Sun, Nov 22, 2009
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Name:
MOTHERSHIP
Comment: Berry Gordy is one piece of work. He could have at least stopped by for a hot minute and said kiss my azz and keep it movin'! Damn.
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Name:
huey
Comment: i've been watching the free press video interviews on detroitnews.com...great stuff.
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Name:
DawnDuhDuh
Comment: A "who's who?" Harpo, who deeze people? That is very jacked that Berry didn't show up to the event. I guess everyone, with the exception of Fakir, got the memo not to show either.
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Name:
MOTHERSHIP
Comment: Dawn, alot of them have passed on, but damn, if the founder ain't care. What? The Velvelettes, Brenda Holloway, a few of them are still around.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: Mothership, Jimmy Ruffin (what becomes of the brokenhearted) is alive and kicking but he seems to never want to be part of anything Motown. It's been said he is very bitter with the way he was treated at Motown. Who knows? Also, Kim Weston is still around as well.
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Name:
STONEY605
Comment: If anyone here ever plan to come visit Detroit you have to go to Hitsville USA i live here and i take all my out of town friends there because just to be in the place where My Girl and all the The Temptaions and all the other Motown Groups hits were made is breath takin.
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Name:
MOTHERSHIP
Comment: NYC, Gladys don't want no part of them either. A few of the Funk Brothers are around, very few, and you know they don't want to be bothered by the way they were treated too. Sad, though.
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Name:
GHank
Comment: Berry did come to Detroit when they changed the name from West Grand Blvd to Berry Gordy Jr Blvd....at least that's what I saw in the Detroit Free Press.
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Name:
GHank
Comment: My best friend went to the Motown Museum and he said it was nothing compared to Stax Museum which he were surprised. I am going to go to Hitsville hopefully in the next year or so. I've been to the Stax Museum and I would recommend anyone to visit.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: Mothership, I forgot about Gladys. I noticed she's not taking part of this either. Nor the Isleys (though Ronnnie is in the big house so that's not even remotely possible). I know there are a few of the funks around but it looks like they have been left out of the loop too. It's always the same old suspects (Smokey, Diana, & Stevie) that are always propped up. Btw, this is just me but Smokey is starting to get on my nerves with the same tired old 'Motown was a big family' schtick. He knows damn well it stopped being one once the dough started rolling in and Motown became prominent.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: Ghank> I went to the Motown Museum and it was alright. The tour took no more than 20 minutes. That place is smaller than I thought it was. I was a little disappointed. But heck, if you want to see where all those hits were made, take the trip.
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Name:
huey
Comment: NYCsoul ---i didnt think the isleys were motown arstist, i thought they were polydore.
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Name:
GHank
Comment: I wonder how Marvin Gaye would feel if he were still alive.
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Name:
GHank
Comment: NYCSoul>>>> Oh...I will go to the Motown Museum and a few other places. Detroit is just a city that I am intrigued about. Have you checked out Stax? It took me about 40 minutes to go through the Stax Museum and at the end, I was in the gift shop for about an hour just looking at stuff, going through the CD's and everything.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: Huey> The Isleys were on Motown for a couple of years in the mid 60s. Remember 'This Old Heart Of Mine'? Then when the Isleys left Motown to create 'It's Your Thing' on their own Teaneck label, Motown sued them. The Isleys won and that was that. Jerry Butler & Chuck Jackson were also signed to Motown at one point but it did nothing to help their careers. My mom still got Jerry's 'I wanna do it to you' on 45. Ha!
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: GHank> I didn't know that Stax had a museum. I would love to go there and check that out. The Motown Museum has a gift shop too. They sell books, CDs, shirts, cups, etc.
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Name:
STONEY605
Comment: GHANK when u do come to Detroit STAY AWAY FROM THE CASINOS we have 4 counting the one in Canada they only give out head crackin.
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: Why does this man not show his face at awards shows and anniversaries? Is something wrong with him? I mean besides the obvious! Anyway congrats motown - we've been around a while and are still looking good!
