RicTic Records (home of the Flaming Ember(s) and the Reflections and eventually purchased by Motown) they hung around the studio and stated singing with Edwin Starr who had a partially written song and the result was “Oh How Happy” recorded for The Golden World Label.

An independent producer liked what he heard and gave the soulful singers a new name and took them to  Impact Records where  “OHH” was recorded and became a  hit in 1966! The group soon broke up in 1970.

More historical detail on the blue-eyed soul group can be found here at this well done web site.

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#92 Billboard Hot 100

“Just We Two” , a 1969 Motown LP of duets by Edwin Starr and Blinky (Sandra Williams) contains their cover version of the classic.

Composed by Charles Hatcher,  this feel-good classic is another tune I have always loved  both when the original came out in 1966, when Edwin & Blinky’s cover came out,   and then later when the J5 cover came out, with my then love Jermaine singing lead. :-)   Of course MJJ’s background harmonizing and Tito’s bass is awesome too. Just listen and I bet you will agree. Here it is  as it appears on the J5’s 1971 “Third Album.”

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Please vote and share your favorite version of this song. I know I went off the Theme a bit by sharing covers of the original by the Blue Eyed Soul Artist being recognized — but I just love the song in all incarnations and wanted to share my joy. Hope you don’t mind.

Trivia: Even thought the group helped to create this classic, often covered hit song, they never got the writing credit they deserved. The record was credited solely to Charles Hatcher — the birth name of Edwin Starr!

Musically Yours,

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Filed under: Blue Eyed Soul, Charles Hatcher aka Edwin Starr, Co-ed Vocal Groups, Dynamic Duos (Duets), Edwin & Blinky, Guy Groups, Impact, Motown, Oh How Happy, One Hit Wonder, Pop/R&B, Seventies, Shades of Blue, Sixties, The Jackson Five

“Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” Performed by The 5th Dimension (1969)

February 1, 2010 · 0 comments

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Last August 2008  OSML spotlighted the Best R&B Grammy Winners from 1958 to 1968. This month, February 2010, OSML is moving on to present all of the wonderful 1969 Grammy winners, in a variety of categories, that I grew up with and loved.

This music was oh so special and should never be forgotten.  I, for one, will never ever take it for granted and still continue to enjoy it daily.

I shall start off the month with the winner of both the Grammy for 1969 Record of the Year and 1969 Best Contemporary Vocal Performance By a Group -- “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures),” sung by The 5th Dimension.

This one really brings back special memories of blossoming into a full fledged teenager in the Sixties era of “Flower Power” and “Grooviness!” This award winning song, composed by James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot, was from the smash  “Hair: The American Tribal Love Rock Musical”. ” Producer Bones Howe constructed the mini-suite presentation for The 5th Dimension.

The song appeared on the  5th Dimension’s fourth LP released in the prime of their music career. This LP topped the charts at #2. The song topped the Adult Contemporary and Billboard Hot 100 charts at #1 and R&*B at #6.

Check out this performance and sing along with the lyrics provided below.

Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind’s true liberation
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

[instrumental and tempo shift]

Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in

[continue to end with concurrent scat]

Oh, let it shine, c’mon
Now everybody just sing along
Let the sun shine in
Open up your heart and let it shine on in
When you are lonely, let it shine on
Got to open up your heart and let it shine on in
And when you feel like you’ve been mistreated
And your friends turn away
Just open your heart, and shine it on in

And here is the cast of the recent “Hair” revival” performing on the David Letterman Show in 2009. Enjoy.

Musically Yours,

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Filed under: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures), Buddah, Co-ed Vocal Groups, Grammy Gold, James Rado/ Gerome Ragni / Galt MacDermot, Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Sixties, The 5th Dimension

"It Should Have Been Me" Performed by Gladys Knight & The Pips (1968)

July 30, 2009 · 0 comments

GK&T PIPS 2

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Gladys Knight & The Pips – It Should Have Been Me (1968)

Another awesome classic  by GK&TP from their Motown years! This awesome mid-tempo effort tells the story so realistically that you can just feel Gladys’ hurt and pain at being left by her two timing lover. You can visualize her singing her feelings to him while her brother, cousin and family friend support their “baby girl” in the background! Just beautiful.

