The Second Time Around
REISSUE CHAMPIONS OF TAMLA MOTOWN
Martha & the Vandellas and the Supremes managed it. So did the Four Tops and Jimmy Ruffin. Mary Wells, too. The achievement? Reaching the U.K. charts at least twice – with the same record.
“Dancing In The Street” rose to number 28 on first release in the U.K. in 1964, then strutted into the Top 5 when reissued in ’69. “Baby Love” ruled the roost in 1964 – it was Motown’s first No. 1 in Britain – and returned as a re-release to the Top 20 ten years later. “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” peaked at 23 when initially sent to market in ’65, then soared to number 10 in 1970.
And Jimmy Ruffin? “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” sailed to number 8 in 1966 during its first chart cruise, then did even better when shipped back to stores eight years later, climbing into the Top 5. “I’ve Passed This Way Before” peddled to number 29 in ’67 and number 33 in ’69. “Farewell Is A Lonely Sound” waved its way into the Top 10 in 1970, then made a return trip to the Top 30 four years later.
Jimmy Ruffin, ‘Brokenhearted’ twice
There were variations on this theme. The Elgins couldn’t get arrested with “Heaven Must Have Sent You” upon first release in 1966, but earned a Top 3 rating when the record was reissued in 1971.
Similarly, Britons ignored the Miracles’ “The Tracks Of My Tears” in 1965, but backed the single big-time (to Top 10 effect) as a re-release four years on. Smokey’s crew underwent a similar experience with “(Come ’Round Here) I’m The One You Need.” In January 1967, that single stalled just inside the Top 40, but was luckier two years later when a reissue reached number 13.
To understand, consider the following. In 1965, when Motown’s U.K. licensee, EMI Records, launched the Tamla Motown label, its chart performance failed to match its promise. The following year, business improved; seven T/M singles made the Top 20. In particular, the Four Tops fuelled the advance with three consecutive Top 10 hits in 1966-67, including the label’s second No. 1, “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”
Electrical & Musical Industries was motivated, and so was its young Tamla Motown label manager, John Marshall. Years earlier, he had joined the British firm’s “overseas” division in Hayes, outside London; in 1966, he switched to EMI Records’ operation in the capital, overseeing the U.K. activities of various American imprints, Tamla Motown among them. “I had already had some dealings with Motown in the Hayes office through correspondence with [Motown lawyer] George Schiffer about royalties and other international matters,” Marshall told me. That helped him to land the label manager’s job.
“I started to ‘control’ the label’s releases and started plugging them around the time of ‘The Happening’ by the Supremes,” he continued. “Roy Squires, Capitol’s label manager, introduced me to the producers at the BBC’s Radio 1 and Radio 2, and any DJs who may have been about. I initially shared Roy’s secretary, who knew the systems of getting product released through the EMI machine on time.”
Marshall’s first “messing about,” as he called it, was to assemble a British Motown Chartbusters album for the Christmas sales season of ’67. Two volumes of Motown’s American LP series, A Collection Of 16 Original Big Hits, had previously underperformed locally. By contrast, the Chartbusters compilation spent 23 weeks in the Record Retailer Top 10, with only The Sound of Music soundtrack keeping it from the summit one December week.
PICKING ‘RENEE’ FROM REACH OUT
“On the singles front,” said Marshall, “the breakthrough was also in 1967 with ‘Walk Away Renee,’ which I was certain was a hit.” Needing a strong Four Tops contender for year’s end – their previous release, “You Keep Running Away,” hadn’t troubled the Top 20 – Marshall lifted “Renee” from the Reach Out album. It became the group’s second biggest British hit of the ’60s, reaching the Top 3 and empowering EMI to make more such choices.
“Contractually,” said Marshall, “EMI was not supposed to mess about with the U.S. release pattern, change A or B sides, and so on – and certainly not without getting Detroit’s permission. The company had pretty much stuck to that, but it seemed daft to me, because it was obvious that Britain had different tastes to the U.S. and often preferred the more melodic side to Motown’s output.”
“Walk Away Renee” changed the dynamic.
The Elgins in London, ‘Heaven’ sent
“After that,” said Marshall, “I recall discussing with [BBC Radio 1 disc jockey] Tony Blackburn and his producer, Tim Blackmore, whether ‘If I Were A Carpenter’ could be a hit follow-up, then gained permission from Detroit for that release. After the ‘Renee’ success, I was on a green light to experiment further with re-releases and pulling single tracks from albums.” (As validation, “If I Were A Carpenter” was another Top 10 U.K. hit for the Tops.)
In early 1968, Marshall mulled over which Tamla Motown singles merited a second shot. “It had to be a minor artist, because I’d never have touched the Supremes or anyone like that, or the Tops.” The choice came down to the Elgins. “Their releases had flopped in the U.K., but I loved ‘Put Yourself In My Place,’ so bunged it out again. It got good airplay, but still didn’t make it until re-released in 1971 after ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’ became a big hit.”
