A Motown Timeline: 1973
A NEW HOME, A NEW REGIME — AND THE HITS KEEP COMING
Creatively and commercially, Motown’s first full calendar year in Los Angeles could not have been more bountiful, while the company’s image as a powerful new force in multi-media entertainment was burnished almost daily.
At home and abroad, Berry Gordy’s business was burgeoning, with annual revenues estimated to exceed $40 million (equivalent to $275 million today) across all its activities. In the U.S., the firm in April scored its fifth Number One album on the Billboard charts with the soundtrack of Lady Sings The Blues, and logged a further six titles in the Top 10 through the course of the year. Five Motown 45s also topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Lady Sings The Blues was nominated for five Academy Awards in February, including best actress for Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson performed “Ben” (from the movie of the same name) during the televised Oscars’ ceremony in March. Earlier that month, the Temptations’ “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” garnered three Grammys, in the same week that Motown had seven singles slotted into the Hot 100.
Motown’s Yesteryear line: 83 singles, 166 hits
In Britain, the company opened its own production and music publishing subsidiaries, and began inking local singers and songwriters. As a solo star, Ross undertook her first nationwide U.K. tour, while the Jackson 5, the Supremes and the Temptations all played concerts in Japan.
“We couldn’t grow in the industry and still keep the close family atmosphere,” admitted senior vice president Esther Edwards to the Detroit Free Press in September, addressing criticism of Motown as it expanded. “We had to become what we were…we had to operate under stricter business principles, but we have tried to keep as much of that spirit as we can.” No mention was made of the staff layoffs when the company quit Detroit, nor of the ’73 shutdown of the studio facilities at 2648 West Grand.
There were setbacks and shocks: Stevie Wonder’s near-fatal car crash, for one, the tragedy of Temptation Paul Williams’ suicide, for another. The hitless MoWest label was slipped under the carpet, and the spoken-word Black Forum imprint was abandoned after a final (vocal) release by Elaine Brown. Meanwhile, a U.S. Senate payola probe elicited rare insights into Motown’s finances, including the fact that it spent more than $500,000 ($3.4 million today) annually promoting its product to radio.
Yet that investment proved prudent. By Billboard’s count, the record company placed 38 singles on the Hot 100 during 1973, achieving a 7.9 percent chart share overall – up from 3.2 percent the previous year – to rank fourth among its competitors. In albums, Motown ranked fifth, with 35 charted releases and a 6.3 percent share, partly fuelled by Lady Sings The Blues.
And, of course, such success filled newspapers and fomented gossip. “Diana Ross arrived in a flourish of chiffon,” wrote syndicated columnist Rex Reed of her appearance at June’s Cannes Film Festival. “A Rolls Royce stationed at the foot of her plane drove her to the Palm Beach Casino, where she changed into a 1923 open Chrysler convertible and glided into Cannes accompanied by six motorcycle escorts. She was greeted at the Carlton by 12 majorettes, a full 50-piece orchestra from the Nice Opera and a huge banner trumpeting ‘Welcome Diana Ross,’ handsewn in flowers.”
By year’s end, the new president of Motown Records was glowing. That’s right: the new president. In January, Berry Gordy reconfigured his empire, unveiling Motown Industries as the corporate parent, with the recording, music publishing, TV/film production and talent management units grouped underneath. Given responsibility for records was Ewart Abner, who had joined Motown years earlier and, in 1972, assumed many of the duties held by departed executive VP and general manager, Barney Ales.
‘YOU’LL HEAR THE TIMES CHANGE’
“Ab” had considerable music industry experience, including his time running Chicago’s VeeJay Records, although its 1966 financial collapse was hardly a recommendation. But this was an articulate, assertive individual, who was motivated anew to advance Motown’s interests in California. Little wonder, then, that he introduced a new corporate tagline, replacing “The Sound of Young America” with “Listen to what’s happening at Motown. You’ll hear the times change.”
There were a number of new initiatives, including booking many of the company’s artists to play at colleges and universities across America, and repackaging its ’60s gold into a “Yesteryear” singles series, which coupled two hits onto one disc. In August, the company introduced its Anthology line, with the Temptations featured on the first, three-LP (plus 12-page booklet) release.
Theirs was a logical catalogue to kick off the concept: the group had re-signed with Motown on January 1, 1973, and Abner had touted their return to the Copacabana in February with gold disc presentations and media hoopla. But after you’ve finished being smart in the music business, you also have to be lucky. Ab’s good fortune arrived that summer, when both Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye delivered new albums.