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Name:
GHank
Comment: STONEY605>>> I won't go (LOL!) I'm not too far from Atlantic City, so I know all there is to know about gambling. I've been meaning to go to Detroit for years. I will definitely go within the next couple of years.
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: 'Ship and NYC the artists that don't show up I don't consider bitter because they all got a raw deal but Smokey was the one that benefited more such that he got way too loyal and delusional. The funk brothers I'm sure were invited but they had to do a documentary to get even a modicum of their due so I don't expect more than a few of them to show anyway. The Jacksons are another group that should be there in their entirety cause they benefited. Motown I can congratulate because of the artists that came through and the music it brought to us and while I take nothing from berry gordy - I ain't giving him nothing. Too many bitter artists for him to have been about a damn thing and he shows it every time he's a no show!
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Name:
Stephanie
Comment: Mothership, I agree! Barry Gordon was nothing but a con. He robbed those people of everything. The majority of the Motown artists got hooked on drugs and often died penniless and they sound those people created and put on the map, there is absolutely no way. I was reading the pananche report on how Diana Ross got mad because Gladys Knight and Pips were performing a decent show and next thing you know, they were called off the tour. I absolutely detest Diana Ross. She was nothing more than a whore that screwed her way to the top. He would get the poorest of the poor because he knew he could wooo them with a few pennies and a nice car to keep them from reading the contract and consulting an attorney. I hope he rots in hell and takes Ms. Ross with him!
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: actually Gladys Knight and the Pips were at Motown for a short period of time, and so was the Isleys. if i'm not mistaken they recorded, "This Old Heart of Mine" on Motown. is this accurate, MOTHERSHIP/NYCSOUL? yall my oldschool librarians, let me know.
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: MOTHERSHIP>do you know by any chance is the Originals still around? ("The Bells" & "Baby I'm For Real") ooh! i tell you, thinking and listening to those songs give me goosebumps! oh! i love it!! *doing move*
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: STEPHANIE>you got that right! to be honest, i really have no respect for berry gordy. i don't care if he was the founder of Motown. and did you read that book by Ramona Gordy? "BERRY, ME, AND MOTOWN" oh hunny! that so in so dogged her out!
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: McNasty> I only pointed to one artist that is said to be bitter. I don't know about anybody else. However, the way the artists who were 'one hit wonders' are treated is pretty wack. They may not have had alot of hits but that's because most of the focus went to the upper tier groups like the Supremes (who really got most of the attention of BG anyway), Smokey & The Miracles (well, Smokey was a VP at Motown from 62 and on), The Four Tops, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye (married to the boss' sister does help) and Stevie Wonder. I have alot of ambivalence about Motown because as much as I'm proud of the fact that this black man was able to create a record company and take black talent to another level, I abhor the way he treated these black acts who believed and trusted him. Some folks don't understand that and think folks are 'hatin' on BG and blame the artists. But BG broke some of those artists spirits and when they finally left Motown, their lives and careers were in ruined. Artists give so much to entertain us yet are often the ones who are used and abused by the industry. And then we wonder why they get strung out on various substances.
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: NYC>oh yeah sweetie. STAX records have a lovely Museum. when the orginal STAX records was torn down, thank goodness they had the blueprints of the old theatre so they rebuilt it and added the music academy to go with it. it's wonderful. i advise that you check out the Documentary which is on DVD, "RESPECT YOURSELF: THE HISTORY OF STAX RECORDS" (go to Netflix.com)
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: NYCSOUL>for real.truly.
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: NYCSOUL>but you know it's interesting the difference between STAX and Motown. at Motown, GB ran that company like he had an iron fist and he controlled all the money each of his performers made and most of them (with the exception of Dianna, and Smokey) got whatever money berry wanted to give to them. but at STAX records, everybody made money, and i think the atmosphere was more relaxed, family like. the problem with STAX was that they made so much money things just started getting out of hand.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: bigchassie> Hey there! I mentioned the Isleys in my post to Huey.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: bigchassie> He controlled Diana's money too. When Diana finally had enough of BG, he took back the 2 luxury cars he gave her. He said it was a 'loan'. When Diana left Motown in '81, it was said that she barely had 6 figures. Diana made more money after Motown than during her tenure there.
