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jsmith
12-02-2023, 05:05 PM
It seems strange to me that Bohannon was connected with Motown acts from around 1964 & after moving to Detroit led the Motown Revue tour band BUT never seemed to cut any tracks for Motown.
The earlier Motown touring bands; Popcorn & the Mohawks, EVD & the Funk Brothers and the Choker Campbell Band were all allowed to record in their own right.
Did Bohannon ever play on tracks as a member of the Hitsville studio band ?
I guess it's just pure coincidence that Hamilton was at Motown not long after George Bohannon and that they weren't actually related in any way.

MIKEW-UK
12-03-2023, 04:56 PM
Only thing I can see re. his recording prospects at Motown source allmusic.com

The Motortown Revue LiveAfter a couple years of playing behind Wonder, Bohannon headed back to Georgia and assembled his own band. They successfully auditioned for Motown to support not just Wonder but also the likes of the Temptations, Four Tops, Supremes, Smokey Robinson, and Marvin Gaye. Although Motown valued their touring bandleader enough to extend a writing and recording contract, which was inked by the end of 1969 -- the same year Bohannon's stage work was heard on Motortown Revue Live -- the deal didn't reach fruition. When Motown left Detroit for Los Angeles in 1972, Bohannon likewise waved goodbye to his employer, remained in the Motor City, took another teaching job, and spent his evenings leading a band at the 20 Grand, another famous venue. Bohannon recorded some original material at the house of 20 Grand bandmate Ray Parker, Jr. and secured a more fulfilling contract with Dakar Records.

jsmith
12-06-2023, 04:22 AM
Mike, thanks for that info ... so perhaps BG already knew he'd be quitting Detroit by the end of 69 and so decided Bohannon, with lots of other Hitsville musicians would be left behind. Therefore, Motown didn't need to 'humour him' by letting HB record his own stuff for them.
21154

MIKEW-UK
12-06-2023, 01:41 PM
Good supposition........or perhaps BG already knew he'd be quitting Detroit by the end of 69 and so decided Bohannon, with lots of other Hitsville musicians would be left behind.

MIKEW-UK
12-08-2023, 03:46 PM
For the next five years, Bohannon toured behind some of the most renowned artists for the most storied record label in the history of R&B and, with the help of Smokey Robinson, also signed a short-term artist contract. A few tracks were written and produced by Terry Johnson of the Flamingos, but the project was shelved.

“After I got into it, I didn’t really want to be a recording artist,” Bohannon recalls. “I asked for my contract, and they gave it back to me. I couldn’t see it going anywhere as a recording artist, as they had all the heavyweights there.”

https://www.waxpoetics.com/article/bohannon-future-rhythms/

jsmith
12-09-2023, 01:35 AM
RE >> A few tracks were written and produced by Terry Johnson of the Flamingos, but the project was shelved.
So have the tapes of those tracks been discovered & the details documented [[recording dates, song titles, etc.) ?