A Motown Timeline: 1965
THE ‘GOLDEN RECORD MACHINE’ REVS UP
“I’ve always maintained that Detroiters are just as smart as anyone in, say, Hollywood,” said Berry Gordy. “It’s a great feeling that we are experiencing. Some of these artists would be waiting on tables somewhere if there hadn’t been a place in Detroit to recognise their talents.”
The Motown founder was speaking to a local journalist, Van Gordon Sauter, during the early weeks of 1965, as his young enterprise began to attract significant media attention beyond the Motor City. By then, the Supremes had garnered their third consecutive Number One hit in the United States, and the Temptations were on track to score their first.
The Supremes (and the boss) in the Snakepit, January 1965 (photo: Detroit News)
So it was little wonder that, when published, the Detroit Free Press article was accompanied by a striking, imaginative illustration of Gordy’s “Golden Record Machine.” And just a few weeks later, the Supremes were pictured on the front cover of Time, the influential national newsweekly.
Evidently, 1965 was shaping up to be Motown’s most impressive year to date. A widely-circulated Associated Press report in May noted that in ’64, the firm had grossed some $10 million. For the new year, the revenue target was $12 million (the equivalent of some $116 million today) in sales at home and abroad.
A few other stats surfaced. Each of the Supremes “got a cool $100,000 check” in royalties from sales for the previous six months, according to the AP story. The Detroit Free Press added that one of Motown’s (unidentified) “creative people” had received a $24,000 royalty payment for a similar period. “Berry Gordy,” wrote Sauter, “is so wealthy he won’t talk about it.”
And so to a more detailed summary of Motown’s progress in 1965. Right here, this round-up of events and achievements is subjective rather than exhaustive, meant to convey a flavour of the year as experienced by the music makers and backroom believers of West Grand. It’s divided into three sections: the first, a chronological run-down of significant dates during those 12 months, followed by examples of the year’s notable singles and album releases.
To emphasise, again, these tabulations are selective, not complete (after all, Motown released more than 70 singles in the course of the year). and just intended as illustrations of the company’s output. If a 45 or album topped the Billboard R&B or pop charts – or both – that entry is shown in bold-face italics.
Among those singles listed are Marv Johnson’s return to Motown after his United Artists years; an early Jimmy Webb composition (when he was signed to Jobete Music) as cut by Hal Davis, alias Danny Day; and the first Motown 45 by a Frenchman, Richard Anthony. The albums shown include the company’s first film soundtrack, Nothing But A Man, and one by ventriloquist Willie Tyler, who often MC’ed the Motortown Revue.
What’s not listed? The Billboard chart peaks of singles and albums – too much information! – which didn’t make Number One, nor the burgeoning number of TV appearances by Motown acts. Also absent are studio recording dates of the various releases identified below. For those and more, you need to access the singular content of Don’t Forget The Motor City, a mandatory destination for every Motown fan, casual or certifiable. Now, to begin…
MOTOWN I965
January 2: Marvin Gaye performs “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” on American Bandstand’s New Year’s Show.
January 16: The Supremes’ “Come See About Me” returns to the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 for a second time (the first was four weeks earlier).
January 24: The Supremes feature prominently in the Detroit Free Press’ new Sunday Magazine, and are described as “three Detroit girls who are probably better known in England than they are in Detroit.”
January 28: The Temptations record “My Girl” vocals in German (“Mein Girl”) at Hitsville, with Berry Gordy producing. In December, this version is released as a single in (West) Germany by CBS Records.
January 30: Billboard reinstates its R&B singles and LP charts, with the Temptations’ “My Girl” and the Supremes’ Where Did Our Love Go at the top of each, respectively.
February 15: Motown announces the signing of veteran vocalist Billy Eckstine. His album, The Prime Of My Life, is released in November.
February 19: Marvin Gaye opens a ten-night stand at Detroit’s 20 Grand, supported by Kim Weston and the Spinners.
February 24: The Supremes introduce their iconic “Stop! In The Name Of Love” choreography on ABC-TV’s Shindig! Dance master Cholly Atkins joins Motown later this year to help prep the trio for their Copacabana debut.
