A Motown Timeline: 1959
RAISING THE CURTAIN, NAVIGATING THE ICE — AND MOVING INTO HITSVILLE
“Pay attention to fundamentals, basic matters,” advised astrologer Rita Del Mar in the Detroit Free Press on January 12, 1959. “Recheck papers.”
The counsel was for those born under the star sign of Sagittarius, among whom was Berry Gordy, Jr. On that particular Monday, the fundamental which needed his attention was the family meeting about loaning him sufficient money to launch Tamla Records. When they agreed to do so, Gordy was all set for the astrologer’s next-day suggestion: “Focus your mind on business at hand.”
In Motown history, there is no more significant date than this one, 65 years ago today. Of course, the components of the company’s lift-off were already in place, including the two minutes of music to be released as Tamla 101, but without the Ber-Berry Co-Op’s $800 loan, how differently might things have played out?
That master pick-up by United Artists
On an alternate timeline, would Marv Johnson’s “Come To Me” have made it to market, then impressed United Artists Records enough to merit its master pick-up a few weeks later, complete with $3,000 advance – which at a stroke changed the balance sheet of Gordy’s barely-born business?
To be strictly accurate, “barely-born” applies to the creation of Tamla Records. Its founder and those close to him had already been in the music industry for some considerable time, including Roquel “Billy” Davis (aka Tyran Carlo), Smokey Robinson and Raynoma Liles. Gordy and Davis had been successfully writing songs for Jackie Wilson since 1957; their material had also been recorded by a variety of other artists, with Gordy producing in some cases; and he and his wife-to-be, “Miss Ray,” had formed and been operating Rayber Music, recording young Detroit hopefuls and helping to put their talent into circulation, for a price.
The environment in which the new label began was challenging enough – and that’s not even counting the icebound roads which Gordy and Robinson had to navigate to collect first copies of Tamla 101 from American Record Pressing, 50 miles north of Detroit. The record and radio industries were soon to be enveloped by a payola scandal, while many influencers in the business were still bound by pre-rock & roll preferences and habits. R&B acts were crossing over to the pop market with increased regularity, but broadcasters were slow to acknowledge such integration.
A leading Detroit rock & roll disc jockey, Ed (“Jack the Bellboy”) McKenzie, was among those who blew the whistle on payola nationally in 1959. Later, the city’s Cosnat Distributing (Atlantic Records was among its clients) was accused of the practice by the Federal Trade Commission. Also locally in the first quarter of the year, music executive Harry Balk was arrested in a bizarre fraud case involving newspaper puzzle contests. (He discovered and managed Little Willie John, and later worked for Motown.)
RAY CHARLES LENDS A HELPING HAND
More positively, rock & roll package tours were on the upswing, with black acts as attractive to promoters as their Caucasian cousins. The “Biggest Show of Stars,” for one, hit the road profitably in the south that spring, featuring Lloyd Price, Clyde McPhatter, the Crests, Bo Diddley, the Coasters and Little Anthony & the Imperials.
Berry Gordy already understood the appeal of such multi-act shows. Just three days after United Artists shipped “Come To Me” nationwide, he booked Marv Johnson, the Miracles, Mable John and Eddie Holland into Inkster’s Melody Theatre for two nights. The Miracles were often on the road that year: in October, they played New York’s Apollo on a bill featuring Ray Charles, where Smokey Robinson later said the headliner personally helped the group to professionalise their arrangements for a demanding audience.
That historic loan document, at six percent
If the January release of “Come To Me” as Tamla 101 was a personal and professional milestone for Gordy, it was hardly his first. As 1959 dawned, Jackie Wilson’s “Lonely Teardrops” (authored by Gordy with Roquel Davis) ruled the Billboard R&B rankings – the songwriters’ first such chart-topper, and their first Top 10 pop success. Wilson would go on to have two more Top 10 R&B hits that year with their work: “That’s Why (I Love You So)” and “I’ll Be Satisfied.”
