I remember those ads for the Motortown Revue when they use to play the Toledo Sports Arena in the sixties.
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I remember those ads for the Motortown Revue when they use to play the Toledo Sports Arena in the sixties.
Bl**dy hell John. You've been busy. WOW. They are amazing. A friend of Motown David has a lot of the Apollo promo ads. You need to get to see them if you can
I am now going try to compete with Nomis' wonderful stories at EMI....you ready.......this is a Bertha story from the Apollo. You have to understand that Bertha is very sweet and doesn't get into "naughtiness", so when she told me this story I was gobsmacked.
The Velveletttes were performing at the Apollo and Flip Wilson was the compere. The girls had done their act and as they walked off stage, Flip announced to the crowd...I would sure love to put my needle in their haystack!!!!
It was very hard for me to keep a straight face in front of Bertha! LOL That man is so NAUGHTY and I love him!!
John
1. The Velvelettes didn't start recording until 1963.
2. Betty Kelly wasn't an official Vandella until September 1964 after her birthday. Annette was still perfoming up until them but less and less frequently. Betty was also doing Velvelette gigs.
John, the show was held on 10th October 64 !!! [[when was Betty's birthday in September ?)
The tickets for the show can't have been selling too well as the ad was placed again a few days later .........
Mind you at $1.25 for just the Impressions, Gladys Knight & Pips, Martha & Vandellas + a couple of others
........... I doubt any of us here would have bothered paying to see the show !!!!!!!!!
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....... Looks like Freddie Scott & Carl Fisher had been dropped from the bill
... defo wouldn't have paid the $1.25 to watch from the balcony seats then !!!
John
You're now asking me to remember birthdays.....now that is asking TOO much! LOL She was 20 and I thought I was good remembering just that!
It'll be PJ or Reese who will shoot with the answer......2-1 joint favourites....unless Roger [[2nd mention *blows raspberry*) gets off his backside and posts!.
Mind you, this 'M&V show' commenced over a week earlier [[Friday 2 October 64) .........
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Is Choker Cambell any relation to Choker Campbell or your Chocker!
LOLOL
Any connection ?
JOHN .............. YEP, that looks quite like gud ol' Chocker ...............
So called, coz he could chock a wonky amp perfectly with just a wedge of cheese !!!
A 1965 Baltimore club date for Marvin, Martha & the V's ........
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I noiticed in reply #18 there is a ad mentioning a Jackie Kennedy along with song title "Miss personality". Who is this Jackie Kennedy?
Don't know who the Jackie Kennedy was on that show [[back in 1963) ......
... obviously not the famous one as this one was [[or sang) "MISS Personality".
BTW, if we had been around DC back in 1961 & hadn't fancied a live show ....
..... we could always have gone to see one of the popular movies ..........
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Down in Baltimore in 61, it was time to catch a Motortown Revue ........
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This tour had Henry Lumpkin amongst its number.
Henry was promoting his upcoming Motown 45 [[his 2nd Motown single)
HENRY LUMPKIN – “WHAT IS A MAN” …… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tXQrV0BMFc
http://motownjunkies.wordpress.com/c...henry-lumpkin/
.... he would record for 6 years in all [[only 2 of these being with Motown) .......
As the MotorTown Revue were playing the Baltimore Royal, James Brown was across town ....
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Just a couple of weeks earlier, JB had been playing the Royal itself.
He was headlining a bigger bill that included Tri-Phi's the Spinners ........
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I wonder what 45 you got if you were one of the first 50 to buy a ticket for these shows ?
Seems strange that they needed to have a 'giveaway' to help sell tickets.
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I don't know what had happened over the 3 day period since the above ad was placed ....
but Sugar Pie DeSanto was now gone & Lee Dorsey was on the bill ........
Just 2 weeks later, when the package hit DC, Sugar Pie was back with them ...
[[though by now she had become 2 people according to the ad writer !!)
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Carolyn Crawford made it onto this package tour [[to promote her 1st Motown 45) ...
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Only one Motown group on this bill ......
... BUT 3 'future' Motown people also on there
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The charlie hampton band was the house band of the howard for many years and backed everybody[motown included]now of course there were musicians who belonged with the tour who sat in but unless you were james brown then the charlie hampton band was behind you!
From the ads, on many occasions Motown artists fetched their own band [[Popcorn or Choker's guys) plus Otis Redding also had his own band with him at times.
Guess Chas Hampton & his boys got the week off then.
... another big touring revue show at the Baltimore Civic Centre [[in 1963) ....
....... this one featured Marvin + Martha & Vandellas ...........
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Would the Poets have been the "You Blew A Good Thing" outfit
OR a different group associated with the James Brown entourage
[[maybe even the guys that became Main Ingredient) ??
Who would have thought we'd be interested in these some 40 years later!
That's why this is the best music forum on the internet,no place else will there even be a discussion or the knowledge of this classic music that we have here...there is always something to learn at soulful detroit...i luuuuuuuv this place!!!
John,
.... we're still interested in old ads coz they tell us info we wouldn't otherwise know.
From this ad here I get to know that .........