Innervisions was a masterwork, unveiled as Wonder was still basking in the glow of 1972’s Talking Book. The latter had been a Top 3 smash during the new year’s opening weeks, as well as the source of two Hot 100 Number Ones, “Superstition” and “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.” Likewise, the title track of Gaye’s Trouble Man soundtrack had spiced the Top 10 in January. Now, his Let’s Get It On was set to occupy the upper echelons of the Billboard singles and album charts through the autumn.
Motown’s other superstars were equally active. The Jackson 5 were on a nationwide tour in the summer, with the Commodores as opening act, then the brothers set off for dates in Australia; Diana Ross played two weeks in June at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas – recorded for album release the following year – and then jetted to Japan.
By contrast, Smokey Robinson was off the road in Motown’s Los Angeles studio, finishing his first solo album with co-producer Willie Hutch. He also discharged corporate duties as a Motown vice president, serving in September as chairman of a testimonial dinner for radio’s E. Rodney Jones, widely credited as the DJ who broke “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” out of Marvin Gaye’s In The Groove LP. Jones’ industry stature was mirrored that night by the fact that Stevie Wonder, recovering from his auto accident, sent him a congratulatory telephone message.
But the closing weeks of 1973 belonged, naturally enough, to The Boss. Or, strictly speaking, to his daughter, Hazel Joy. On December 15 at – where else? – the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, she and Jermaine Jackson were married. It was as extravagant an occasion as could be imagined, with hundreds of guests and thousands of flowers, not to mention the eight-tier wedding cake at seven-feet (plus) tall.
“I didn’t have much say in its theme or decadence,” the groom later wrote in his book, You Are Not Alone. “It was like creating a new album: I’d just show up, do my thing and everything would fall into place.” Even Smokey Robinson contributed to this particular date, singing his especially-written “From This Time And Place” for the couple before they took their vows. Then again, this was one of Motown’s more expensive sessions: according to contemporary media reports, the bill exceeded $100,000 (almost $700,000 today). Doubtless, recoupment took a minute or two.
Now, to the detail. Below is a further account of the year, subjective rather than exhaustive, to convey its flavour at the hands of Motown’s music makers and backroom believers. 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. If a 45 or album topped the Billboard R&B or pop charts – or both – that entry is shown in bold-face italics.
MOTOWN 1973
January 1: Motown Records re-signs the Temptations, comprising Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Damon Harris, Richard Street and Otis Williams.
January 20: Billboard reports the ascension of Berry Gordy, Jr. to president and chairman of Motown Industries, a newly-formed corporate parent. Ewart Abner is named president of Motown Records.
January: On its Natural Resources label, Motown releases albums by Earthquire, whose line-up included Tata Vega, and Northern Lights, a quartet produced by Sloan Rice. Both were recorded in Los Angeles.
February 7: At New York’s Carnegie Hall Stevie Wonder plays to a sell-out crowd, including Elton John, Stan Getz and Bill Cosby. Among the songs in his setlist: “Me And Mrs. Jones” and “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone.”
February 8: Paul Williams’ first solo single, “Feel Like Givin’ Up,” co-written and produced by Eddie Kendricks, is scheduled for release as Gordy 7125, but cancelled.
February 11: “I feel I have a duty to a lot of youngsters — to give them inspiration,” Diana Ross tells Joyce Haber of the Los Angeles Times. “To show that they can get out of poverty and do something in their lives. The only way they can get out is through sports, entertainment, or something illegal. That’s the only way out of the black ghetto, man.”
February 12: Lady Sings The Blues earns five Oscar nominations, including Best Screenplay for Chris Clark, Suzanne de Passe and Terence McCloy, and Best Score for Motown bandleader Gil Askey.
March 3: The Temptations’ “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” gains three Grammys at the Recording Academy’s annual awards event, including Best R&B Song and Best R&B Instrumental Performance, latter to the credit of arranger Paul Riser.
March 27: Michael Jackson performs Oscar contender “Ben” at the Academy Awards’ televised ceremonies in Los Angeles.
March 24: “When artists come to Motown, they need the company more than it needs them,” Berry Gordy tells Aljean Harmetz of the New York Times. “The process balances and then goes from one extreme to the other. Their attitude and morals and character change. Now I’m in a position where I need Diana more than she needs me. And she hasn’t changed. She walks as soft now as she did before. But she’s aware that she carries a bigger stick.”
March 29: Thelma Houston’s “Piano Man” is scheduled for release on MoWest, but rerouted to the Motown label. After less than two years in existence, MoWest is shuttered.
April 7: Lady Sings The Blues segues to the top of Billboard’s main album chart, earning Diana Ross her first such Number One as a solo star.
April 7: Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)” climbs to Number One on the Cash Box Top 100, one slot higher than its Billboard Hot 100 peak.
