Kim Weston was born Agatha Westonin Detroit in 1939. She started performing in church at a very young age and grew up dreaming of becoming a renowned Gospel solo singer. She joined the Wright Specials Gospel group but later left following an internal group dispute in the early sixties, just before the group was signed to Motown’s Gospel Divinity imprint.
It seemed that she had missed the chance to fulfil her dream, but fortune gave her a second chance. She came to Motown in 1962 to demo some songs that a friend had written and found herself singing them to Eddie Holland. That led to the offer of a contract and a suggestion to change her stage name to Kim. The following year saw the release of two singles, the first in February and second in October, on the Tamla label.
“It Should Have Been Me” was written by Mickey Stevenson and Norman Whitfield, with the latter producing the track. It is a big ballad and Weston’s powerful voice is up to the task, but the B-side, “Love Me All The Way”, written and produced by Mickey Stevenson, attracted more attention. The rawness in Weston’s voice is softened here by the backing singers; the impact is still strong but less strident. So, it was the B-side of the original release that took Weston into the charts at her first attempt, with the single reaching number eighty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and number twenty-four on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. It is worth noting that Gladys Knight & the Pips later recorded an excellent version of “It Should Have Been Me” on Motown’s Soul label in 1968.
The second single, “Just Loving You” is a Johnnie Allen/Mickey Stevenson composition, produced by Stevenson. It is a big-band ballad, quite unlike most Motown songs, but clearly written to suit Weston’s big voice. There is an obvious nod to Dinah Washington. The B-side, “Another Train Coming”, is more typical of Motown circa 1963 but neither track disturbed the charts.
When Mary Wells left Motown, Berry Gordy turned to Kim Weston, in an attempt to find a new partner for Marvin Gaye. The new duo’s first single “What Good Am I Without You” was released in September 1964 on the Tamla label. The single charted on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and the Cash Box R&B Singles chart, reaching number sixty-one and number twenty-eight respectively. The song was co-written by Alphonso Higdon and Mickey Stevenson, who also produced the track, and features the Andantes on backing vocals. Gaye and Weston do a good job on the lead vocals, with Weston’s powerful delivery well-suited to the Bluesy arrangement and Gaye singing with feeling and a touch of Soul. The partnership seemed to have a lot of potential.
Kim Weston must have been pleased to get the chance to work with Marvin Gaye, but she started the year focused on building her reputation as a solo artist. Tamla put out two Weston singles in 1964, “Looking for the Right Guy” in August and “A Little More Love” in November. The first was co-written by Smokey Robinson and Ronnie White and produced by Smokey Robinson. It is very much aimed at the Pop market, with an echo of Mary Wells’ “My Guy”. The second was a Mickey Stevenson song, produced by Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It is a swinging ballad that Weston delivers with good control. She is clearly improving, but neither made the charts.
The first of three singles by Kim Weston released in 1965 was “I’m Still Loving You”, co-written by Mickey Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter and Sylvia Moy. The follow-up in April was much better, with Weston switching from Tamla to the Gordy label. It is a ballad that allows Weston to show the power and feeling in her voice, entitled “A Thrill A Moment”. It was written by Stevenson and Hunter, as before, but with input from Weston herself. It was certainly good enough to chart, but failed to do so. As he often did, Berry Gordy turned to Holland, Dozier, Holland to come up with a hit for Weston.
The H-D-H team chose a song that Eddie Holland had recorded in 1964 entitled “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)”. It is essentially a Blues song, given a typical H-D-H make-over. The rhythm section pounds out a bouncy Motown beat, and Mike Terry adds a punchy saxophone, which did the trick. The single reached number fifty on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and number four on the Billboard R&B Singles chart, Weston’s highest ranking so far.
