List of any and all books about Motown or Motown artists or by any firsthand accounts

[thomas96]

Could someone help me compile a list of all the books about Motown/artists, or by any of them or people working for the company, etc.

[ralpht]

Thomas,
You might be interested in the two that I have written. "The Road Through Motown", a book on my perspective and trip through the years in the music business including my time with Motown. The other "Russ Terrana's Motown" a book I needed to write to pay homage to my incredibly talented twin brother. Both are available on Amazon or Bankhouse Books, the publisher.
You might be further interested to check out what Bankhouse has to offer. There are several Motown related books available there.

[ralpht]

Thomas,
The thread is still open.

[ralpht]

Thomas,
You are correct. For some reason this thread got closed. It is now opened once again.

[thomas96]

Thanks Ralph.

[smark21]

I highly recommend Maxine Precious Ballard Jenkins’ book on her sister Florence Ballard.

[Methuselah2]

Thomas - Recently spotted this site. Includes info and excerpts from various sources:

http://panachereport.com/channels/hip%20hop%20gallery/MotownEra.htm


I enjoyed the following book very much--particularly for its analysis of The Supremes' recordings:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/5983941/The-Supremes-A-Saga-of-Motown-Dreams-Success-and-Betrayal-by-Mark-Ribowsky-review.html

[imnokid]

A Woman Like Me by Bettye LaVette. She had an album on Motown in 1982 called Tell Me A Lie. Read the book and you will see many truths about some Motown artists! ;-)

[ralpht]

Kevin,
I just happen to be reading Bettye's book. WOW! What a story. I plan on doing a little forum review when I finish the book. I strongly recommend this book to those that wonder what was going on way back in the day.

[marv2]

Books I recommend:

Ralph Terrana's - The Road to Motown [[ I still need it autographed hint, hint)
Al Abrams - Hype & Soul
Mary Wilson - Dreamgirl, My Life As A Supreme
Dennis Coffey - Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars
Curtis Woodson - Memories of the 1962 Motown Revue
Dennis Bowles - Dr. Beans Bowles "Fingertips" The Untold Story
Martha Reeves - Confessions of a Motown Diva
David Ritz - Divided Soul The Life of Marvin Gaye

These are the ones I recommend first. There are others......

[theboyfromxtown]

http://www.amazon.fr/Motown-Soul-Glamour-Florent-Mazzoleni/dp/2268068552/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362340193&sr=1-1

[marv2]

If you want to get a very good idea of what the Detroit Music scene was like in it's golden age, I would definitely recommend: Bettye LaVette - "A Woman Like Me "

Smokey's book was pretty good too.

[ralpht]

Marv,
Send me the book and I'll sign it. If that works I'll IM you my address.

[marv2]

Marv,
Send me the book and I'll sign it. If that works I'll IM you my address.

Ok Ralph, great, thanks. It's coming up this week!

[Methuselah2]

Peter Benjaminson's books:
-- The Story of Motown
-- The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard
-- Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar

[imnokid]

Ralph, I'm glad you are actually reading it. A lot of folks have just read reviews and many reviewers have chosen to just mention the "juicy" stuff, which has ruffled the feathers of some list members. The book paints a very honest picture of what things were like back in the day.

[Roberta75]

Ralph, I'm glad you are actually reading it. A lot of folks have just read reviews and many reviewers have chosen to just mention the "juicy" stuff, which has ruffled the feathers of some list members. The book paints a very honest picture of what things were like back in the day.

If you purchase a book you have the right to criticize that book and the right to give your personal opinion. I thought Miss LaVette book was mean spirited in parts and didnt really care for her foul language or the way she wrote that some women deserve to be beat. On a positive note Miss Bettye Lavette is a survivor and has worked her craft for 50 plus years so I give her credit for that. You say iopinions are ruffled feathers well when folk spend they hard earned money an a book they have the right to share there opinions.

Roberta

[westgrandboulevard]

Thomas...