April 9: Elaine Brown’s “No Time,” produced by Freddie Perren and Fonce Mizell, is Black Forum’s only single release. After this and her concurrent album release, Elaine Brown, the label disappears.
April 21: Motown Records’ longtime outside counsel, George Schiffer, joins its in-house team in Los Angeles as director of planning, according to Billboard.
April 28: Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” becomes the first Motown single to reach the top of Billboard’s Easy Listening chart.
April 30: The Jackson 5 perform at Osaka’s Koseinenkin Hall, with a setlist including “Superstition” and “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” as well as their own hits. The show is recorded, to be eventually released on CD in 2004.
May 25: Lady Sings The Blues is screened at the last night of the Cannes Film Festival, at which Diana Ross is present, chiffon and all.
June 3: The Supremes – Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, Lynda Laurence – perform at Tokyo’s Koseinenkin Hall. The show is recorded, to be eventually released on CD in 2004.
June 7: Diana Ross opens a two-week run at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, amid a busy summer schedule. The shows are recorded by Motown for release as an album in 1974.
June 23: Stevie Wonder performs at the Newport Jazz Festival West in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, and previews several tracks from his forthcoming Innervisions.
July 13: Joey Hetherington’s “Teenage Lovesong” is the first single release from Motown’s new U.K. production setup, and is marketed on the MoWest label. The subsidiary’s first direct signing is singer/songwriter Phil Cordell.
July 13: Smokey Robinson hosts NBC-TV’s The Midnight Special with guests including the Miracles, Rare Earth and Martin & Finley. His set includes “Sweet Harmony,” a tribute to his former bandmates.
July 20: The Jackson 5 embark on their summer concert tour of the U.S. at Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena, with the Commodores as the opening act. Later in the itinerary, Sisters Love join as openers.
July 21: This is declared to be “Mary Wilson Day” in Detroit, and Mayor Roman Gribbs presents the singer with a city plaque to that effect.
August 6: Stevie Wonder is involved in a near-fatal car accident on Interstate 85 near Salisbury, North Carolina, and is hospitalised for weeks.
August 7: The movie Detroit 9000 opens in the Motor City, “full of chase scenes, bad language, sex, gunfire and racial strife,” according to the Detroit Free Press. It was to have been called Motown 9000 before the music company sued the filmmaker for copyright infringement.
August 17: Paul Williams of the Temptations commits suicide in Detroit, at age 34.
August 18: Billboard publishes a rare interview with Norman Whitfield, who agrees to answer questions only by telephone. “I don’t know what my records will sound like ’til I hear them in the studio,” he says. “But I won’t stop in the studio ’til I get exactly what I want.”
August 23: Motown debuts its Anthology album series with a three-LP set by the Temptations.
September 2: “We are interested in longevity, some form of artistic development,” Motown’s vice president of creative operations, Suzanne de Passe, tells the Detroit Free Press. “The day of everybody look alike, move alike, has passed us by.”
September 8: Diana Ross’ Touch Me In The Morning and Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions climb the Top 10 of the U.K. album charts.
September 18: Diana Ross performs at London’s Royal Albert Hall as her first U.K. solo tour continues across the country.
September 22: Motown claims three simultaneous Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, by Marvin Gaye (“Let’s Get It On” at Number One), Stevie Wonder (“Higher Ground”) and Diana Ross (“Touch Me In The Morning”).
September 25: Stevie Wonder makes his first concert appearance since his car crash, jamming with Elton John at the Boston Garden in Massachusetts on “Honky Tonk Women,” among other numbers.
September 28: Smokey Robinson, songwriter/producer Ed Townsend and Motown Records’ Ewart Abner are among those present at a testimonial dinner in Chicago honouring disc jockey E. Rodney Jones.
October 5: The Commodores’ first substantial success anywhere, “Machine Gun,” reaches the U.K. Top 20, eight months before the single hits at home.
October 13: Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” the first 45 from Innervisions, rises to Number One on the Cash Box Top 100, one rung higher than its Billboard Hot 100 peak.
October 20: Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On climbs to No. 2 on the Billboard album charts, only held from the summit by the Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup.
November 2: Detroit’s Bank of the Commonwealth announces the election of Esther Edwards, senior VP of Motown Records, to its board of directors. She is one of the first black women to serve on the board of a major bank.
November 3: Motown Chartbusters Vol. 8 busts into the U.K. Top 10, the last in the series to do so.
November 9: Stevie Wonder joins Eddie Kendricks to jam onstage at New York’s Felt Forum at what is described as “an oversized, let-it-all-hangout soul party.”
December 13: The Temptations play Tokyo’s Shibuya Hall, with their longtime guitarist, Cornelius Grant, in the band. The show is recorded, to be eventually released on CD in 2004.
