March 26, 1936: Freddie Parris (The Five Satins) hits the planet and 18 years later forms the group The Five Satins.
The Five Satins are an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1956 million-selling song,
"In the Still of the Night."
Fred Parris is still actively performing occasionally with the Five Satins…
Keep on keepin’ on, Freddie!!!
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Part 2 of MOTOWN 25 includes a segment involving the “Early Songwriters”
The Legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland Team
—This includes Eddie & Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Norman Whitfield, Mickey Stevenson, Harvey Fuqua, Ron Miller talking about the lyrics
—And they even get together to do a rousing rendition of Barret Strong’s “Money”
Part 2 also touches on the choreography as part of “the formula” of success with Motown. Early clips, showing the “steps” by, The Marvelettes, The Miracles, The Vandellas, The Supremes, The Pips, The Jackson 5, The Commodores, and, of course The Temptations and Four Tops (the 1983 line-up of the latter two come out live and have an old fashioned “battle”)
NOTE: The only original or "Classic Five" Temptations performing were Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams
Marvin Gaye was on the show:
Already away from Motown and enjoying his current hit “Sexual Healing” on Columbia Records had agreed at the last minute to join the roster of other Motown legends to perform. When he came on, he played the piano and gave the audience a narrative of black music history before he stepped off the piano and killed with his classic 1971 hit, "What's Going On"--To Thunderous Applause!
Marvin's performance on the show was one of his final national television appearances before his murder a year later in 1984…
Motown 25:
Yesterday, Today, Forever (part 2)
—Check it out!
Parts 3 ~ 6 will be on a later post...
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A 1983 television special to commemorate Motown's twenty-fifth year of existence, even though Motown was founded in January 1959, meaning that a twenty-fifth anniversary special should have aired in 1984, not 1983…
OK, guess it was the anniversary of Berry Gordy's vision of what would become "Hitsville U.S.A."
Regardless, a LOT of great music was aired that night and you can check it all out here…
Smokey Robinson opened the show and introduced Richard Prior
the host
Richard then introduced Smokey and The Miracles segment which included an old clip of the original group doing “Shop Around,” which segued into the group doing it live, then doing abbreviatedversions of “You Really Got a Hold on Me, Tears of a Clown and Going to a Go-Go” as a medley…
Bobby White was absent due to family matters
Dick Clark gave a pretty good “history lesson” on Motown’s impact on American music…
Stevie Wonder’s segment opens with that great old clip of the 13 year old Stevie doing “Fingertips”
In his live part of the program he’s accompanied by his band and his girl group Wonderlove sang several of his greatest hits, including "I Wish", "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours", "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", "My Cherie Amour", "Sir Duke" and others…
—Stevie also sincerely and emotionally gives thanks to Motown and the fans for making it possible for him to make it…
All that, and more, is included in
Motown 25:
Yesterday, Today, Forever (part 1)
—Check it out!
And, this is only Part 1 of a six part series: Coming up later is Part 2 of the show with excerpts from the early songwriters, a bit about all that awesome choreography, a segment with Marvin Gaye and a whole lotta MOTOWN MUSIC…
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Often considered to be a “One Hit Wonder,” over 50 other acts, from Betty Everett to
Amy Winehouse have recorded and made the charts with “Our Day Will Come”—But it certainly wasn’t the only charted hit for Ruby & The Romantics…
"My Summer Love" reached #16 on the Hot 100
Their original version of "Hey There Lonely Boy" climbed to #27
Composed by Van McCoy, the first recording of "When You're Young and in Love" was by Ruby & the Romantics; Released in September 1964, it reached the Top Five in Honolulu but otherwise failed to register strongly in any US market, reaching #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1964.
(The song was remade in 1967 by the Marvelettes, the reaching #23 on the Hot 100 that June; its R&B peak was #9…
(Not one of the Marvelettes' biggest hits either)
Ruby & the Romantics would score one subsequent Hot 100 placing, with "Does He Really Care For Me" which charted at #87…
Ruby & the Romantics were awarded a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1997 and inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2007
As of 2005, Ruby Nash, lead vocalist of Ruby & The Romantics has retired from [Barberton, Ohio] The Salvation Army thrift store…
Not really just a “One Hit Wonder”—But close to it…
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Bo Diddley and Screamin' Jay Hawkins play the second of 7 nights at The Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York City, USA. That’s how it was done in those days...
-- SEVEN nights of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Bo Diddley! Check it out…
Screamin’ Jay most likely opened the show doin’ his 1956 smash hit, “I Put A Spell On You”
(Note: Soon after the release of "I Put a Spell on You", radio disc jockey Alan Freed offered Hawkins $300 to emerge from a coffin onstage. Hawkins accepted and soon created an outlandish stage persona in which performances began with the coffin and included "gold and leopard skin costumes and notable voodoo stage props, such as his smoking skull on a stick – named Henry – and rubber snakes--A lot like this)
But the show wasn’t all about weird theatrics—Well, not all about that anyway... —Screamin’ Jay was at the Apollo in support of his newly released single, “FRENZY”
And also his new and “interesting” release of the Judy Garland hit “You Made Me Love You”
That wonderfully strange act leaves the stage and it’s time for the Bo Diddley Show!!!
--And Bo tore the place up with his latest single “Hey Bo Diddley”
And followed up with “Say Boss Man”
(Another 1957 release which remained in Bo’s shows for years to come)
Reminded everybody of the 1956 release “Pretty Thing”
And certainly blew the crowd away with “Diddy Wah Diddy” —This 1955 release came out of astar-studded recording session: With Willie Dixon on bass, the Moonglows doing the backup vocals, Little Willie Smith on harmonica, and Jody Williams along with Bo on guitar(s)…
Check out the studio version of this one!
Not a bad week at The Apollo!!!
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