Sparks really began to fly in 1969 with the January reissue of “Dancing In The Street” and the Isley Brothers’ “I Guess I’ll Always Love You,” followed by the Temptations’ “Get Ready” and Jr. Walker & the All Stars’ “(I’m A) Road Runner.” The result was Top 20 slots for all four titles, including the Top 10 triumph for Martha & the Vandellas, who occupied that tier at the same time as spanking new singles by Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations (“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”) and Stevie Wonder (“For Once In My Life”).
A fifth success followed in June ’69 when “The Tracks Of My Tears” took a good look at the Top 10. Close behind that on the charts was the U.K. reissue by MCA Records of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher,” underpinned by the alchemy of the Funk Brothers. Clearly, Tamla Motown’s competitors were watching the value of going back in time.
PUTTING ‘CLOUD NINE’ ON HOLD
“But I got a load of criticism,” said Marshall, “in the press, mainly, and from other people in the music business. I felt rather sad that I couldn’t successfully release the new stuff on someone like Smokey and the Miracles, but I just loved things like ‘The Tracks Of My Tears,’ that was part of my history.”
A related matter was whether the reissues’ popularity was retarding certain Motown artists’ latest material. A case in point: “Get Ready” and the Temptations. “Once the first re-releases were successful, it became almost the norm that I would look at reissuing before we got onto the new stuff,” explained Marshall. “The big criticism was that I held up ‘Cloud Nine,’ which might have been a mistake. I thought it wasn’t ready for the U.K. and I had ‘Ain’t Too Proud To Beg’ out.” Ten months after its American debut, “Cloud Nine” was released in Britain. “It was sort of a small hit, but nowhere near as big as in America,” he admitted.
John Marshall (left) on the road with Motown execs Barney Ales (centre) and Mel DaKroob, 1970
Jimmy Ruffin’s results were among the most satisfying. “I got on with him very well,” said Marshall, “and he was very easy to work with. Jimmy was touring here quite a lot, while in America, he didn’t have any real hits after ‘What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted.’ In fact, that touring meant that he was prone to losing his voice through overuse, ending up croaky. He often had to talk his way through songs – but it was still a performance that got great crowd reaction. They loved him.”
In total, Ruffin registered five Top 10 hits for Tamla Motown. In America, his pop chart equivalent was one. To nobody’s surprise, the singer made the U.K. his home for many years.
The reissue boom helped to drive Motown to revenue and chart peaks. Through EMI, the company sold 3.5 million singles in 1970 – its best year with the format to that point – and close to one million albums. “Motown is the most successful distribution line in EMI’s history,” declared Record Retailer in 1971. The annual Motown Chartbusters played a significant role; three volumes topped the charts, with the third selling more than 300,000 copies.
John Marshall was swift to share credit with colleagues at EMI, while also noting the promotional work done by Dave Most at Jobete Music’s U.K. subpublisher, Carlin Music. “The changes in the release pattern and the success of the Chartbusters series are among the things I’m most proud of.” Not to mention handling the intricacies of Levi Stubbs’ brush with British law in 1970, the subject of a previous West Grand Blog.
With impressive sales and bountiful royalty disbursements came career advancement: in August 1969, the 24-year-old Marshall left EMI to join Motown Records, hired by vice president Barney Ales as its European representative. He continued to have influence over local release schedules and Jobete Music’s activities; two years later, he was promoted to deputy international director, based at Motown’s own HQ in London.
But not before Marshall travelled to San Francisco in 1970 for the company’s celebratory 10th anniversary sales convention, in the company of EMI’s newest Tamla Motown label manager, John Reid, and promotion man Bill Fowler. “I recall the three of us got rather drunk on champagne – although not rowdy – on the plane going over, and were refused more by the cabin crew.”
Then again, perhaps that’s a tale for another time…
MOTOWN REDUX (Reissue Top 20 peak in parentheses, dates are first U.K. release and reissue)
“Dancing In The Street,” MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS (4) September 1964/January 1969
“I Guess I’ll Always Love You,” ISLEY BROTHERS (11) August 1966/January 1969
“Get Ready,” TEMPTATIONS (10) April 1966/February 1969
“(I’m A) Road Runner,” JR. WALKER & ALL STARS (12) April 1965/March 1969
“The Tracks Of My Tears,” MIRACLES (9) May 1965/April 1969
“I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” FOUR TOPS (10) May 1965/March 1970
“I’ll Say Forever My Love,” JIMMY RUFFIN (7) March 1968/May 1970
“(Come ’Round Here) I’m The One You Need,” MIRACLES (13) November 1966/January 1971
“Heaven Must Have Sent You,” ELGINS (3) November 1966/April 1971
“My Guy,” MARY WELLS (14) May 1964/June 1972
“What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted,” JIMMY RUFFIN (4) September 1966/August 1974
“Baby Love,” SUPREMES (12) October 1964/August 1974
Sources: Tamla Motown: The Stories Behind The UK Singles (Terry Wilson, 2009) and Official Charts Co.