Forever Young?

THE MOTOWN LEGACY GREETS 2024

The past returns to the present this evening in North Carolina, when Charl Brown delivers his Smokey & Me tribute at a performing arts centre in the town of Pembroke. “I take people on a chronological journey through Motown Records,” said the actor, who portrayed Smokey Robinson in Motown The Musical on Broadway ten years ago.

Something similar occurs in Philadelphia tonight, when Harrell Holmes, Jr. and his colleagues step into the shoes of the Temptations (with Holmes as Melvin Franklin) in the perpetual roadshow that is Ain’t Too Proud.

Then again, an original Temptation relives his past this evening, when Otis Williams and the current members of his group play a show in Texarkana. Those who know that’s his birthplace may also be pleased to learn that yesterday, January 18, was declared as “Dr. Otis Williams Day” by its mayors (apparently the Texas town has two). And tomorrow, the Lone Star State hosts Mr. Robinson himself, who’s set to perform at the Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth.

Welcome to 2024, where “The Sound of Young America” relives its youth over and over.

Diana Ross is travelling back in time, too, albeit in her own way. In 1973, she was hailed in newspapers and magazines worldwide for wearing a variety of Yves Saint Laurent outfits. Earlier this month, she was revealed as a star of Saint Laurent’s forthcoming spring fashion campaign – which might just attract more media attention than the 60th anniversary of the release of “Where Did Our Love Go” (on June 17). But music still figures in her life: she has concerts next month in Texas and Oklahoma.

Ross received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1982. Martha Reeves has taken a little longer. The good news is that the latter is finally to be honoured this spring, either at the end of March or early April. Last week, Reeves’ manager, Chris Roe, told WGB that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has not yet given the official date, although at least one newspaper has pegged it as March 28.

GEORGE’S INCONGRUOUS PATH

Another former citizen of Hitsville U.S.A. – admittedly for only a moment, when signed to Jobete Music – will receive his Hollywood Walk of Fame star today: George Clinton. The ceremony to celebrate the Parliament/Funkadelic maestro will take place in front of the Musicians Institute, and be live-streamed. “Detroit was the best place in the world to be,” Clinton told Vibe recently. “If you were looking for your heroes, they was all within that one block [on West Grand].” Among those expected to be present for the ceremony: pioneering Motown songwriter (and onetime Jobete executive) Janie Bradford.

On February 2, digital publisher Audible will offer Clinton’s memories in an episode of its Words + Music series. In it, he recalls his “incongruous path from Motown to the Mothership,” including the Parliaments’ failed attempt to get a recording deal with Gordy’s business.

Now, recent years have seen a decline in the number of Motown catalogue reissues and expanded editions, attributable in part to the record industry’s evolution into a digital streaming business and to the reality of changing demographics (as suggested in this earlier WGB piece). However, there is at least one 2CD set due this spring from an independent U.S. label, licensed by Motown, which features underrated material by one of the company’s premier acts (see below). Meanwhile, Britain’s Ace Records has been working on a third volume of Motown Guys, although progress is slow. The firm does have A Different World – The Holland/Dozier/Holland Songbook coming soon, a 24-track CD in its well-regarded Songwriter series (one of which offered the pre-Motown work of Nickolas Ashford/Valerie Simpson/Joshie Armstead).

A Different World mixes expected H/D/H classics by the original artists (Four Tops, Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Kim Weston and more) with a choice of non-Motown renderings by the likes of Big Al Downing (“I Can’t Help Myself”), the Fall (“There’s A Ghost In My House”), Vanilla Fudge (“You Keep Me Hangin’ On”), Bettye Swann (“This Old Heart Of Mine”) and Laura Nyro (“Come And Get These Memories”), among others. It was compiled by Tony Rounce, a respected authority on American music of various genres, who has worked with Ace for many years.

The British indie also has a new release from its licensing deal with former Motown A&R chief Mickey Stevenson, who set up Venture Records in Los Angeles after leaving Berry Gordy’s crew in 1967. The label was a partnership with MGM Records, facilitated by influential talent manager Clarence Avant.

MICKEY’S VENTURE VAULT

Coming on January 26 via Ace’s Kent imprint is the first album drawn from that source: Calvin Arnold’s Funky Way – Venture Recordings 1967-1969. Arnold was a southern soul singer from Atlanta, and the compilation’s title track was a Top 30 R&B hit single in ’67. The CD (also available on LP) has eight previously-released sides and five unissued items. The Venture vault has so far yielded less than publicly expected, but Ace’s Ady Croasdell is determined to persevere. Stevenson has told WGB that he’s active again in writing and producing, so the additional hope is that he can source more gems for Ace from his catalogue.

The 2024 energy of Motown’s former stars extends into the cinematic arena, too. The Grammy-winning song written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson to help raise money in 1985 for African famine relief, “We Are The World,” is the centrepiece of a new documentary, The Greatest Night In Pop, streaming on Netflix from January 29. In addition to Richie and Jackson, the original 1985 recording of “We Are The World” featured the voices of Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and the Jacksons, along with many other global stars.

Looking further ahead, the Michael Jackson biopic which stars Jermaine Jackson’s son, Jaafar, in the title role, now has a release date: April 18, 2025. Production on Michael begins this Monday (January 22) under hitmaking director Antoine Fuqua, the nephew of Harvey Fuqua, who was a principal figure associated with Motown in the early and mid-1960s – not least as the patron/mentor of Marvin Gaye.

“Just to tell the facts as we know it, about the artist, about the man, about the human being,” Antoine Fuqua told EW about Michael last year. “You know, the good, bad and the ugly.”

Finally, Stevie Wonder. No, there’s no fresh news about his first post-Motown album for Republic Records, but he has continued to make music with others, as Cher, the Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga can attest. Moreover, the musician paid his annual visit to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this month, where he was briefed on Hyundai Motors’ “Digital Curated Experience,” described as a mobility platform which delivers “a personalised experience during transportation.”

Then again, the problem was never transporting Wonder to the recording studio, it was persuading him to actually release what he made there. In that respect, will 2024 be any different?

We're still interested in “The Sound of Young America,” Stevie, regardless of its age.

Reissue notes: details of the 2CD set cited above were made public on January 26, comprising four albums by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. The package, out on April 19 from SoulMusic/The Second Disc, features What Love Has Joined Together (1970), A Pocket Full Of Miracles (1970), One Dozen Roses (1971) and Flying High Together (1972). It also contains two tracks, “Paper People” (co-written and co-produced by post-Motown killer Jack Goga) and “(You’ve Got Me) Looking Through The Eyes Of Love,” which were previously available on a 2014 digital edition of What Love Has Joined Together.

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