Motown and The Great March to Freedom

[captainjames]

9363

In Keeping with the tradition of Motown ,,,,, where did the royalties for this album go ?

[Mark Desjardines]

I believe that the royalties went to Dr. King. I do know for a fact that the rights to this recording and two others were turned over to the King Estate. I have all three and if there is interest, I would be only too happy to post pictures of the album cover art.

[reese]

Berry wrote that Dr. King requested the royalties be given to the SCLC. Berry thought that at least half should go to King and his family, but King refused, not wanting perceived personal gain to confuse the message of the cause.

[captainjames]

WOW so very humble. I wonder how much it made. I still own my copy but just recently framed it.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I believe that the royalties went to Dr. King. I do know for a fact that the rights to this recording and two others were turned over to the King Estate. I have all three and if there is interest, I would be only too happy to post pictures of the album cover art.
Yes, Mark, please do. For some crazy reason, those elusive Gordy albums managed to hide from me from the day of their release.

[supremester]

Mark - I would love to see the front & back cover art - thanks.


I believe that the royalties went to Dr. King. I do know for a fact that the rights to this recording and two others were turned over to the King Estate. I have all three and if there is interest, I would be only too happy to post pictures of the album cover art.

[motownjohnny]

Yes, Mark, please do. For some crazy reason, those elusive Gordy albums managed to hide from me from the day of their release.
Motown Gary if you or anyone else is interested, copies of all three of the Gordy releases are currently available to purchase on Ebay.com

Be aware that there are several versions of some of these and this may help:

Gordy 906 - "THe Great March To Freedom" - originally released with the "script" label; later reissues of this on Gordy had the "arrow" label. Both versions were issued in a gatefold sleeve. This was also released in the U.K. on the Tamla Motown label with the catalogue no. TML 11076.

Gordy 908 - "The Great March On Washington" - again issued with the two label variation mentioned above. This album includes the Liz Lands song "We Shall Overcome".

Gordy 929 - "Free At Last" - like 906, the first issue of this album came out in a gatefold cover. For the second reissue on Gordy, the open-out sleeve was replaced with a single cover sleeve. The gatefold sleeve copy is the hardest to find.

Some years after its original release, this album was re-released on the Motown label and this is the version most readily found. This release doesn't have the gatefold sleeve and the Gordy logo on the bottom right of the cover is replaced with the Motown one, so you can easily spot the later copies by this difference.

Finally, in addition to those three on Gordy, there was a forth Dr. King album issued posthumously by Motown on their Black Forum imprint that hasn't been mentioned so far:

Black Forum BF-451 "Why I Oppose The War In Vietnam" released in October 1970. For some reason of all his Motown releases this is the rarest and there are none currently for sale on Ebay.

If you're considering buying copies of these I hope this is useful.

[calvin]

The text and a recording of the speech can be found here:
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_speech_at_the_great_march_on_detroit/

[mysterysinger]

The albums can also be seen in my Flickr stream here....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookephotography/sets/72157651785061368/

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Thank you, motownjohnny, calvin, and mysterysinger. You've been.most helpful.

[captainjames]

Interesting;
Gordy 906 - "THe Great March To Freedom" I still have on vinyl.

Gordy 929 - "Free At Last" - Very surprisingly I have on CD.

[motownjohnny]

captainjames is the "Free At Last" CD an official Motown release?

As well as having the "Why I Oppose The war In Vietnam" on vinyl, I also have it on CD, but it may not be an official release. It's not issued by Motown, but by Paul Winley Records from N.Y.C. and has different cover artwork from the Black Forum album.

[captainjames]

That is a good question I will have to double check, I remember purchasing it along with another one "In Search Of Freedom" which I do not believe was a Motown release.


captainjames is the "Free At Last" CD an official Motown release?

As well as having the "Why I Oppose The war In Vietnam" on vinyl, I also have it on CD, but it may not be an official release. It's not issued by Motown, but by Paul Winley Records from N.Y.C. and has different cover artwork from the Black Forum album.

[Mark Desjardines]

For anyone interested, here are some photos of the two albums of Martin Luther King speeches released on the Gordy label, as well as the Black Forum label for easy viewing. 93739374937593769377937893799372

[marv2]

Excellent! Thank you Mark!

[marybrewster]

Is it safe to assume that Dr. King received the highest royalty rate of any Motown "artist"? Surely Mr. Gordy didn't offer 3% of 90% or whatever pittance everyone else got.

[sansradio]

That is a good question I will have to double check, I remember purchasing it along with another one "In Search Of Freedom" which I do not believe was a Motown release.

Yes, captainjames, In Search of Freedom, while not a Motown release, is a Universal project. I have it as well.