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Name:
MOTHERSHIP
Comment: Chassie, a few of The Originals are still around. Gladys never really wanted to go to Motown anyway, they had a vote (her and the Pips) and she was outvoted, that's how they ended up there. Seems Gladys was right after she got there she saw what the deal was and bounced to Buddah. Jr. Walker was too thorugh with them too. That was my man, talk 'bout a sax playin' fool!
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: NYCSOUL>what? dayum! you mean bg even dogged out dianna? his darling of darlings like that? doubbledayum! but i know one somebody who stood up to him and she got her money, and that was Martha Reeves. she had to fight him, but she got her money from berry. in fact, i think she was the first to confront him about sticking to the contractsMOTHER>yeah, girl, i loved me some Jr Walker too. REST HIS SOUL. he was wonderful. but you know i bet if he went to STAX he would have been legend big. Jr Walker had killer talent. you know, i thought so, about Gladys, she didn't like Motown.
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Name:
huey
Comment: NYCsoul---good looking out..forgot all about that history.
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Name:
GHank
Comment: Smokey Robinson was right about one thing....in a small defense to Berry Gordy, a lot of these artist did squander their money away....no different than what you see today. Also, the leeches and the vulchers were out there. There was always someone saying "Hey, I can do this for you..I can do that for you". Someone gets one damn hit and now they are ready for stardom. Mary Wells, for example, really should have stayed at Motown. But in all, I wished Berry and Smokey could have really let the musicians get a piece of the pie like they did at Stax. Booker T, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr and Donald Dunn did better financially than the Funk Brothers did. I read that in the Detroit Free press yesterday.
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: GHANK>yep,you got that right. what they should have done at motown is since they had to take classes in dance and poise and how to talk to the press and all, they also should have had money management courses,too.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: GHank> Granted some of them probably squandered their money but how did they when Motown was controlling their bank accounts? I never forgot what Gladys Knight wrote in her book about how she was charged 1G for a song sheet. When she asked for the song sheet, the money 'mysteriously' was given back to the group. Gladys had her own accountant & lawyer when she & Pips came to Motown. That's another reason why Motown ignored the group; they could not control them like they control the finances of the other artists.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: GHank> BTW, Berry's ex apologized to the artists for having them sign those shoddy contracts so Smokey needs to stuff it. He didn't mentioned the fact that he was the only artist at the time who was allowed to write, produce AND was a vice president at the company. Okay?? Smokey is the least to talk about what other artists did or didn't do.
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Name:
Big10
Comment: I would like to see Michael Moore do a documentary on Motown. Other than that, "Shake Me Wake Me" when it's over.
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Name:
GHank
Comment: NYCSoul>>>> I hear you..Berry did do some (a lot of) shady stuff, but most records excutives do. Leonard Chess did, Jim Stewart did, Ahmet Ertegun, did and many others. And I won't even mention Sean "Puffy Combs. It becomes the beast of the business. You name one record company that didn't have an artist complain about royalities. Even PIR (Gamble and Huff) had artist and producers who complained about how they weren't treated right. But don't get it twisted, Berry ex Raymona was shaddy as hell, too. Smokey was allowed to write and produced because he wrote a lot of hits for a "lot" of people. Everyone at Motown and outside of Motown knew it. Smokey really should have had his own label. I ain't mad at Smokey. Berry was a master at exploiting other people's weakness. He loved competion. Berry said that a million times. And if that person couldn't handle it, then that person got left behind. Simple as that. I'm not saying it's right. But that was the game Berry was playing. Gladys knew what was up...Stevie knew what was up....Marvin knew what was up.
