Hot Wax and Honey-Sweet Hits
ALL NIGHT AND ALL DAY IN A ‘DUNGEON’
Greg Perry never went back for the money.
It was one day in 1968, and the 20-year-old singer/songwriter was looking for a deal at Motown’s Jobete Music. “I met with George Gordy,” he once told me, “and I went to his office. I had about ten songs that they loved. They wanted me to sign right there, on the spot, and they were going to give me a $10,000 signing fee.”
That was attractive for a very specific reason: Perry’s Chevrolet Corvair had just broken down, and so how else was he going to get around Detroit, never mind get back to his home state of Illinois?
Edna Wright and Greg Perry (photo courtesy of Sidney Saunders)
Still, there was something about the proposal which bothered him. “I had written all these songs by myself,” he said, “and they were going to give me a third of the writer’s share, and two-thirds were going to go to [Jobete]. I could not see that. I had written the whole song, and [the contract] didn’t seem fair to me. So I said, ‘Let me go to lunch, and when I get back, I’ll talk to you guys.’ ”
Those vivid recollections – and what happened next – come to mind at a melancholy moment: this day, April 21, when Perry is remembered, celebrated and laid to rest in the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. He died in Los Angeles on March 15, at age 75.
Gregory Stephen Perry was among the most successful songwriters of his generation, a key member of the creative team built by Holland/Dozier/Holland after they quit Motown and set up their own hit-making shop in Detroit. His copyrights there included three of the six, gold-certified singles released by the Hot Wax and Invictus labels in 1970-71: the Honey Cone’s “Want Ads” and “Stick-Up,” and Freda Payne’s “Bring The Boys Home.”
He produced them, too, as well as co-authoring such as other jewels as “Wedlock Is A Padlock” by Laura Lee, “Somebody’s Been Sleeping (In My Bed)” by 100 Proof (Aged In Soul),” and “Pay To The Piper” by the Chairmen of the Board. To boot, “Want Ads” was the H/D/H labels’ only Number One on the Billboard and Cash Box pop charts. (Such accomplishments led me to interview him for The Billboard Book of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits.)
But back to that day in ’68, when Greg Perry was weighing whether to put his talents into the hands of Berry Gordy’s business, unattractive contractual terms and all. It helped that he had an uncle already familiar with the habits of Hitsville: Robert Bateman, co-writer of Motown’s first pop Number One, “Please Mr. Postman.” Moreover, Perry had gotten to know Brian Holland, who by that time was heading for the exit at 2648 West Grand with brother Eddie and Lamont Dozier. “My uncle got Brian in the business, so I went to Brian, and he said, ‘Hey, that’s not fair, you don’t have to give them any writer’s share, and blah-blah-blah.’ ” Next, Perry was introduced to Jeffrey Bowen, handling business affairs for post-Motown H/D/H, and recruited to the new team. “From then on, I just got another car.”
FROM SIX TO FIVE
Born (on January 21, 1948) and raised in Alton, Illinois, Perry appears to have shown an interest in music at an early age, learning the piano and joining a vocal group at the city’s East Junior High. As a teenager, he was signed to Chess Records by A&R chief Billy Davis and cut a single, “Head Over Heels (In Love),” issued in early 1968.
“They had a little, two-track room in the back of Chess, and [Davis] allowed me to go back there and work anytime I wanted to. I was there at six o’clock in the morning until five the next morning. I literally slept there.” In particular, Perry said, he learned from house guitarist Phil Upchurch. “He worked on all the demos I did, and he liked me. I sort of learned how to structure and produce with him.” Perry also co-wrote material for Chess act Rotary Connection. “By the time I got to Invictus, I knew what to do.”
His 1977 album for RCA
Soon enough, he began collaborating with other creatives at the young company, including Angelo Bond and Norman (General) Johnson. 100 Proof’s “Somebody’s Been Sleeping (In My Bed)” was among their first home runs as a team, a Top 10 hit on both the soul and pop charts. It also earned two Grammy nominations in 1970, for R&B group performance and R&B song; in the latter category, it lost out to “Patches,” written by General Johnson and Ronald Dunbar, and successfully covered by Clarence Carter.
The Hot Wax/Invictus recording facilities were small, by Perry’s account. “The studio had been a theatre, an old theatre that they were gutting, and it was cut in two places. It had a small office as you walked up the steps to the left, and to the right, they had built that into a room to record in. They put just a glass between them.
“We thought it was like a dungeon. You walked past these empty, dead seats where people used to watch movies in, then you’d walk up the steps. We used to go in at seven, eight o’clock in the morning, and we’d come out, it would be like two or three in the morning. You missed all of the day. So it was not a real elaborate place – but it got the job done.”