Other milestones came soon enough. After Gordy acquired and moved into 2648 West Grand Boulevard that summer, Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)” became one of the first tracks cut in the converted basement studio.
As his team settled into the optimistically-named “Hitsville U.S.A.,” Gordy issued singles by the Miracles, the Satintones and Eugene Remus, and added Motown to his label brands. (Motown Records wasn’t officially incorporated until the following year.) Beginning to take shape, too, was a consistent coterie of musicians, including pianist Joe Hunter, saxman “Beans” Bowles, drummer Benny Benjamin and bassist James Jamerson.
By this point, Roquel Davis and Gordy’s sister, Gwen, had also set up their own label, Anna, with national distribution by Chess Records – the result of Davis’ earlier links to the Chicago firm. So, with positive Detroit airplay for Tamla 101 leading to enthusiasm at radio stations elsewhere in the nation, Gordy opted to license it to Anna during the final weeks of ’59.
The year closed with “Money (That’s What I Want)” promising national success and sales – and in the event, the 45 spun all the way to No. 2 on the industry’s R&B charts and into the upper reaches of the Billboard and Cash Box pop listings. Yet in retrospect, the Hitsville U.S.A. founder complained that he earned “less from the whole country” than from the handful of independent distributors with which he dealt directly. “On my next record,” Gordy declared in his autobiography, “I knew I had to go for it by myself – national all the way.”
Moreover, astrologer Rita Del Mar had relevant recommendations for him on the first day of 1960. “Keep busy; make progress,” she advised. “Better finances.”
Now, to the detail. Below is an account of 1959, subjective rather than exhaustive, to convey its flavour at the hands of Berry Gordy’s music makers and backroom believers. It’s divided into two sections: the first, a chronological run-down of significant dates during those 12 months, followed by examples of the year’s notable singles. All the 45s issued on the Tamla and Motown labels during the company’s first 12 months are listed, plus selected tracks produced by Gordy but licensed elsewhere. In some cases, precise release dates are unknown.
MOTOWN 1959
January 11: Jackie Wilson plays a one-nighter at Detroit’s Graystone Ballroom, backed by Arnett Cobb & his Orchestra. Little Willie John is a supporting act.
January 12: The Ber-Berry Co-Op agrees to make an $800 loan to Berry Gordy, Jr., with the interest rate set at six percent on the two-year arrangement.
February: Five songs by Berry Gordy and Roquel Davis are on Jackie Wilson’s newly-released Lonely Teardrops album, and one by Gwen Gordy and Janie Bradford, “The Joke (Is Not On Me).”
February 15: Jackie Wilson’s “Lonely Teardrops” reaches its No. 7 peak on the Billboard Hot 100, with a total of five weeks in the Top 10. It rules the R&B charts for seven weeks.
February 16: According to Billboard, United Artists Records has acquired “Come To Me” by Marv Johnson from Tamla Records, “a Detroit label.” Several covers of the song are due, reports the trade weekly.
Ruling the R&B roost
February 21: Marv Johnson, the Miracles, Mable John and Eddie Holland play two shows at Inkster’s Melody Theatre, hosted by WCHB disc jockey Joltin’ Joe Howard. Norris Patterson leads the band.
February 25: During a ceremony at New York’s Pierre Hotel, Berry Gordy, his sister Gwen and Roquel (Tyran Carlo) Davis receive “Citations of Achievement” songwriter awards for “To Be Loved” from performing rights society BMI.
March 9: Billboard reports on the proliferation of new labels nationwide, including House of Beauty (HOB) Records, based in Detroit. Among its first 45s, “I Need You” by Herman Griffin is written and produced by Berry Gordy.
April 11: In the Cash Box regional record reports, Marv Johnson’s “Come To Me” is No. 2 in Atlanta and No. 4 in New Orleans. Nationally, it climbs this week to No. 37 on the trade paper’s Top 100.
May: A teenage Al Abrams is hired by Berry Gordy to promote songs published by Jobete Music. Later, he moves into publicity and press relations at Motown.
June 10: Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson headline a concert at Chattanooga’s Memorial Auditorium, with Marv Johnson and the Pips among other acts on the bill.