If you've not done so already, then 'Motown : The History' by Sharon Davis is well worth checking out....:)

[ralpht]

Kevin,
Its too bad that some aren't actually reading Betty's story. It is so "Detroit" in nature. All of us that were struggling in the business back then can relate to her story and trials. The music business wasn't for sissies back then.

[Penny]

Books I recommend:

Ralph Terrana's - The Road to Motown [[ I still need it autographed hint, hint)
Al Abrams - Hype & Soul
Mary Wilson - Dreamgirl, My Life As A Supreme
Dennis Coffey - Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars
Curtis Woodson - Memories of the 1962 Motown Revue
Dennis Bowles - Dr. Beans Bowles "Fingertips" The Untold Story
Martha Reeves - Confessions of a Motown Diva
David Ritz - Divided Soul The Life of Marvin Gaye

These are the ones I recommend first. There are others......

Mary Wilson-Supreme Faith

It was a good book and told the story of what it was like trying to survive without the support of the record company and the stress of changing Supremes so frequently. It is her point of view and she most definitely survives and does what she loves to this very day.

Penny:cool:
Modest AVON Rep

[imnokid]

Roberta, you are indeed entitled to your opinion. My comment was directed at people who did not read the book, but were commenting on things that they heard about. For the record, she was not saying that women should be "beaten". But sometimes, back then, a smack may have been needed, hence the universal term "smack some sense into them."

As for the language, it's who she is. I don't care to hear your, or anyone ELSE for that matter, "praise god" talk, but I haven't stopped reading your posts.

Peace.

[Roberta75]

Roberta, you are indeed entitled to your opinion. My comment was directed at people who did not read the book, but were commenting on things that they heard about. For the record, she was not saying that women should be "beaten". But sometimes, back then, a smack may have been needed, hence the universal term "smack some sense into them."

As for the language, it's who she is. I don't care to hear your, or anyone ELSE for that matter, "praise god" talk, but I haven't stopped reading your posts.

Peace.

Then we will smoke a peace pipe dear imnokid and continue to respect each other.

Yours, with every good wish.

Roberta

[imnokid]

Wish I knew how to make a peace symbol with characters.
How about a V ?
peace

[woodward]

Could someone help me compile a list of all the books about Motown/artists, or by any of them or people working for the company, etc.
My favorite two books that I value are:
The Story of Motown by Peter Benjaminson. This book was the very first book ever published that encompassed the entire Motown era and covered virtually every Motown artist and included rare pictures that were never seen before. This book deserves to be reprinted.

Hype and Soul by Al Abrams. This book recently published includes lots of information previously unknown and many "lost" newspaper articles. You can reread this time and time again and learn something new every time you read it. Many previously undocumented stories included.

[Roberta75]

Wish I knew how to make a peace symbol with characters.
How about a V ?
peace

I'll take that and send you the V peace sign back my dear.

V

Fondly,

Roberta

[marybrewster]

To Be Loved - Berry Gordy
Confessions of a Motown Diva - Martha Reeves
Dreamgirl - Mary Wilson
Supreme Faith - Mary Wilson
All That Glittered - Tony Turner
Deliver Us from Temptation - Tony Turner
Berry, Me and Motown - Raynoma Gordy
Marvin Gaye, My Brother - Frankie Gaye
Mercy Mercy Me - Michael Dyson
The Original Marvelettes - Marc Taylor
Call Her Miss Ross - J. Randy Taraborelli
Diana Ross - J. Randy Taraborelli
Michael Jackson - J Randy Taraborelli
Motown From the Background - Vickie Wright
My Sister Tommie - Vickie Wright
Where Did Our Love Go -Nelson George
Motown - Gerald Posner
Motown - Sharon Davis
The Motown Album - Elvis Davis
The Supremes - Mark Ribowsky
The Lost Supreme - Peter Benjaminson
Florence Ballard - Maxine Ballard
Forever Faithful - Randall Wilson
Mary Wells - Peter Benjaminson
Ain't Too Proud to Beg - Mark Ribowsky
Hype & Soul - Al Abrams
Recollections - Jack Ryan
Temptations - Otis Williams
My Temptation - Genna Ruffin

[thomas96]

Thank you all so much. Great suggestions I hope to read in the future.