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Jackie Wilson was still 'top of the tree' in summer 64 [[though why he was 'Boss Line' I know not)
Even though Sam & Dave had just signed with Atlantic & were about to be assigned to work at Stax [[their 1st big national hit release would come just over a year later), they were 'bottom of the bill' here.
B B King toured with his 'studio' backing band and they played behind the other acts on this show.
The Pips were already fabulous & George was already Gorgeous !!
... and the Velvelettes were almost certainly back in Michigan preparing to go back to their lessons.
Here's another ad that following detective work led to confirmation that pleased me .........
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The Re-Echoes were a Baltimore group that featured guest lead singers.
For the above 1964 show, Brenda Jones was filling that spot .....
She had recorded for a local label the year before
[[maybe even with the Re-Echoes backing her up .... she had also been their featured vocalist in 1963).
RU-JAC #08: BRENDA JONES -- Let's Go Back To School / Can't You See [[1963).
I came across another club ad from 1964 for a Re-Echoes show for which they had a different lead singer ......
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I had a strong idea who Kenny was ..... so I asked Kenny Hamber if the lead singer on this show was indeed him & he confirmed that it was.
Forwarded along a copy of that Royal Theatre show ad [[btm ad for Royal posted above) to Valerie Simpson.
She wrote: "Just to see this is amazing....No we don't remember much except there was a finale where we all were suppose to go on stage under flickering lights and Nick refused..."
I always thought that the guys in the Knight Brothers worked live as the Knight Brothers for the majority of the time .....
and that when they expanded to become the Carltons they were mainly a 'studio bound' group ......
.......... but this ad and the one posted as entry # 30 / 46 lay that theory to rest .........
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Seeing these classic posters are amazing.i remember seeing so many future greats at the start of thier careers opening for the big acts...the chi-lites...the soul children...the moments...the five stairsteps[without cubie]so much fun and just to think we thought that-$2.00 was pretty steep,hehehehehe!!
The Marvelettes must have been on the road for most of 1963 & 1964 judging by many of these ads.
Chuck Jackson & Baby Washington were on loads of the shows as well
..... but they were quite local, the Motown outfit weren't.
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It is amazing to me, as I think back over the years, that we got the chance to see some of the greatest acts in history, for only $1.00 or $1.50. Little did we know that we were witnessing musical history. Thanks for the post. This brings back such sweet, sweet memories.
.... its hard to tell who was top & btm of the bill here .....
.... but it was a great show line-up [[no Motowners though)
.... & the prices had gone up a bit by the end of 1968.
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Mary Wells seemed to be on the road a lot from 1961 to 1963 .....
.... here she was in DC along with fellow Detroiter Nathaniel Mayer ....
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They had already enjoyed a number of national chart hits, so there was no excuse for the ad writer to get their name wrong ........
.... The Miracles [[along with the fellow Detroiters; the Falcons) at the Howard in summer 1962 ...
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At least they got the spellling of the group's name correct when an ad for the show was placed a 2nd time ....
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The Supremes were playing a show in Baltimore in Jan 63 [[see ad on post #4) ...
...... but by the time they hit DC just over a week after their 'residency' at the Royal ended ....
.... they were supporting Jackie Wilson on a different revue package altogether.
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I wonder when the 1st package started & this one ended [[as they would have been away from Deroit for that whole period) ?
And ahead of those 2 revue packages, the Supremes had been on tour as part of a Motor Town Revue from October 1962 till Xmas [[along with the Contours, Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Marv Johnson, Sammy Ward, Miracles, Vandellas & Choker Campbell + his band) -- see post #25 /26.
So in all, they must have been away from Detroit [[touring) from mid October 62 into February 63.
.................. guess they didn't get much recording work done over that period.
These are GREAT! Thanks so much for posting these.
This qualifies.......because it was! LOL! The Motortown Revue at the Toledo Sports Arena!:
The MotorTown Revue show was on the road a lot back in 1962 & 1963 ......
........... 1962 ......
Oct 26 1962: The First Motor Town Revue took to the road for six weeks. The Revue was headlined by Mary Wells & featured Martha and the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, the Contours, Marvin Gaye, Little Stevie Wonder, the Supremes the Temptations and Sammy Ward.
The opening stop was at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC [[see post #26).
Nov 2 1962: The Motor Town Revue began five weeks of one nighters.
Nov 18 1962: The Motor Town Revue appeared at the Capitol Arena in Washington, DC.
Dec 1 1962: The Motor Town Revue played the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis.
Dec 7 1962: The first Motor Town Revue started ten days at the Apollo Theater, NY.
Dec 17 1962: The Motor Town Revue made the final stop of its tour in Pittsburgh.
Dec 31 1962 [[New Year's Eve): Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas, the Contours, Mary Wells, the Miracles, the Supremes and Little Stevie Wonder appeared at the Michigan State Fair.
........... 1963 ......
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May 3rd - 9th ... Howard Theatre, DC
May 10th - 16th ... Royal Theatre, Baltimore
June 4th [[week engagement?) ... Apollo Theatre, NY
June 16th ... ... Carr's Beach, Annapolis
October 4th - 10th ... Royal Theatre, Baltimore
October 11th - 17th ... Howard Theatre, DC
November 5th ... ... Toledo Sports Arena
Anyone fill in the gaps with their other dates [[Apollo, Fox, Regal, etc) ?