Interesting Variant: Canadian Edition of "Meet the Supremes" on Tamla!

[kenneth]

Found this in my collection. I don't recall when I bought it or what I paid for it. It's an interesting Canadian edition of the original "Meet the Supremes." I believe it to be authentic, not a bootleg or reissue, from the feel/look of the vinyl as well as the makeup and content of the cover [[heavier boards than later, looks legitimately "aged," so to speak).

Odd that the cover still shows the original MO606 catalog number but the labels are on Tamla. Perhaps this was true of all Motown product issued in Canada. Maybe our Canadian friends can help us out there.15582

15583

[kenneth]

Sorry, not sure why the images came out sideways. Anyway, here's the labels.

15584

15585

[marv2]

Kenneth, later on Canadian Motown pressings had the white label with the blue and red lettering for "Tamla-Motown". One sure fire way to tell a Canadian pressing is the Phonodisc trademark somewhere on the record or cover. They pressed and produced most of all of Motown's Canadian releases.

[kenneth]

@Marv2, did you see the Phonodisc insignia on the back cover? Do you think it's odd this one has a Tamla label which sure resembles the early US Tamla labels? I think I've seen the blue/red Tamla-Motown logo that you mention. I probably have a few [[maybe 2 or 3) later Phonodisc pressings.

[marv2]

@Marv2, did you see the Phonodisc insignia on the back cover? Do you think it's odd this one has a Tamla label which sure resembles the early US Tamla labels? I think I've seen the blue/red Tamla-Motown logo that you mention. I probably have a few [[maybe 2 or 3) later Phonodisc pressings.

I didn't notice it the first time but have now that you mentioned it. I don't think that it is odd that the yellow Tamla label was used early on because Motown's main pressing plants were still in Michigan by that time. They would ship the records up to Canada for distribution by Phonodisc. Later, their records were pressed at Phonodisc plant in the Metro Toronto area.

I have a lot of the blue/red with white background Phonodisc labels. Growing up and living close to the Canadian border, it is what you got whenever you bought records over there. Some of them found their way into our local stores in Michigan and Ohio. Places like Woolco [[Woolworth) had tons of them as cut-outs in the 70s.

[detmotownguy]

I didn't notice it the first time but have now that you mentioned it. I don't think that it is odd that the yellow Tamla label was used early on because Motown's main pressing plants were still in Michigan by that time. They would ship the records up to Canada for distribution by Phonodisc. Later, their records were pressed at Phonodisc plant in the Metro Toronto area.

I have a lot of the blue/red with white background Phonodisc labels. Growing up and living close to the Canadian border, it is what you got whenever you bought records over there. Some of them found their way into our local stores in Michigan and Ohio. Places like Woolco [[Woolworth) had tons of them as cut-outs in the 70s.
Didn’t the Woolworths on Woodward Ave. carry a lot of cutouts? Spartan Atlantic on Michigan Ave in Dearborn had a huge Motown section. A ton of DR and Sups later albums and many B artists priced at $1.99 lol!

[marv2]

Didn’t the Woolworths on Woodward Ave. carry a lot of cutouts? Spartan Atlantic on Michigan Ave in Dearborn had a huge Motown section. A ton of DR and Sups later albums and many B artists priced at $1.99 lol!

Yes about the Woolworths on Woodward. I bought a lot of Motown cut outs at Woolco that use to be on Alexis Rd in North Toledo. Woolco was a newer division of Woolworth. They carried furniture and other discounted household items. They were similar to Arlens, K-Mart, etc etc

[IMissFlo93]

I saw a Canadian pressing that was autographed on eBay by all 3 with the Tamla label, so yeah..........

[kenneth]

I bought most of my Motown cut out at either Federal’s or Arlans. I think at Federal they were usually $1.67 but Arlans they were only $.88. And then at some point they were three for a dollar! I always wonder what I missed what I left behind, but you can be sure I bought as many as I could afford. What fun it was to search those bins for the great records.

[marv2]

I bought most of my Motown cut out at either Federal’s or Arlans. I think at Federal they were usually $1.67 but Arlans they were only $.88. And then at some point they were three for a dollar! I always wonder what I missed what I left behind, but you can be sure I bought as many as I could afford. What fun it was to search those bins for the great records.

Kenneth, I forgot you too remember Arlan's. Federal's ruin the best hyper-mache type store in Toledo history when the bought and took over Tiedke's in downtown! LOL

[marv2]

They had Corvettes in NY which was similar to Arlan's and Meijers Thrifty Acres.

[kenneth]

Kenneth, I forgot you too remember Arlan's. Federal's ruin the best hyper-mache type store in Toledo history when the bought and took over Tiedke's in downtown! LOL

I had been looking for so many of those albums for so long that when they showed up at the Arlans near my parents home which was the store on 8 mile and telegraph I think. After that I went to every Arlans in the city looking for more hard to find Motown albums for $.88 each. I must’ve bought about 50 at the time, albums I never thought I’d ever see anywhere. I found all the early marvelettes, miracles, Marvin Gaye, Vandellas, all the stuff that had been out of print for years. Of course things like eBay and Amazon weren’t even part of anyone’s imagination yet at that time. We’re talking the mid-70s after all.

[marv2]

I had been looking for so many of those albums for so long that when they showed up at the Arlans near my parents home which was the store on 8 mile and telegraph I think. After that I went to every Arlans in the city looking for more hard to find Motown albums for $.88 each. I must’ve bought about 50 at the time, albums I never thought I’d ever see anywhere. I found all the early marvelettes, miracles, Marvin Gaye, Vandellas, all the stuff that had been out of print for years. Of course things like eBay and Amazon weren’t even part of anyone’s imagination yet at that time. We’re talking the mid-70s after all.

I know exactly what you are talking about. In 1974, I would make my weekly trek on my bike to Woolco and go through their cut-out bins for the albums I did not already have. None were priced over $2.00 and most were under $1.50! It will never be that easy and inexpensive again. LOL!

[carlo]

Kenneth, I have the same Canadian pressing of Meet the Supremes and it also has the yellow Tamla image on the label, along with all of the other early Canadian Motown releases. Same goes for the 45 rpm's. It changed sometime in 1965.

[kenneth]

@carlo, Thanks for the comment. Then it sounds like it's as Marv had indicated, that early on the pressings were done in the US. Interesting that they all had the Tamla labels as you say.

I've been parting with some of my vinyl collection but not ready to part with my Motown yet!

[marv2]

@carlo, Thanks for the comment. Then it sounds like it's as Marv had indicated, that early on the pressings were done in the US. Interesting that they all had the Tamla labels as you say.

I've been parting with some of my vinyl collection but not ready to part with my Motown yet!

Yeah, they would just shipped them over to say Toronto by trucks. Toronto is only approx. 240 miles from Detroit. I have to believe that it was Phonodisc's responsibility to service the rest of Canada.