I'm So Thankful! The Ikettes Plus Tina Turner- Frank Wilson Classics!

[soulballad]

This song has Marvelettes all over it. We all thought it was Motown back in the day later to realize that it was in fact written by Frank Wilson. I'm also hearing a bit of a Smokey flavor thrown in the mix. A great groove!

[soulballad]

Ike and Tina does Motown! Another Frank gem!

[no_place_like_motown]

Two of my favs. Thanks for posting them, soulballad!

[144man]

Two of my favs. Thanks for posting them, soulballad!

Ditto.....

[144man]

I marginally prefer Darrell Banks's version of "Somebody [[Somewhere) Needs You".

[BigAl]

"I'm So Thankful" was later given new lyrics and recorded by Chris Clark with the title, "Sweeter as the Days Go By."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPXgckjp20g

[mowsville]

this may be a dumb question but was this written,produced,used the same musicians and recording studios as motowns L.A cuts? and if so would it not technically be a motown recording if so...same as Mary Love etc

[keith_hughes]

"Technically", I guess it's only a Motown recording if they paid for the sessions and the artists were under contract to Motown at the time, which in the above cases seems unlikely. Never found any of them in the Vaults, though that is neither here nor there, in a sense: there are plenty of tracks in the Vaults that Motown do not own, just happen to have [[so they couldn't be released on a Motown CD without separate licensing).

The songs written by Frank Wilson were written when he was under contract to Motown as a writer. That makes them Jobete publications, but not Motown recordings.

[mowsville]

thanks Keith...i get what your saying.

[mowsville]

but if Frank was under contract to Motown how comes the songs were recorded by outsiders and not Motown's own...even to the point of sounding like Motown's L.A cuts of that time.

[robb_k]

The producers working for the Jobete Music offices in Los Angeles and New York were treated differently from the salaried producers Motown used in Detroit. the former were hired mainly to write songs for Jobete Music, which could be used by Motown Record Corporation's Detroit producers to be sung by Motown's contracted singing artists.

As I understand it, those L.A. and New York producers were only paid a small salary, and needed to make the bulk of their money by selling their songs to Jobete Music [[who had the right to refuse to buy any song they didn't want to publish), and by producing recording sessions in Los Angeles using Motown-contracted artists. Because of the jeopardy of doing work that might lead to no earnings, and not having enough guaranteed money for their work, the L.A. and N.Y. producers also had written into their contracts, that any of their songs bought by Jobete Music would be fair game for those producers to record in independent sessions using their own local NON-Motwown artists, IF Motown didn't record AND RELEASE one of their own contracted artists singing that song within 6 months of Jobete Music publishing that song.

That is why we find Frank Wilson, Marc Gordon, Hal Davis, Chester and Gary Pipkin, Willie Hutch[[ison), H.B. Barnum, Al Capps, William Powell, Vince Love and Charles Wright [[in L.A.) and George Kerr, Sidney Barnes, George Clinton, Gene Redd Jr. and Eddie Singleton [[in N, Y.), were able to record local artists [[NOT contracted to Motown) recording Jobete songs, before any Motown artist recorded that song [[and most of those songs were NEVER recorded by Motown-contracted artists).

Those independent producers were hired mainly to write songs for the Motown artists, and to run recording sessions that produced sample versions of the songs that could be placed on acetates to be used as proof of ownership of the song's publishing rights by Jobete Music., and to be a demo/guide version for the eventual Motown contracted singer to be an example/starting point for that singer or group to use in developing his/her/their take on the song before recording it themselves.

Sometimes, the record the independent producer released was the very same take on vocal AND instrumental as the demo recording. Other times it was the same vocal, with augmented, finished backgrounds. Other times [[less often), it was completely re-recorded. Very often, the eventual non-Motown recording artists were demo singers used by the L.A. and N.Y. Jobete Music offices, such as Sandy Wynns [[Edna Wright), Mary Love, Gloria Jones. Pat Hunt, Jeanne [[Jean) King, Barbara Wilson, Willie Hutch, Frank Wilson, Hal Davis, The Vows, and The Versatiles in L.A., and Sammy Turner, The Parliaments, The Parlettes, The Serenaders, Roy Handy, Tamala Lewis, The Dolls, and Norma Jenkins in N.Y.

Other times, the producers placed their songs with "outside artists", such as The Sparkels, The Pets, The Cinderellas, The Magnificents, The Autographs, Ollie Jackson, Paris, The Ikettes, and Ike & Tina Turner.

[mowsville]

My oh my robb...thank you so much...now i understand...what would this forum do without you.