Temptations Promo release Gordy G-71-B

[DWSheffer]

I recently acquired this promo copy of the Temptations "Impossible Dream" b/w "Born To Love You". It does not appear on the market too often. Mine was the second copy I've seen for sale, and Popsike.com only lists 4 copies selling since 2012.

It seems like an odd pairing to me, of songs recorded essentially 3 years apart with somewhat opposing genres, IMO "easy listening" vs. a more gritty soulful track. Are any members here on the forum able to enlighten me on possibly why this promo was released?
Thank you,
Darin

16847

16848

[reese]

I'm assuming it was a promo meant to bring attention to the TEMPTATIONS IN A MELLOW MOOD album. This was before Motown started putting the same songs on both sides of their dj promos so that might account for the fact that an older song was put on the other side.

That said, I just noticed that the older track BORN TO LOVE YOU was designated as the A-side. Maybe that was a label misprint?

There was at least another weird promo pairing in the same timeframe. Motown issued the Supremes' WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW from 1968 to radio only. I gather this was meant to promote the REFLECTIONS album from which it came. But supposedly, its flip was YOUR KISS OF FIRE from 1964.

[DWSheffer]

You're right Reese, I didn't even notice the A and B designation in the catalog numbers. I just assumed the newer song was the A side, but as you point out it's opposite.

I was totally unaware of the Supremes' promo you mention. Now another rarity to be on the lookout for! :D

[theboyfromxtown]

I recently acquired this promo copy of the Temptations "Impossible Dream" b/w "Born To Love You". It does not appear on the market too often. Mine was the second copy I've seen for sale, and Popsike.com only lists 4 copies selling since 2012.

It seems like an odd pairing to me, of songs recorded essentially 3 years apart with somewhat opposing genres, IMO "easy listening" vs. a more gritty soulful track. Are any members here on the forum able to enlighten me on possibly why this promo was released?
Thank you,
Darin

16847

16848

Are there any markings in the run-out?

[144man]

Is it genuine? "Born to Love You" wasn't a Smokey production.

[lockhartgary]

I LOVE items such as this!

There is a copy available for sale on discogs:
https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/1046917448?ev=bp_det

[DWSheffer]

Trail off numbers are as follows:

BTLY side is G-71-A 2TSC 50010 Re

TID side is G-71-B ZTSC 50012 This could also be 2TSC but the numbers are hand etched and not easy to decipher with certainty.

I have no doubts this is an original vintage 60's pressing by the type of vinyl.
Thanks for the replies so far.
Darin

[144man]

The single isn't listed in "Don't Forget the Motor City". If it's a ZTSC matrix, I didn't think Motown was still using the Columbia pressing plant in Chicago that late.

[DWSheffer]

144man, I looked on DFTMC as well and didn't see anything, but I have many promo 45's not listed on that site. I don't think they cover promo releases very well, at least IMO.

[lockhartgary]

144man, I looked on DFTMC as well and didn't see anything, but I have many promo 45's not listed on that site. I don't think they cover promo releases very well, at least IMO.

Were there many promos issued with that same design that you know of? It's the only time I've seen that particular design. I've seen the white label Gordy script before but none with the bars on the side until you posted this one.

[DWSheffer]

lockhartgary, no, this is the only Gordy promo I've seen with the bars, which reminds me of the earlier VIP labels. Some had the bars, some didn't, on both commercial and promo release labels.
I appreciate the discussion on this particular release, and we've raised more questions than answers, but that is good. I hope to learn anything I can about this release.

I pulled this image off Ebay for illustration of a VIP WLP with bars:

16855

[144man]

144man, I looked on DFTMC as well and didn't see anything, but I have many promo 45's not listed on that site. I don't think they cover promo releases very well, at least IMO.

I can't find it in "Off the Record" either, which has Motown master numbers from 1959 to 1989.

[nsoule]

A copy just sold for almost $150... I'm pretty sure the record is not a 60s pressing and more recent bootleg. In addition to the weird catalog number, the ZTSC numbers quoted above don't fit for time that this would've been released, so probably just made up by the bootlegger. It also exists on colored vinyl.
18713

[DWSheffer]

Hmmmm, interesting. I've never seen one of the splatter vinyl ones, but if I had I wouldn't have believed for a second one of those would've been from the 60's!
It's an oddity...if it's in fact a recent bootleg they're sure aren't many out there. I thought I knew vintage vinyl and really believed the one I bought was a vintage pressing due to the quality and type of vinyl. I don't really care either way as I didn't pay crazy money for mine, I was just hoping to learn more about the release itself. So if it's recent, it is what it is.....
Darin

[Graham Jarvis]

Only know to one Gordy Demo with Bars & that was "Lee & The Leopards "Gordy 7002


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FilqKhbhMzs

[robb_k]

18722
That is a bootleg. I first saw it and got mine in the very late 1970s or beginning of the 1980s. I was working at Motown then, and know it was NOT a legitimate Motown release.

[DWSheffer]

Thanks Robb, I appreciate the input. I guess since I'm about the same age as the bootleg release it does have some age to it. I did not think it was recent. The mystery is solved....and now is here for posterity when anyone researches this disc.
Darin

[nsoule]

There's also a slightly more obvious Kim Weston bootleg that uses a similar catalog number [[G-70 A/B).
https://www.discogs.com/release/8451079

[robb_k]

There's also a slightly more obvious Kim Weston bootleg that uses a similar catalog number [[G-70 A/B).
https://www.discogs.com/release/8451079
18725
Any time you see an artist's 2 biggest hits back-to-back on a promo, you can bet it's a bootleg. Helpless was recorded in a significantly later session [[months later). So why on Earth would Motown put these 2 on a promotional copy? People often say of these types it is to promote a later LP. But how would putting 2 big hits that everybody who likes that genre of music, who already know those 2 songs note for note in their sleep, need to hear them again, to by ANY LP with them on it??? And so, how would giving these promotionals out help sales of such an LP? To get DJs to play those 2 songs as oldies???? It makes no sense. I assume it is for making illicit money off 2 Motown hits, selling them to people who want both of those hits [[maybe a Motown/Soul Dance Club in NY/Chi/LA/Miami)? or in Brussels, or Munich, or Hamburg, or Duesseldorf?, or the not-so-serious [[marginal) Northern Soul fans in The UK? We did well selling our uptempo Airwave records in Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and Switzerland roughly around the time of this release.