The job included working with some of Detroit’s finest musicians, several of whom were moonlighting from Motown. “Bob Babbitt naturally played bass,” said Perry. “On some of the things, we used James Jamerson, but very few. Zachary Slater was the drummer, Dennis Coffey was one of the guitar players. Ray Monette, who went on to work with Rare Earth, he was our first guitar player.” Keyboard session men included Johnny Griffith and Bernie Worrell. “McKinley Jackson, he was the arranger. He did all of our rhythm things.” Other arrangers on tap included Tony Camillo and H.B. Barnum.
The primary engineer at Hot Wax/Invictus was ex-Motowner Lawrence Horn. “I loved Lawrence as a person,” said Perry, “but whenever you worked with him, he always gave you what he wanted.” Instead, the youngster preferred Barney Perkins. “We kind of grew up together, we’d spend 18-20 hours together in the studio. We were both feeling our way around.”
CHECKING THE PAPER FOR A JOB
Moreover, it was Perkins’ idea for the song which became “Want Ads.” Perry recalled, “Barney also used to work at another small studio. I went over there, we were talking, and he said, ‘Hey, somebody should write a song about the want ads,’ because he was looking in the paper for a job or something.
“About a week later, I was sitting at the piano, and it came out! I wrote the chorus line, but it was a little different. I had said, ‘Gonna put it in the want ads/I need some love for sale.’ When I told this to General, he said, ‘Hey, man, you’re making this girl sound like a prostitute. Change it around.’ So we changed it and went from there, cut it a couple of times – and the second time, we came up with, ‘Wanted: young man, single and free.’ ”
Greg Perry with Sidney Saunders
When we spoke years ago, Perry was keen to share credit. “General was a lot better lyrically in those days, and we had another guy, Angelo Bond, who was just phenomenal with lyrics. I would come up with an idea, a chorus line, and just turn it over to them. I guess we were trying to resemble the Holland/Dozier/Holland team, where Brian and Lamont would come up with the chorus lines and the melody, and turn the lyrics over to Eddie.”
The Honey Cone’s Edna Wright – who was to marry Perry – had specific memories of their biggest hit, too. “I walked into the studio to do something,” she told me, “and Scherrie [Payne] was doing ‘Want Ads,’ but it was different. The lyrics were different, and so was the chorus line. Scherrie came out and told me, ‘You do it, I don’t care for it.’ I said, ‘Are you serious?’ She said, ‘Yeah.’ Greg and General went back into the studio and did it again. I think General changed a few of the lyrics on it, and Perry upped the track, made the bass lines and everything tighter and better. When I heard it again, I said, ‘This is it,’ put my voice on, and everyone knew it was a smash after that.”
If “Want Ads” was Perry’s most profitable work, he has, nevertheless, left a substantial legacy. This includes his own albums for Casablanca (1975’s One For The Road) and RCA (1977’s Smokin’) as well as Edna Wright’s Oops! Here I Go Again and Mary Wells’ In And Out Of Love. On all of those, he reteamed with talent from earlier in his career – Robert Bateman was even associate producer of the Wells album – and delivered fine music. Naturally, it has since been sampled in the hip-hop world, by the likes of Common, Nas, Big Daddy Kane and Young Jeezy.
One track from One For The Road, “Come On Down (Get Your Head Out Of The Clouds),” was in the news at the end of last year. Perry sued Roddy Ricch and Atlantic Records, among others, contending that the rapper’s 2019 chart-topper, “The Box,” had, without permission, used key elements from the song, which originally was a Top 30 R&B hit in 1975. (The current status of the lawsuit is unknown.)
So rest in peace, Greg. Perhaps there’s a new Corvair waiting for you to drive it – and to remind you of a prudent decision made long ago and far away.
Family notes: Greg Perry was one of five brothers, and his siblings were also involved in music. Jeff, Dennis and Zachary sang together as Three Of A Kind in the early ’70s, and recorded for Sussex. Later, Jeff (also known as Jeffree) gained recognition as a soloist, with material made for Arista (“Love Don’t Come No Stronger”) and MCA. Meanwhile, Sidney Saunders, the great niece of Greg’s uncle, Robert Bateman, is in the process of making a documentary about her family’s life in music. Thanks for your help, Sidney, and keep us posted.
Music notes: this latest WGB playlist chronicles some of Greg Perry’s work as a songwriter, record producer and singer. It’s also spiced with a couple of covers of his songs, including the contentious “The Box” by Roddy Ricch. Unsurprisingly, Perry’s lone Chess Records release isn’t available on streaming services, but YouTube has it. And so…
Cash Box notes: back in the day, record reviewers in the trade press were supposed to be perceptive and impartial. Still, their enthusiasms would sometimes be obvious, as in the case of Greg Perry’s debut 45 for Chess, “Head Over Heels (In Love).” Cash Box noted in its February 17, 1968, edition: “Towering orchestral catch at the beginning moves into a Detroit-ish blues track with a shattering vocal showing from Greg Perry.” The unnamed reviewer added, “Heads-up performance and a very fine piece of material should do well with the blues and pop stations seeking a bit of fire for their format.” Evidently, there weren’t enough fire seekers; the record was not a hit.