June 25: Kerry Gordy is born in Detroit to Berry Gordy and Raynoma Liles. He is Gordy’s fourth child.
July 17: Billie Holiday dies of heart failure and pulmonary edema in New York, at age 44.
August 1: Cash Box reviews Chess Records’ release of the Miracles’ “Bad Girl” as a Best Bet, noting the “rock-a-ballad” has a “strong lead voice (with Billy Storm inflections).”
August 2: With a $3,000 deposit, Berry Gordy buys 2648 West Grand Boulevard for $25,000. He begins converting the garage into a recording studio with two-track equipment acquired from Detroit DJ Bristoe Bryant.
A trade press plug, a decent gamble
August 3: The Miracles and Eddie Holland perform at an “Emancipation Celebration” concert and dance at the Windsor Arena. Headlining is Count Basie & His Orchestra; also on the bill are LaVern Baker and Bobby Day.
August 5-6: Berry Gordy produces Marv Johnson’s recording of “You Got What It Takes,” which is released by United Artists later that same month.
October 2: Ray Charles headlines a week’s worth of shows at New York’s Apollo Theater, with the Miracles among the supporting acts. Also on the bill are the 5 Royales and Dee Clark.
October 12: The Miracles’ “Bad Girl” peaks at No. 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the second of its two weeks on the chart.
October 26: Marv Johnson performs “You Got What It Takes” on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand TV show.
November 7: William Robinson, Jr. and Claudette Annette Rogers are married at Detroit’s Warren Avenue Baptist Church. Raynoma Gordy is one of the bridesmaids.
December 13: Barney Ales, Berry Gordy’s future head of sales and promotion, attends Warner Bros. Records’ national marketing meeting in Los Angeles. He is the label’s district sales manager in Detroit.
December 27: At St. Louis’ Kiel Opera House, local DJ Dave Dixon presents a “Christmas Shower of Stars and Teenage Talent Revue,” starring Barrett Strong, Eddie Holland and Johnny & Jackie. Advance tickets are 90 cents.
SELECTED SINGLES (by release date)
January: Wade Jones, “I Can’t Concentrate,” Rayber 1001
January 21: Marv Johnson, “Come To Me,” Tamla 101
February: Eddie Holland, “Merry-Go-Round,” Tamla 102
February 18: Marv Johnson, “Come To Me,” United Artists 160
February 23: Frances Burnett, “Come To Me,” Coral 62092
April: Barrett Strong, “Let’s Rock,” Tamla 54021
April: Chico Leverett, “Solid Sender,” Tamla 54024
April: The Voice Masters, “Hope And Pray,” Anna 101
May: Herman Griffin & the Rayber Voices, “I Need You,” HOB 112
May 18: Eddie Holland, “Merry-Go-Round,” United Artists 172
June: The Swinging Tigers, “Snake Walk (Part 1),” Tamla 54024
June: Ron & Bill, “It,” Tamla 54025
July: The Satintones, “Going To The Hop,” Tamla 54026
August: Barrett Strong, “Money (That’s What I Want),” Tamla 54027
August: Nick & the Jaguars, “Ich-I-Bon #1,” Tamla 5501
August 21: Marv Johnson, “You Got What It Takes,” United Artists 185
September: The Miracles, “Bad Girl,” Motown G1
September: The Miracles, “The Feeling Is So Fine,” Tamla 54028
September 27: The Miracles, “Bad Girl,” Chess 1734
October: The Satintones, “My Beloved,” Motown 1000
October: Eugene Remus, “You Never Miss A Good Thing,” Motown 1001
October 26: Ron & Bill, “It,” Argo 5350
October 26: Eddie Holland, “Because I Love Her,” United Artists 191
Source notes: the data above derives from any number of places, digital and physical, but deserving of mention and gratitude are, of course, the liner notes of The Complete Motown Singles series, plus articles in years past by Nick Brown (in Record Collector) and Chris Jenner (Yesterday Today Forever). And there’s always more to know…