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Name:
blakman
Comment: These people need to quit. Motown is a dead issue with Black America. Especially in Detroit. The very same people and company that abandoned the city for the riches of Hollywood and into the arms of white America. Any celebration is strictly to exploit the current thrist for that old school flavor of the past. So many folks got pimped by Motown that Barry Gordy should be in prison for life. Several are still in the D struggling to put their lives together. Most people claiming Motown these days are doing it in name only. They don't care about the music, its history, or the people that were left behind. So for those indulging themselves in this phony 50 year celebration, have fun. Now that we've had so many years to study Motown and understand what it became, we can officially call it "The Music That Abandoned Black America".
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: GHank> Oh yeah, I know BG's ex was shady but at least, she admitted it. BG wouldn't nor ever will. I do think the artists knew what was up but at the same time, they trusted this man. They understood that he was a black man in a white world trying to give black talent a chance. BG used his blackness as a calling card and always told his artists "I'll take care of you". These artists( particularly the ones that were with him from the beginning) stuck with BG out of loyalty until he shafted them. Or until they realized that their careers were not going anywhere because they began questioning him about his business practices. That's why Gladys Knight left. That's why the Isley Brothers left. That's why the Four Tops left. etc. I don't think it was so much the competition that the acts could not handle. I think they enjoyed it. What they could not deal with is someone betray their trust, business or no business. He may have exploited their weaknesses but he also broke their spirits to the point that some of them turned to drugs and alcohol. I don't think that's cool at all in the larger scheme of things.
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: blakman> You're not alone. I'm not feeling this 50th anniversary thingy at all.
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Name:
TMan
Comment: After I seen The Funk Brothers movie, it made me feel Berry Gordy left all them dudes in the wind to starve, even after all they did. I hope he compensates them retro-back pay for all the bad ways he treated them. Can we say help some brothers out with a Motown Retirement Plan?
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Name:
TMan
Comment: I just happened to watch The Temptations movie this week. Wow.
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Name:
TMan
Comment: The Motown Movie is the movie we need to see next. Not for TV either. the Big screen. If they did comprimise and do it for TV it needs to be on for at least 2 weeks every night to do it justice. Watching Dreamgirls made me cringe in so many spots because of the way they were imitating Motown. The next time they get together all that black talent for a musical, it needs to be for The Motown Movie. I hope we can see that in this lifetime.
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Name:
GHank
Comment: NYCSoul>>>>Everything you said about Berry Gordy is correct as far as his shady business deals are concerned, but at the same time, some of the artists weren't going to do right no matter how much money they made. It's about the decisions you make. Some artists did alright; and the ones who didn't moved on to other record labels and did very well for themselves. Being that I am a musician (a trumpet player), I will always stick up for the Funk Brothers (and other musicans that played at Motown) Berry not only not paid them very well, but he never gave them credit on any of the songs. As everyone knows, Marvin Gaye was the first one who credited the musicians. Maybe some of the artists who thought they were shafted should have done what Bird..and the Midnight Falcons (from the 5 Heartbeats)did. "LISTEN BERRY...I WANT TO TALK ABOUT MY ROYALITES AND YOUR BOOKS!!!!!!!" Can you imagine Berry Gordy dangling David Ruffin out of a window......
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Name:
NYCsoul
Comment: GHank>>LOL!! Well, It would be the other way around because Ruffin DID get in BG's face about the money and instead he got portrayed as a disloyal employee. And we saw what happened with his career. He couldn't leave Motown because of the contract he signed back in the day with BG (I tend to lean to BG's sis since he was signed to her label first). He was a young hungry kid who trusted the Gordys. Martha Reeves, same thing. Started out as a secretary. Everything was going lovely until the Supremes hit and then Martha started questioning BG about the money. Then BG started ignoring her and we all know the rest....I'm not trying to blame BG for everything but I'm not letting him off the hook for some stuff. As much as other record labels did rob some black artists, there were some who attempted to do the right thing. We never heard of Aretha, Dionne or even Lou Rawls getting shafted and they were all signed to white owned labels. What about Stax artists? I never heard they got shafted(I might be wrong about that). So yeah, I know it's a business but I think some folks like BG do it dirty because they know they could get away with it, not only because it was the norm. The Funk Brothers, their situation was a little different but yeah, they got paid but no recognition. BTW, are you currently playing in a band?
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