This song is from the group’s LP  “Feelin’ Bluesy.” It is is a cover of a song that had already been recorded by Motown’s own Kim Weston.  At  least Motown gave GK&TP the  “leftovers” of someone other than the Temptations for a change (LOL).

No matter though — Gladys can sing any song and make it her own. Look what happened when she covered Marvin Gaye’s “Grapevine”– she had a super hit!

The beautiful Ms. Knight has got to be the strongest female vocalist that Motown ever had in the Sixties. (Thelma Houston was probably the strongest of the later years at Motown.)

Here are the lyrics to this song composed by Motown’s own William “Mickey” Stevenson and Norman Whitfield. Enjoy.

It Should Have Been Me

I saw my love walking down the aisle
And as he passed me by
He turned and gave me a smile
Then, the preacher, then the preacher
The preacher joined their hands
And all the people, all the people began to stand
When I shouted, “you know it should have been me”
(Instead of her walking with you)

You are leaving me stranded
You know that it should have been me baby
Oh baby gettin’ ready to marry you
Darlin’ darlin’ darlin’
You made a promise that we would never part
Then you turned around and broke my little heart
Now you’re standing there saying I do
Holding hands with somebody new
You know that it should have been me
(I can’t stand it)
Instead of her standing by you
You know that it should have been me
It should have been me
(Baby don’t do it)
Then the preacher oh yeah the preacher asked
That there be silence please

If anybody objects to this wedding
Speak now or forever or forever hold your peace
Then I shouted, “It should have been me”
You know that it should have been me
Don’t you know that it should have been me
You know that it should have been me
I’ve been faithful to you baby, baby, baby
You were leaving me stranded

Musically Yours,

sondanyr2

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Filed under: Co-ed Vocal Groups, Gladys Knight & the Pips, It Should Have Been Me, Motown/Soul, R&B/Motown, R&B/Soul, Sixties, William "Mickey" Stevenson & Norman Whitfield

"I Don't Want To Do Wrong" Peformed By Gladys Knight & The Pips (1971)

July 27, 2009 · 2 comments

gkandpips

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Gladys Knight & The Pips – I Don’t Want to Do Wrong #17 Pop

“End of our Road” is by far my favorite uptempo Motown release by GK&TP. It is funkiness at it’s best — even surpassing the group’s cover of “Grapevine IMHO.

“IDWTDW” is also one of the view songs that the group got to perform and promote with out it being an obligatory cover of a hit Temptation’s song (yes I said it: even Gladys’ herself said in one of her books, that Motown relegated them to Temptations’ left-overs, and the group’s Motown catalog proves it!)

This is another one of the few songs that everyone at Motown did *not* cover since there is no way they could have succeeded: This is the definitive version of this ballad composed by the group (William Guest, Gladys Knight, Merald “Bubba” Knight), Johnny Bristol, and Catherine Schaffner.

This song is from the hit Motown Set entitled “If I Were Your Woman.”  The LP went to #4 R&B and #35 Pop on the Billboard Charts.

A great way to start off your week — don’t you agree?

Musically Yours,

sondanyr2

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Filed under: Co-ed Vocal Groups, Gladys Knight & the Pips, I Don't Want To Do Wrong, Johnny Bristol/Wiiliam Guest/Gladys Knight/Merald "Bubba" Knight/Catherine Schaffner, Motown/Soul, Pop/Soul, R&B/Motown, Seventies

"Much Better Off" Performed By The Miracles (1968)

July 23, 2009 · 0 comments

The Mracles 2

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The Miracles – Much Better Off (1968)

The so-called “B” side to “Yester Love” was “Much Better Off” composed by Miracles Smokey Robinson and Warren “Pete” Moore. To me it is a sing- along love ballad that I sang along to many, many, many times as a teen. Of course at the time I had only fantasies about love and romance (never the real thing), but that never stopped a teenage girl now — did it?

If you have never heard this tune you are in for a treat. If you are a fellow boomer than let it take you back to those good old days! Be sure to sing it loud and strong now.

