Category: Motown

MOTOWN SNAPSHOT MEMORIES: GLADYS KNIGHT, ’67

‘EVERYBODY NEEDS LOVE‘ became the debut album for Gladys Knight & The Pips. It was recorded in 1966 and also in 1967, prior its release in September. The group having been signed in 1966 to the Motown SOUL label, their LP made the Billboard Top 200 peaking at No. 60, late-1967. The album ranked much higher at No. 12 on the Billboard R&B LP chart. Two tracks off the LP made the singles chart. “Everybody Need Love,” was also the group’s debut single. It reached No. 39 in early-1967. The second single from the LP, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” peaked at No. 1 (R&B) and hit No. 2 (Pop) in December 1967. The album was produced by Norman Whitfield, Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol, and Smokey Robinson.
GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS
GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS 1967

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MOTOWN SNAPSHOT FLASHBACK: KIM WESTON, 1965!

KIM WESTON, Motown artist, 1965. Her biggest hit was her fifth single released under the Tamla label. In late-1965, Weston was paired as a duet to record with Marvin Gaye a song written by (her then husband) Mickey Stevenson and Sylvia Moy, “It Takes Two.” It was also her only single (to her credit) having made Top 20 on Billboard (#14), and it also broke Top 10 (#4) on the Billboard R&B chart that year as well. “It Takes Two” was also the last single for Kim Weston with Motown Records. The single would be included in the duet’s album, ‘Take Two,’ which was released by the label in August, 1966. Weston and her husband, William “Mickey” Stevenson left Motown for M-G-M Records in 1967.

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A MOTOWN SNAPSHOT FLASHBACK: THE 4 TOPS, 1964!

RELEASED BY MOTOWN RECORDS, January 1965, the group’s self-titled ‘Four Tops‘ studio album would be their very first for the Motown label. Produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland, six of the album’s 11 tracks were written by the Motown song-writing trio. Two of the H-D-H songs would become singles. The first, “Baby I Need Your Loving” (Pop; #11) would become their first million-selling single, released, July 1964. Their follow-up, “Without The One You Love (Life’s Not Worth While)“ (Pop; #43) was released by Motown in the fall of 1964. The Four Tops‘ third single was written by Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Joe Hunter. “Ask The Lonely“ (Pop; #24) was released in February 1965. The album peaked at #63 on the Billboard Top 200 LP chart, 1965.
THE FOUR TOPS circa 1964

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