jobeterob
04-08-2014, 05:52 PM
From a former poster here, on Louvain Demps Birthday
Kudos to Kevin Goins for this post about the unheralded but extremely talented back up singers for so many Motown classics.
MOTOWN MONDAY – MEET THE ANDANTES….Many of us Motown fans may already know who are these unsung heroes from The Sound Of Young America. For those who don’t, here we go…. The Andantes – Jacqueline Hicks, Louvain Demps , and Marlene Barrow-Tate [[pictured here) – were Motown’s “secret weapon” in the recording studio, as they sang backgrounds on literally hundreds of recordings. The list is endless so here’s a sample – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and “Too Busy Thinking ‘Bout My Baby” [[Marvin Gaye), “Reflections” and “Love Child” [[Diana Ross & the Supremes), “My Baby Loves Me” [[Martha Reeves & the Vandellas), “Destination – Anywhere” [[Marveletttes), “The Last One Out Is Broken-Hearted” [[unreleased Temptations track, issued in 1998). The most glaring work where you can hear the Andantes are the Four Tops sessions produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland from 1964 to 1968 – “Baby I Need Your Lovin’”, “Reach Out, I’ll Be There”, “I Can’t Help Myself”, “Bernadette”, “Standing In The Shadows Of Love”, “Seven Rooms Of Gloom” – just to name a few. Like the Funk Brothers, the Andantes did do their share of outside sessions on the serious down-low. Chicago soul producer Carl Davis brought both parties into the Windy City to cut backgrounds for Jackie Wilson’s “Higher & Higher” as well as “Since You Showed Me How To Be Happy”. The Andantes worked at Motown for ten years – 1962 to 1972 – until the label relocated their headquarters to Los Angeles, where the company then opened their Hitsville LA studio and started using more west coast session players. Louvain and the Andantes remained in Detroit until she moved to Georgia several years later. Being that today is Ms. Demps’ birthday, it is indeed an honor to pay tribute to the contributions she and her colleagues made to the music industry during rock & soul’s golden years. Check out this mix of the Four Tops’ 1964 hit, “ASK THE LONELY”, featuring just the Andantes’ background vocals, the rhythm of the Funk Brothers with strings and horns courtesy of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Classic soul at its finest. http://youtu.be/rXtbhSu0OQw
Kudos to Kevin Goins for this post about the unheralded but extremely talented back up singers for so many Motown classics.
MOTOWN MONDAY – MEET THE ANDANTES….Many of us Motown fans may already know who are these unsung heroes from The Sound Of Young America. For those who don’t, here we go…. The Andantes – Jacqueline Hicks, Louvain Demps , and Marlene Barrow-Tate [[pictured here) – were Motown’s “secret weapon” in the recording studio, as they sang backgrounds on literally hundreds of recordings. The list is endless so here’s a sample – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and “Too Busy Thinking ‘Bout My Baby” [[Marvin Gaye), “Reflections” and “Love Child” [[Diana Ross & the Supremes), “My Baby Loves Me” [[Martha Reeves & the Vandellas), “Destination – Anywhere” [[Marveletttes), “The Last One Out Is Broken-Hearted” [[unreleased Temptations track, issued in 1998). The most glaring work where you can hear the Andantes are the Four Tops sessions produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland from 1964 to 1968 – “Baby I Need Your Lovin’”, “Reach Out, I’ll Be There”, “I Can’t Help Myself”, “Bernadette”, “Standing In The Shadows Of Love”, “Seven Rooms Of Gloom” – just to name a few. Like the Funk Brothers, the Andantes did do their share of outside sessions on the serious down-low. Chicago soul producer Carl Davis brought both parties into the Windy City to cut backgrounds for Jackie Wilson’s “Higher & Higher” as well as “Since You Showed Me How To Be Happy”. The Andantes worked at Motown for ten years – 1962 to 1972 – until the label relocated their headquarters to Los Angeles, where the company then opened their Hitsville LA studio and started using more west coast session players. Louvain and the Andantes remained in Detroit until she moved to Georgia several years later. Being that today is Ms. Demps’ birthday, it is indeed an honor to pay tribute to the contributions she and her colleagues made to the music industry during rock & soul’s golden years. Check out this mix of the Four Tops’ 1964 hit, “ASK THE LONELY”, featuring just the Andantes’ background vocals, the rhythm of the Funk Brothers with strings and horns courtesy of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Classic soul at its finest. http://youtu.be/rXtbhSu0OQw