December 15: Jermaine Jackson and Hazel Joy Gordy are married in Los Angeles, with guests including Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Coretta Scott King, Smokey Robinson, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Dionne Warwick and Sugar Ray Robinson.
December 22: Motown act the Four Seasons open a ten-night booking at Miami Beach’s Playboy Club, just weeks after their last single for the company, “The Scalawag Song.”
SELECTED SINGLES (by release date)
January 3: Blinky, “T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do,” MoWest 5033
January 11: Jr. Walker & the All Stars, “Gimme That Beat (Part 1),” Soul 35104
January 30: Michel Legrand, “Love Theme From Lady Sings The Blues,” Motown 1219
February 1: The Temptations, “Masterpiece,” Gordy 7126 (#1 R&B, #7 pop)
February 14: Willie Hutch, “Brother’s Gonna Work It Out,” Motown 1222
February 22: Stevie Wonder, “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life,” Tamla 54232 (#1 Hot 100, #3 R&B)
March 14: Rare Earth, “Ma,” Rare Earth 5053
March 22: The Supremes, “Bad Weather,” Motown 1225
March 29: Thelma Houston, “Piano Man,” MoWest 5050
April 3: The Spinners, “Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music,” Motown 1235
April 9: Gladys Knight & the Pips, “Daddy Could Swear, I Declare,” Soul 35105
April 9: Elaine Brown, “No Time,” Black Forum 20000
April 17: Smokey Robinson, “Sweet Harmony,” Tamla 54233
May 3: Diana Ross, “Touch Me In The Morning,” Motown 1239 (#1 Hot 100, #5 R&B)
June 7: The Miracles, “Don’t Let It End (’Til You Let It Begin),” Tamla 54237
June 15: Marvin Gaye, “Let’s Get It On,” Tamla 54234 (#1 Hot 100, #1 R&B)
July 24: The Temptations, “Hey Girl (I Like Your Style),” Gordy 7131
July 26: Eddie Kendricks, “Keep On Truckin’ (Part 1),” Tamla 54238 (#1 Hot 100, #1 R&B)
July 31: Stevie Wonder, “Higher Ground,” Tamla 54235 (#1 R&B, #4 Hot 100)
August 3: The Jackson 5, “Get It Together,” Motown 1277
September 13: Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye, “You’re A Special Part Of Me,” Motown 1280
October 2: Smokey Robinson, “Baby Come Close,” Tamla 54239
October 11: Marvin Gaye, “Come Get To This,” Tamla 54241
October 18: Stevie Wonder, “Living For The City,” Tamla 54242 (#1 R&B, #8 Hot 100)
December 6: Diana Ross, “Last Time I Saw Him,” Motown 1278
December 13: Eddie Kendricks, “Boogie Down,” Tamla 54243 (#1 R&B, #2 pop)
December 20: Edwin Starr, “Ain’t It Hell Up In Harlem,” Motown 1284
SELECTED ALBUMS (by release date)
February 7: David Ruffin, David Ruffin, Motown 762
February 21: The Temptations, Masterpiece, Gordy 965 (#1 R&B, #7 pop)
February 21: Gladys Knight & the Pips, Neither One Of Us, Soul 737 (#1 R&B, #9 pop)
March 29: The Jackson 5, Skywriter, Motown 761
April 13: Michael Jackson, Music And Me, Motown 767
April 18: Willie Hutch, The Mack, Motown 766
April 18: The Miracles, Renaissance, Tamla 325
April 18: Jr. Walker & the All Stars, Peace & Understanding Is Hard To Find, Soul 738
April 18: The Spinners, The Best Of The Spinners, Motown 769
Farewell, Black Forum
April: Elaine Brown, Elaine Brown, Black Forum 458
May 18: Eddie Kendricks, Eddie Kendricks, Tamla 327
May 18: Rare Earth, Ma, Rare Earth 546
June 19: Smokey Robinson, Smokey, Tamla 328
June 22: Diana Ross, Touch Me In The Morning, Motown 772 (#1 R&B, #5 pop)
August 3: Stevie Wonder, Innervisions, Tamla 326 (#1 R&B, #4 pop)
August 23: The Temptations, Anthology, Motown 782
August 28: Marvin Gaye, Let’s Get It On, Tamla 329 (#1 R&B, #2 pop)
September 12: The Jackson 5, Get It Together, Motown 783
September 12: Gloria Jones, Share My Love, Motown 790
September 25: Various, A Motown Christmas, Motown 795
October 26: Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye, Diana & Marvin, Motown 803
October 26: Jackie Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Motown 785
December 7: The Temptations, 1990, Gordy 966
December 7: Diana Ross, Last Time I Saw Him, Motown 812