[GrtGzu]

I guess my question would be which ones could be considered "the truth"? I heard "some things" about Tony Turner stretching the truth and outright lying about other stuff, so I don't want to waste my money on "fiction"...

[theboyfromxtown]

GrtGzu

People see events from their own point of view so they can only write from one perspective. I once asked Esther Edwards about Mary Wilson's book and she replied that "not everyone saw it the same way as Mary". The perfect reply to a difficult question!!

For early Motown history, Raynoma's book is a good one to start with.

[westgrandboulevard]

Yes it is, and there was also an audio version of the book, read by Raynoma herself.

Did it make it to CD or download?

[GrtGzu]

Ya, I already read a couple of these books I found in a 2.00 bookstore about 10 yrs ago....One of them was Mary W.'s book....Fascinating!! Can't remember who the other one was about [[lent the books out and never got them back!), but it was somebody from MT, and the Supremes...

Man, you guys REALLY knew how to "party" back in the day....

I guess I'll start with Raynoma's book as you suggested - then get to Betty's...

[phil]

I guess my question would be which ones could be considered "the truth"?

Though Motown is only a part of it, to me Bettye's book seems to be the more truthful of all the other books I've ever read.

http://www.ritzwrites.com/images_nav/BettyeLavette3-1-reduced.jpg

[theboyfromxtown]

Bettye's book was a real eye opener! I couldn't put it down once I started!

Martha and Gladys Knight's books had their moments too! LOL

[marv2]

Though Motown is only a part of it, to me Bettye's book seems to be the more truthful of all the other books I've ever read.

http://www.ritzwrites.com/images_nav/BettyeLavette3-1-reduced.jpg

THAT is the book you want right there! Bettye LaVettes'! She put her foot in it as they say.......LOL!

[marymary]

I remember reading Gerald Posner's book on Motown and every other page cited something from Raynoma Gordy Singleton's book, so I decided to check her book out. Usually I'm a little skeptical about books written by family members...so often they read like desperate cash-ins [[because they are)...but Raynoma's book was 100% legit! She was absolutely involved in the formation of Motown and an integral part of their history [[no matter how much Berry wants to rewrite it), and her book was a great read and full of details I hadn't heard anywhere else. Worth tracking down on ebay or your local library.

I am due for some re-reads...many Motown books I haven't read in almost 10 years [[yikes)

Ones I've read:

Dreamgirl - Mary Wilson
Deliver Us from Temptation - Tony Turner
Call Her Miss Ross - J. Randy Tarraborelli
Michael Jackson - J Randy Tarraborelli
Where Did Our Love Go - Nelson George
Motown - Gerald Posner [[not worth the read...author got busted for plagiarism as a journalist, not sure if anything in this book was plagiarized but it so heavily cites other books on Motown that you might as well just read those books yourself)
The Supremes - Mark Ribowsky
Ain't Too Proud to Beg - Mark Ribowsky
Berry, Me and Motown - Raynoma Gordy
Divided Soul - David Ritz [[going to re-read this one soon...Marvin really was fascinating)
Number One With A Bullet - Elaine Jesmer [[as a huge Marvin fan I had to read this, no redeeming value except to play guess who's who, which was plenty of fun)

Ones I haven't read...some I'm interested in, some not. Would like to get any opinions from those of you who have read them:

