Post by Queenie on Oct 30, 2005 18:44:47 GMT -5
"The Temptations; Berry Gordy’s First Male Group Keeps Turning Out Hits."
By HELEN ROSENBAUM
NEW YORK - "We’re sick and tired of people saying all records from the Motown organization sound alike. Those who say so either aren’t listening very carefully to the total concept or are envious of the tremendous success of the company. And some people just like to criticize for the sake of criticizing," The Temptations angrily charged during their recent visit here.
The Temptations- Mel[v]in, Eddie, Otis, David and Paul stand united in answering critics of TamlaMotown’s Hitsville, U.S.A.: "The Supremes don’t sound anything like The Four Tops. And the writers of Stevie Wonder’s songs also wrote ‘Shotgun.’ Every writer at Motown is on the ball. They’re all so young and great-always coming up with new ideas all the time. Each is a resource of talent.
"In addition to Holland, Dozier and Smokey Robinson, we have a whole staff of up and coming writers each trying to outdo the next in originality and creativity.
KEEN COMPETITION
"Motown couldn’t coast along making the same records. The competition is too keen. Why, every-time we go back to Detroit there are young cats we’ve never heard of coming up with hits. There’s a lot of friendly competition going around the area. Everyone is striving to be best."
"And Berry Gordy Jr., president of Motown, knows that no group can exist through the years unless it continues to remain exciting. We were the first male group he started with back in 1957. The Supremes were his first girl group; The Miracles, the first coed group."
And cynics, take note. These three pioneer groups with soul have indeed found a permanent place in the hearts and pocketbooks of record buyers.’ Each act has not only solidified its position on the nation’s music charts through consistent hits but continues to grow in musical stature by conquering new entertainment horizons with each passing year.
"Originally, we were to be called The Primes," Melvin explains. "This was when we began singing together in high school and Berry approached us with a contract and the name. Well, we finished school and signed with him as did a girl group a few months later. They were to be called The Primettes-the two groups set to work closely with each other."
Supremes
"Yes," Otis recalls. "Things went so well with both groups that everyone decided the two groups should be independent of each other. Thus, we became The Temptations."
What did the Primettes change their name to?
"The Supremes," grins David.
"We did one record together in the early days," Eddie recalls. The name of it was, ‘Not Now, I’ll Tell You Later,’ but it was never released."
"We record for Berry’s first label -Gordy," the boys say wlth pride. And rightly so. For their success on this once modest label gave impetus to the whole Tamla-Motown empire.
"Our music is a mixture of rhythm and blues, rock and roll and early spirituals as we all started singing in church. But basically, our sound is more rock and roll than R&B. It has more class. We love to sing anything. Even opera," laugh the boys whose string of hits include ‘My Girl,’ ‘The Girl’s Alright With Me,’ ‘The Way You Do The Things You Do’ and their current, ‘Get Ready.’ Albumwise, they’ve scored highly with ‘Meet The Temptations,’ ‘The Temptations’ and their latest, ‘Temptin’ Temptations.’
Re: "The Temptations; Berry Gordy’s First Male Gro
Perfect Pitch
"The boys have perfect pitch. They can harmonize beautifully," exclaims Mrs. Esther Edwards, Berry Gordy’s sister who is vice-president of the huge record complex. Sitting in on the interview, she served as a sort of alter ego to The Temptatlons, saying things about the group that were well deserved, yet would have seemed out of place coming from them. Almost like a press agent.
"Yes, the boys have absolutely amazing pitch," she repeated again. "They don’t need music to sing. C’rnon, boys. Sing. Show her what I mean."
And sing they did. Ten lovely choruses of ‘Old Man River.’ You know what? They do have perfect pitch. Without music, too.
"That’s the old Motown spirit," the fivesome smiled and picked up right where they left off without missing a beat. "Sure we like to joke around. We dance around on stage a lot, too. But our singing always comes first. We take it very seriously.
"We are most interested in broadening our scope," the Motown mainstays assert. "We would like to keep our teen following while branching out into the adult market."
CLUB DATES
"To accomplish this end, The Temptations are doing many club dates around the country," says Esther Edwards. "They’re playing many of the better clubs now. Their real aim is to play New York’s Copacabana. They are also becoming known all over the world now. The boys went over very well on their recent tour of England, Germany and Scandinavia. Especially Germany. Did you know they had a top ten record in Germany just recently? Boys, why don’t you sing a little in German?
This time she didn’t have to coax them a second time.
And lo and behold, there they were. The Temptations singing ‘My Girl’ in German. The result? A truly delightful sound that came out something like ‘Mine Girl.’
"We hope to return for a concert tour of Germany in the spring," says Eddie. "Great," replies Otis. "But I was really hoping we could do a movie by then."
"You’ve been so busy that we have had to turn down offers for an electronovision show and two beach pictures," Mrs. Edwards reminds them.
"A group can’t expect to come through the front door. It has to enter through the back door and with each new success, slowly come one notch closer to being the group we are striving to become," says Melvin in a suddenly pensive mood.
However, in the case of the multi-talented Temptations, there will be no more back doors to success. One revolving door with a big star on it is now on order.