Musically Yours,

sondanyr2

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Filed under: Co-ed Vocal Groups, Motown/Tamla, Much Better Off, Pop/R&B, R&B/Motown, Sixties, Smokey Robinson & William "Pete' Moore, The Miracles

"Yester Love" Performed By The Miracles (1968)

July 20, 2009 · 0 comments

Miracles - Special Occ 1968

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The Miracles – Yester Love (1968) Peaked #31 Billboard Hot 100 (stayed on chart 8 weeks Summer 1968), #66 Cash Box Top 100 of 1968

This song, composed by Smokey Robinson and Al Cleveland,  is on one of the many, many 45 rpms I would purchase with my allowance every Tuesday as a  pre-teen (called tween now eh?) and young teenager.

I was trying to decide what Miracles cut to post about and I guess I picked this one because I couldn’t find the disk after going through two boxes of vinyl and I really wanted to hear it.  But I am gonna keep looking.

While going through the boxes I realized that I knew every song  on every record — both A and B side. This was called the A side of this particular disk as I recall. But as far as I am concerned, every song on the “Special Occasion” Lp was A plus  material.   That was the genius of Motown in that  what they considered B was always A  in my book. Just as most of the great music in the vault was worthy of release!

As you probably know , The Classic Miracles were: Smokey Robinson on lead vocals;  Ronnie White, Bobby Rogers, Warren “Pete” Moore and Claudette Robinson on  background vocals; and Marv Tarplin on guitar. And yes the guitar is an integral part of every Miracles song:  I mean come on and LISTEN to this man play!  Pure genius! Genius! His licks are priceless. I  had to listen to the song about ten times grooving on the guitar before I could finish up this post!

Please enjoy this great cut by this awesome group and tell a friend so that we can keep the music of Motown alive forever and ever! Amen.

Musically Yours,

sondanyr2

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Filed under: Co-ed Vocal Groups, Motown/Tamla, Pop/R&B, R&B/Motown, Sixties, Smokey Robinson & Al Cleveland, The Miracles, Yester Love

"Got A Job" Performed by The Miracles (1958)

July 16, 2009 · 2 comments

Original Miracles

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The Miracles – Got A Job (1958)

“Got a Job” was the very first single by a  group now called the Miracles. Composed by Tyran Carlo (Berry Gordy & Billy Davis) and Smokey Robinson, this song was the start of something that is still going strong today: both The Miracles with their second lead singer Bill Griffin and the solo act Smokey Robinson  are still performing!  That is over a half a century of real longevity and talent.

Joslyn Layne, writing for Allmusic.com,  sums up  how the group known as the The Miracles came to be at Motown as follows:

“Scoring over 40 hits on the R&B Top 40 charts, the Miracles started out as the Five Chimes in the mid-’50s while the members were still in high school. The Detroit vocal group consisted of William “Smokey” Robinson, Warren “Pete” Moore, Clarence “Humble” Dawson, Donald Wicker, and James “Rat” Grice. Not too long after the group formed, Wicker and Grice left and were replaced by cousins Emerson “Sonny” Rogers and Bobby Rogers, who both sang tenor, and baritonist Ronnie White was in Dawson’s place. The vocal quintet then changed its name to the Matadors and in 1956 Claudette Rogers joined the band after her brother Sonny was drafted. The Matadors auditioned for Jackie Wilson’s manager, Nat Tarnopol, in 1956. Although Tarnopol wasn’t interested, finding the group too similar to the Platters, one of Wilson’s songwriters, Berry Gordy, Jr., was and he soon began producing the band, who now went by the name the Miracles. Gordy produced their first single, “Got a Job,” (an answer to the Silhouettes’ “Get a Job”) which was issued by the New York label End Records in 1958.”

More  on The Miracles to come soon so stay tuned.

Musically Yours,

sondanyr2

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Filed under: Co-ed Vocal Groups, Fifties, Got A Job, Motown/Tamla, Pop/R&B, R&B/Doo-Wop, R&B/Motown, The Miracles, Tyran Carlo (Berry Gordy & Billy Davis) & Smokey Robinson

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