The Originals were formed in 1966 as a vocal quintet, whose members were Freddie Gorman (who had been at Motown in the early days), Walter Gaines, Hank Dixon, Joe Stubbs (Levi’s brother) and C.P. Spencer. Given Gorman’s links to Motown, it is no surprise that the group was hired by Berry Gordy to sing backing vocals, often alongside the Andantes. Between 1966 and 1969, they must have sung on dozens of hits, but, of course, they went uncredited, just like the session musicians. It is known, however, that were certainly involved in the recording of “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”, “For Once In My Life” and “Chained”.
In 1966, they had been given the opportunity to record a single of their own. The chosen track was “Goodnight Irene”, Leadbelly’s famous song, which the Originals perform as a slow, funky ballad. The B-side is an excellent Soul composition, written by Clarence Paul (the producer) and Marvin Gaye, entitled “Need Your Lovin’ (Want You Back). Joe Stubbs takes the lead vocal and the group does a first-rate job. Despite that, the single failed to take off and Joe Stubbs left. The group continued as a quartet, but three years went by without any new releases.
Then, in 1969, they got another chance. In fact, they got several. Three singles by the Originals were issued on the Soul label during 1969, followed by an album in November. “You’re The One”, co-written by producer Ivy Jo Hunter, Marvin Gaye, Anna Gordy Gaye and Kenny Stover, appeared in January, backed by the Holland, Dozier, Holland composition “We’ve Got A Way Out Love”. The A-side is a slow, romantic ballad, very different from the 1966 single but not very original! The H-D-H song is much more interesting with multi-layered harmonies that show just how good the group could be.
That was followed in June by “Green Grow The Lilacs”, written by Ron Miller, who produced the song with Tom Baird. Strangely, it was backed by “You’re The One”, the January release, which probably contributed to the poor sales of both singles.
Then in August, Marvin Gaye took over the reins. He had had a hand in the Originals’ earlier recordings, but now he and his wife Anna Gordy came up with a song, “”Baby I’m For Real”, which Gaye produced too, along with Richard Morris. Just to make sure that everything would go well, Paul Riser arranged the song, adding a quality that made people stop and listen. The opening is simple but beautiful. The whole production oozes old-fashioned class. The single sailed up the charts, peaking at number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and hitting number one on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, selling over a million (unregistered!) copies. It was a special year for the Originals and for Marvin Gaye!
To take advantage of this unexpected success, Soul put out an album by the group in November, entitled “Green Grow The Lilacs”. It seems strange to take the title from one of the singles that didn’t sell well rather than one that did. Sure enough, Motown had second thoughts. Within days, the album was renamed “Baby, I’m For Real” and that was enough to take it into the charts, number one hundred and seventy-four on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, but a creditable number eighteen on the Billboard R&B Albums Chart. The album contains the five songs from the singles, plus seven more, including three with input from Freddie Gorman, with a hint of Doo-Wop.