March 4: Motown acquires the house at 2656 West Grand Boulevard for additional workspace, as the company’s business expands.
March 9: The Temptations arrive in London for TV and radio promotional appearances, including Ready Steady Go! and the BBC’s Top Gear radio programme.
March 19: The first six Tamla Motown singles are released in Britain by EMI Records as it introduces the label there; the opener is the Supremes’ “Stop! In The Name Of Love.” The company hosts a launch party at its London headquarters.
March 20: The “Tamla Motown Show” opens its 21-date U.K. tour at London’s Finsbury Park Astoria, headlined by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and featuring Stevie Wonder, Martha & the Vandellas and the Supremes, backed by the Earl Van Dyke Six. Guest star is Georgie Fame; tour manager is Booker Bradshaw.
March 21: The Detroit Free Press documents Motown’s success and growth in a report by Van Gordon Sauter, complete with illustrator Susan Bolt’s depiction of its “Golden Record Machine.”
April 13: Having completed all its U.K. dates, the Motown tour package plays Paris. “It’s really wonderful being here,” Smokey Robinson tells the Olympia Music Hall audience. “I only wish I could speak French, so that I could let you know how wonderful it is.”
April 13: At the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, the Supremes’ “Baby Love” loses out to Nancy Wilson’s “How Glad I Am” as Best R&B Recording. Later in the year, “Stop! In The Name Of Love,” the Temptations’ “My Girl” and Jr. Walker & the All Stars’ “Shotgun” are nominated for the ’65 honours.
April 23: Mary Wilson of the Supremes admits the Tamla Motown tour of the U.K. was “a flop.” She tells Alan Smith of the New Musical Express, “What’s the use of denying it?” and adds that “the show was too specialised for British audiences.”
April 28: The Sound of Motown one-hour special is broadcast across the U.K. commercial TV network, with star host Dusty Springfield and performances by Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, Martha & the Vandellas, the Miracles and the Supremes.
April 29: Motown announces the signing of Tammi Terrell, on her 20th birthday. Her debut single, “I Can’t Believe You Love Me,” follows in November.
May 16: One of Berry Gordy’s earliest national media interviews is syndicated by Associated Press. “We have a sound that’s a little different than anybody else’s,” he tells reporter Peter Hoffman. “We have that ‘sincere feeling.’ ”
May 21: The Supremes are pictured on the cover of Time magazine as part of its “Rock ’n’ Roll: The Sound of the Sixties” feature. “Next to the Mersey sound,” the newsweekly reports, “the ‘Motown sound’ currently dominates the rock ‘n’ roll market.”
May 22: Britain’s Tamla Motown Appreciation Society holds a reception for the Four Tops at The Bear and Ragged Staff pub in Crayford, south of London, during the quartet’s U.K. promotional visit. Three weeks later, the fan club does something similar for the Marvelettes, as they complete a round of radio and TV appearances.
June 18: Marlene Barrow of the Andantes substitutes for Florence Ballard at the Supremes’ performance at a debutante party in upscale Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
June 24: The latest Motortown Revue continues to traverse the U.S., and this night plays the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The show features Marvin Gaye, Martha & the Vandellas, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, the Four Tops, Brenda Holloway and the Contours, all backed by Choker Campbell’s band. Tickets are $2, $2.50 and $3.
June 26: A front-page Billboard advertisement is thought to mark the first time Motown has used “The Sound of Young America” as its corporate slogan. (The company’s previous trade-press ads declared, “Hits Are Our Business.”)
June 28: The Supremes, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye are among the half-dozen Motown names appearing on disc jockey Murray The K’s It’s What’s Happening, Baby! special on CBS-TV.
July 1: Nine Motown acts are set to appear on Detroit’s Belle Isle at a free, “Americans In Harmony” concert, but trouble breaks out in the crowd and the show is scrapped after an hour.
July 5: Berry Gordy appears on popular TV game show To Tell The Truth, in which a “celebrity” panel has to guess the identity of the programme’s famous guest (in this case, they fail).