All That Glittered - Tony Turner [[I know how everyone here feels about Tony but I love me some trashy biographies!)
Supreme Faith - Mary Wilson
Diana Ross - J. Randy Tarraborelli [[I wanted to wait a few years after reading Call Me Miss Ross to read this, I figured the amount of overlap would be too much)
My Sister Tommie - Vickie Wright [[any good?)
Hype & Soul - Al Abrams
My Temptation - Genna Ruffin [[I think I borrowed this book from the local library once, skimmed it and found it too amateurishly written...now I'd like to give it another try but no library has it anymore and I don't think it's worth the $$)
Bettye LaVette - A Woman Like Me
Ralph Terrana - The Road to Motown [[can't believe I've never gotten around to this!! Can I buy an autographed copy?)
Berry Gordy - To Be Loved [[Berry doesn't strike me as the type to be candid, not sure if this is worth my time)
Dennis Coffey - Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars
Ben Fong-Torres - The Motown Album
Peter Benjaminson - Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar
Peter Benjaminson - The Lost Supreme
Suzanne Smith - Dancing in the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit
David Bianco - Heat Wave: The Motown Fact Book
Michael Dyson - Mercy Mercy Me [[I have heard this isn't a great book)
Don Waller - The Motown Story
Marc Taylor - The Original Marvelettes
Kingsley Abbott - Calling Out Around the World: A Motown Reader

Martha Reeves - Confessions of a Motown Diva [[I've heard that Martha glossed over a lot of things in her book, accurate?)

[grapevine]

...there's over 250 Motown ...and Motown-related ...books over at...

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/motowntreasurespix1/photos/albums/293856582

...enjoy

:)

[marymary]

...there's over 250 Motown ...and Motown-related ...books over at...

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/motowntreasurespix1/photos/albums/293856582

...enjoy

:)

Thanks for the recommendation...I just applied for membership to the main group, hopefully I am accepted ;)

[destruction]

Though Motown is only a part of it, to me Bettye's book seems to be the more truthful of all the other books I've ever read.

http://www.ritzwrites.com/images_nav/BettyeLavette3-1-reduced.jpg

One of the best "warts and all" books I've ever read. She didn't peel back the kimono....She ripped it off, set it on fire and through it under the bus.

It was the only book that I read cover-to-cover last year.

I was sitting in a meeting with my 15 year old and 2 of her teachers trying to get her back on the academic highway, when she mentions a project that she was really enjoying working on:

"We had to choose someone in our field so I picked someone you don't normally hear about"

"And who was that?"

"Bettye Lavette....she sang at Obama's inauguration concert. She gets a lot out of a song with her style. I'm trying to get there. So I read her book and that's who I'm doing my book report on."

I knew she was a huge fan....but I had no idea that she read it. I probably would not have recommended that she read it...but she did and lived to tell about it. I'll have to reach back to see if I can find book report....It's a chapter by chapter review...I forget what style she called it.

And she's not a Johnny-come-lately to the Bettye party either as this will attest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6F-e_T_CR4

Earlier today we went to the local library so that she could research her latest History project. While browsing the music books I stumbled across the "Ain't To Proud to Beg" book. I had never seen nor heard about it, so as a Temptation Nation junkie, I snapped it up.....along with a book about "The Wire" and urban problems.

Should I look forward to reading it.....or put it down and back away slowly?

[marymary]

The Tempts book is very good, that author always does justice to his Motown subjects. IIRC the author relied on Otis Williams quite a bit as a primary source, so the book can seem at times overly preoccupied with his POV. Not a huge problem though.

The Tempts TV movie is a fun watch too [[also heavily reliant on Otis as a primary source, I guess that's one of the benefits of living a long life!)

[Motown4Ever518]

One of the best "warts and all" books I've ever read. She didn't peel back the kimono....She ripped it off, set it on fire and through it under the bus.

It was the only book that I read cover-to-cover last year.

I was sitting in a meeting with my 15 year old and 2 of her teachers trying to get her back on the academic highway, when she mentions a project that she was really enjoying working on:

"We had to choose someone in our field so I picked someone you don't normally hear about"

"And who was that?"

"Bettye Lavette....she sang at Obama's inauguration concert. She gets a lot out of a song with her style. I'm trying to get there. So I read her book and that's who I'm doing my book report on."

