At the start of Motown’s existence, Berry Gordy was looking for artists that caught the eye, particularly if they had something musically that made them stand out. Some of the acts that he signed were experienced, but many were very young. He was good at spotting talent, but quite a few of the early performers cut a single or two and then moved on. Some left the industry altogether. It was a tough environment for younger artists.
Few people have heard of some of the early Motown artists, but even amongst those who only had only one or two singles released, there are some really good performers, such as Hattie Littles. She was born in Shelby, Mississippi, and grew up singing Gospel music. Clarence Paul, one of Motown’s early producers, spotted her in 1962 and brought her to Motown. She recorded a series of tracks from which two were chosen for her first single, “Your Love Is Wonderful” and “Here You Come”, both written and produced by Berry Gordy. The A-side shows off Littles’ voice to good effect; she must have been a fan of Etta James! When the single failed to sell, she gave up plans to be a singing star.
In the 1980s she made a return to the music industry! Ian Levine, the British songwriter, record producer and DJ, was searching for artists to record for his Motorcity label. With help from Motown musician Dave Hamilton, Levine found Littles singing Gospel in Detroit and subsequently released two albums, three singles and a compilation album, finally giving Hattie Littles the chance to shine. She died in Flint, Michigan, in 2000.
Reba Smith was the first White singer to sign for Motown, recording three singles on the Motown label between 1961 and 1962 under the name Debbie Dean. The style of the singles is Doo-Wop, aimed at the Pop market. Like Hattie Littles, she then left Motown and moved to the West Coast..
But, unlike Littles, she returned later as a songwriter with her partner Dennis Lussier, whom she met in 1966 in Los Angeles. Together, they wrote songs for the Supremes, the Four Tops, Martha & the Vandellas and several other of the Motown top acts. Dean was also given another shot at recording, cutting one single on the VIP label in 1968. She died in California in 2001.
The short-lived Miracle label, set up in 1961 and given a name change to Gordy in 1962, released ten singles. Alongside the Temptations’ first two releases, there was Jimmy Ruffin’s first and two from the Valadiers, a White vocal harmony group who achieved Miracle’s only chart entry with “Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)” written by Bateman, Holland and Ronnie Dunbar, which reached number eighty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in 1961. The Valadiers were typical of the acts that Berry Gordy was looking for in 1959. The four members were Stuart Avig (tenor, lead vocals), Marty Coleman (bass/baritone), Art Glasser (second tenor), Jerry Light (bass/baritone) and Gary Frankel, who left the group in 1961. The first three had met at Oak Park High School. They recorded four singles at Motown and toured for a few years, before splitting up. Ian Levine found them too! He recorded one song for Motorcity in 1989.
The five remaining Miracle singles came from the Equadors, Pete Hartfield, Joel Sebastian, Don McKenzie and Freddie Gorman.
Freddie Gorman was still at school when he made his first recording for Josie Records in 1955, singing bass in the Qualitones on “Tears of Love”. In 1957, he set up the Fideletones with his friends Brian Holland and Sonny Sanders. Two years later, when that group split up, he went back to being a postman. It was a job that helped him find his first major success in the music industry, when Brian Holland (who was now a songwriter/producer at Motown) asked for his advice with a song he was writing for the Marvelettes. “Please Mr. Postman” was the song, Motown’s first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in 1961. Gorman continued working with Brian Holland and later Lamont Dozier, until Eddie Holland took his place. After a spell songwriting and recording at Golden World Studio, Motown’s main competitor in Detroit, Gorman returned to Motown as a member of the Originals in 1966. (That story will be told later!).
These four examples give a good insight to Motown in the early days. Young singers came, dreaming of fame and fortune, but only the lucky few made it. Many gave up and moved away from music. Some came back and made their mark as singers. Some became songwriters. Some just disappeared. Amazingly, Ian Levine was able to find and record over a hundred of the artists who had been on the Motown roster.