July 24: Loucye Wakefield Gordy, one of Berry’s siblings, dies of a cerebral haemorrhage at Detroit’s Sinai Hospital, at age 40. Wakefield oversaw key aspects of Motown’s distribution and accounting during its early years.
July 25: According to Variety magazine, Associated Booking Corp. chief Joe Glaser has offered Motown a non-exclusive recording deal with Louis Armstrong.
July 29: The Supremes open their much-anticipated, three-week booking at New York’s Copacabana nightclub, and the run is recorded for later album release. “We had heard of their great ‘in person’ ability,” declares Billboard. “Now we have seen it. If you get the chance, catch the Supremes in person.”
July 31: Billboard reports that Connie Haines is newly signed to Motown. The former big band singer has one single released in 1966. She also cuts the first recording of “For Once In My Life,” unissued until 2015.
August 4: An internal memorandum updates the list of Motown employees who hold company keys. Aside from the obvious, those with “masters” include Mike McLean, Don Foster, Edward Pollock, James Nyx and (who?) Sylvia Lee.
August 13: Motown reports that the Supremes have taped “Things Are Changing,” a song for use in a government-backed, equal-opportunity employment campaign. It was written by Phil Spector, and also cut by the Blossoms and Jay & the Americans.
August 15: Brenda Holloway opens for the Beatles at their historic Shea Stadium show in New York, to an audience of approximately 55,000.
August 19: Motown announces the signing of film and TV actor Jack Soo, with Variety noting that he becomes “the seventh Hollywood personality to ink with the Detroit-based label in recent months.” (Nothing is ever released on Soo.)
August 28: Motown has ten titles on the Billboard Hot 100, including one in the Top 5 (“It’s The Same Old Song”) and three climbing the Top 20 (“Nothing But Heartaches,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” “The Track Of My Tears”). Also on the chart are Jr. Walker & the All Stars, Martha & the Vandellas, the Spinners, the Contours, the Marvelettes and Stevie Wonder.
September 11: The Supremes’ growing popularity is profiled by Associated Press, as Diana Ross tells reporter Bob Thomas, “We all bought houses for our parents, but otherwise the money goes right in the bank. You never know when the whole thing will blow over.”
October 2: The Supremes appear at Holland’s Grand Gala du Disque awards in Amsterdam. Berry Gordy accompanies the group on this overseas trip.
October 9: Frank Wilson records “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” at Harmony Recorders in Los Angeles, with English jazzman Victor Feldman among the session players.
October 10: The Supremes perform “You’re Nobody ’Til Somebody Loves You” on The Ed Sullivan Show, their second appearance on the CBS-TV Sunday night programme.
November 20: Smokey Robinson & the Miracles perform on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, with “Going To A Go-Go” included in their set.
November 24: Motown announces the signing of the Isley Brothers, and within days, the trio record their vocals for “This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)” at Hitsville.
December 5: Martha & the Vandellas appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing “Dancing In The Street.” The following Sunday, Barbara McNair appears on the programme, singing “For Once In My Life.”
December 14: Motown is reported to be closing its Los Angeles office until a replacement for departing manager Marc Gordon is found. He joined in 1963.
December 17: Brian Holland is named a vice president of Motown, according to a company announcement on this date. He continues as its head of “creative evaluation.”
December 25: Seven Hitsville acts – the Supremes, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Miracles, Martha & the Vandellas and Stevie Wonder – are occupying the final Billboard Hot 100 of 1965. Two of the hits, “Don’t Look Back” and “Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things),” are flipsides.