**Was this common executives would sit in on interviews from Motown's groups to ensure children would said correct words?***
By HELEN ROSENBAUM
NEW YORK - "We’re sick and tired of people saying all records from the Motown organization sound alike. Those who say so either aren’t listening very carefully to the total concept or are envious of the tremendous success of the company. And some people just like to criticize for the sake of criticizing," The Temptations angrily charged during their recent visit here.
The Temptations- Mel[v]in, Eddie, Otis, David and Paul stand united in answering critics of TamlaMotown’s Hitsville, U.S.A.: "The Supremes don’t sound anything like The Four Tops. And the writers of Stevie Wonder’s songs also wrote ‘Shotgun.’ Every writer at Motown is on the ball. They’re all so young and great-always coming up with new ideas all the time. Each is a resource of talent.
"In addition to Holland, Dozier and Smokey Robinson, we have a whole staff of up and coming writers each trying to outdo the next in originality and creativity.
KEEN COMPETITION
"Motown couldn’t coast along making the same records. The competition is too keen. Why, every-time we go back to Detroit there are young cats we’ve never heard of coming up with hits. There’s a lot of friendly competition going around the area. Everyone is striving to be best."
"And Berry Gordy Jr., president of Motown, knows that no group can exist through the years unless it continues to remain exciting. We were the first male group he started with back in 1957. The Supremes were his first girl group; The Miracles, the first coed group."
And cynics, take note. These three pioneer groups with soul have indeed found a permanent place in the hearts and pocketbooks of record buyers.’ Each act has not only solidified its position on the nation’s music charts through consistent hits but continues to grow in musical stature by conquering new entertainment horizons with each passing year.
"Originally, we were to be called The Primes," Melvin explains. "This was when we began singing together in high school and Berry approached us with a contract and the name. Well, we finished school and signed with him as did a girl group a few months later. They were to be called The Primettes-the two groups set to work closely with each other."
Supremes
"Yes," Otis recalls. "Things went so well with both groups that everyone decided the two groups should be independent of each other. Thus, we became The Temptations."
What did the Primettes change their name to?
"The Supremes," grins David.
"We did one record together in the early days," Eddie recalls. The name of it was, ‘Not Now, I’ll Tell You Later,’ but it was never released."
"We record for Berry’s first label -Gordy," the boys say wlth pride. And rightly so. For their success on this once modest label gave impetus to the whole Tamla-Motown empire.
"Our music is a mixture of rhythm and blues, rock and roll and early spirituals as we all started singing in church. But basically, our sound is more rock and roll than R&B. It has more class. We love to sing anything. Even opera," laugh the boys whose string of hits include ‘My Girl,’ ‘The Girl’s Alright With Me,’ ‘The Way You Do The Things You Do’ and their current, ‘Get Ready.’ Albumwise, they’ve scored highly with ‘Meet The Temptations,’ ‘The Temptations’ and their latest, ‘Temptin’ Temptations.’
Re: "The Temptations; Berry Gordy’s First Male Gro
Perfect Pitch
"The boys have perfect pitch. They can harmonize beautifully," exclaims Mrs. Esther Edwards, Berry Gordy’s sister who is vice-president of the huge record complex. Sitting in on the interview, she served as a sort of alter ego to The Temptatlons, saying things about the group that were well deserved, yet would have seemed out of place coming from them. Almost like a press agent.
"Yes, the boys have absolutely amazing pitch," she repeated again. "They don’t need music to sing. C’rnon, boys. Sing. Show her what I mean."
And sing they did. Ten lovely choruses of ‘Old Man River.’ You know what? They do have perfect pitch. Without music, too.
"That’s the old Motown spirit," the fivesome smiled and picked up right where they left off without missing a beat. "Sure we like to joke around. We dance around on stage a lot, too. But our singing always comes first. We take it very seriously.
"We are most interested in broadening our scope," the Motown mainstays assert. "We would like to keep our teen following while branching out into the adult market."
CLUB DATES
"To accomplish this end, The Temptations are doing many club dates around the country," says Esther Edwards. "They’re playing many of the better clubs now. Their real aim is to play New York’s Copacabana. They are also becoming known all over the world now. The boys went over very well on their recent tour of England, Germany and Scandinavia. Especially Germany. Did you know they had a top ten record in Germany just recently? Boys, why don’t you sing a little in German?
This time she didn’t have to coax them a second time.
And lo and behold, there they were. The Temptations singing ‘My Girl’ in German. The result? A truly delightful sound that came out something like ‘Mine Girl.’
"We hope to return for a concert tour of Germany in the spring," says Eddie. "Great," replies Otis. "But I was really hoping we could do a movie by then."
"You’ve been so busy that we have had to turn down offers for an electronovision show and two beach pictures," Mrs. Edwards reminds them.
"A group can’t expect to come through the front door. It has to enter through the back door and with each new success, slowly come one notch closer to being the group we are striving to become," says Melvin in a suddenly pensive mood.
However, in the case of the multi-talented Temptations, there will be no more back doors to success. One revolving door with a big star on it is now on order.
**Was this common executives would sit in on interviews from Motown's groups to ensure children would said correct words?***