December 31: It’s the last night of the Motortown Revue’s annual, week-long Christmas/New Year’s show. The line-up is Stevie Wonder, Martha & the Vandellas, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, Chris Clark and Tammi Terrell. Earlier, headliner Marvin Gaye is taken ill, to be replaced by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
Susan Bolt’s “Golden Record Machine” illustration, published in the Detroit Free Press on March 21, 1965
SELECTED SINGLES (by release date)
January 5: The Four Tops, “Ask The Lonely,” Motown 1073
January 14: Jr. Walker & the All Stars, “Shotgun,” Soul 35008 (#1 R&B*, #4 Hot 100)
February 5: Martha & the Vandellas, “Nowhere To Run,” Gordy 7039
February 8: The Supremes, “Stop! In The Name Of Love,” Motown 1074
February 9: Brenda Holloway, “When I’m Gone,” Tamla 54111
February 26: Marvin Gaye, “I’ll Be Doggone,” Tamla 54112 (#1 R&B, #8 Hot 100)
March 5: The Miracles, “Ooo Baby Baby,” Tamla 54113
April 15: The Supremes, “Back In My Arms Again,” Motown 1075 (#1 R&B, #1 Hot 100)
April 23: The Four Tops, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” Motown 1076 (#1 R&B, #1 Hot 100)
May 11: The Marvelettes, “I’ll Keep Holding On,” Tamla 54116
May 28: Marv Johnson, “Why Do You Want To Let Me Go,” Gordy 7142
June 4: The Spinners, “I’ll Always Love You,” Motown 1078
June 4: Danny Day, “This Time Last Summer,” V.I.P. 25019
June 23: The Miracles, “The Tracks Of My Tears,” Tamla 54118
July 1: The Temptations, “Since I Lost My Baby,” Gordy 7043
August 20: Richard Anthony, “I Don’t Know What To Do,” V.I.P. 25022
September 2: Kim Weston, “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While),” Gordy 7046
September 14: Marvin Gaye, “Ain’t That Peculiar,” Tamla 54122 (#1 R&B, #8 Hot 100)
October 6: The Supremes, “I Hear A Symphony,” Motown 1083 (#1 Hot 100, #2 R&B)
November 15: Tammi Terrell, “I Can’t Believe You Love Me,” Motown 1086
November 22: Stevie Wonder, “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” Tamla 54124 (#1 R&B, #3 Hot 100)
November 26: The Marvelettes, “Don’t Mess With Bill,” Tamla 54126
December 2: Chris Clark, “Do Right Baby, Do Right,” V.I.P. 25031
December 12: The Miracles, “Going To A’ Go-Go,” Tamla 54127
December 31: The Elgins, “Darling Baby,” V.I.P. 25029
SELECTED ALBUMS (by release date)
January 21: Four Tops, Motown 622 (#1 R&B*, #63 pop)
January 21: Marvin Gaye, How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You, Tamla 258
February 22: The Supremes Sing Country, Western & Pop, Motown 625
March 22: The Temptations Sing Smokey, Gordy 912 (#1 R&B, #35 pop)
March 22: The Miracles, Greatest Hits From The Beginning, Tamla 254
April 12: Martha & the Vandellas, Dance Party, Gordy 915
April 12: The Supremes, We Remember Sam Cooke, Motown 629
April 26: Various, Nothing But A Man (film soundtrack), Motown 630
May 31: Jr. Walker & the All Stars, Shotgun, Soul 701 (#1 R&B, #108 pop)
July 23: More Hits By The Supremes, Motown 627
November 1: Marvin Gaye, A Tribute To The Great Nat King Cole, Tamla 261
November 1: Various, The Motortown Revue Live In Paris, Tamla 264
November 1: Willie Tyler & Lester, Hello Dummy!, Tamla 265
November 1: Billy Eckstine, The Prime Of My Life, Motown 632
November 1: Four Tops, Second Album, Motown 634
November 1: The Supremes At The Copa, Motown 636
November 1: The Supremes, Merry Christmas, Motown 638
November 1: The Temptations, Temptin’ Temptations, Gordy 914 (#1 R&B, #11 pop)
*chart peak on the Cash Box R&B charts, prior to Billboard reinstating its R&B charts
Grateful notes: the sources of the above information are many, but several deserve mention, including Billboard, Laurent Bendele’s Go For Your Dreams website, the late Al Abrams’ Hype & Soul! memoir, and, of course, the remarkable content of The Complete Motown Singles. The material from that CD series will be used by researchers and historians for years to come, a tribute to TCMS sages Harry Weinger and Keith Hughes. But if anything obvious – or essential – is missing from the listings above, that’s my responsibility. Get in touch if you see anything egregious 😉