I knew she was a huge fan....but I had no idea that she read it. I probably would not have recommended that she read it...but she did and lived to tell about it. I'll have to reach back to see if I can find book report....It's a chapter by chapter review...I forget what style she called it.

And she's not a Johnny-come-lately to the Bettye party either as this will attest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6F-e_T_CR4

Earlier today we went to the local library so that she could research her latest History project. While browsing the music books I stumbled across the "Ain't To Proud to Beg" book. I had never seen nor heard about it, so as a Temptation Nation junkie, I snapped it up.....along with a book about "The Wire" and urban problems.

Should I look forward to reading it.....or put it down and back away slowly?

destruction, as the father of a 15 year old singer myself, I wish you well on getting your daughter back on track academically. It is a challenge that I am sure you will meet, because it sounds like you are there, and sometimes that is all it takes. My daughter was fascinated by the Temptations movie, and we spent many hours when she was younger, watching it together.

I place the Tempts book in upper 75%, mostly due to having a lot more material to choose from as sources. While I remember the author saying he was not indebted to Mr. Williams in any way, there was a sense that I had that the author stayed away from painting a negative image of Mr. Williams perhaps due to the very real fact that Otis, unlike other members of the group is very much still alive.

[marv2]

Mary Wilson's "Dreamgirl, My Life As A Supreme"
Al Abrams' "Hype & Soul"
Ralph Terrana's "The Road to Motown" and
Peter Benjamin's "The Motown Story" are my favorites.

[marymary]

So I just finished The Motown Story by Don Waller and I really recommend it to everyone here. It's not the typical dry retelling of Motown lore everyone here has read countless times, the author editorializes most of the time, poking fun where well deserved, and enjoys going into detail about more obscure singles, labels and artists [[Barrett Strong is the artist the author chose to have be on the cover so clearly the author would fit in here!). There are thorough interviews with Billie Jean Brown, Lamont Dozier, Earl Van Dyke and Melvin Franklin as well, and a number of photos I had never seen before as well [[one I particularly liked was of Gino Parks with Norman Whitfield, Marvin Gaye, Hank Cosby and Mickey Stevenson playing in the background, what a shot!), but being that is a b&w book published in the 80s the quality is about what you'd expect. There are also trivia questions sprinked throughout the book in the margins, which I enjoyed despite barely getting a passing grade. The discography in the book is the most detailed I've ever seen...I saw that it was cited by the popular Motown discography site as a source and I'm not surprised, the detail is exhaustive.

The book is 30 years out of print, but Amazon/ebay/libraries should have it. Definitely worth a look if you're looking for Motown reading material.

[supremester]

I have never even heard of this book, but will check it out. I have a lot of interest in everyone's stories, but once I find outright lies like in Mary's books, or what may be just bad guesses like in the ridiculously under-researched Gerald Posner crapper, I realize it's going to be difficult to weed out the truth. If some have a financial need to grind an ax or others just want to publish books without regard to their content, I'll stick with All That Glittered by Tony Turner, I don't think it's 100% true but it's kind of like the Vally Of The Dolls of Supremes' books - based on real events, then fictionalized and comes out a great read. I will forever think of Flo driving the limo to JFK and it's worth the read just for that visual - true or not!

[arr&bee]

There's also the excellent chapter[meet the temptations]taken from[the motown story]in which melvin details the early history of the temps and his relationship with eddie kendricks.

[144man]

The Don Waller book is one of my favourites. Beware, there is at least one deliberate error in his discography which he put in in to know when he was being plagiarised.

[Roger Polhill]

The Don Waller book is one of my favourites. Beware, there is at least one deliberate error in his discography which he put in in to know when he was being plagiarised.
How about Motown 696 David Ruffin "Doin` His Thing" and Tamla 259 Miracles "Gemini"

[144man]

How about Motown 696 David Ruffin "Doin` His Thing" and Tamla 259 Miracles "Gemini"

Do you know I've never noticed "Gemini" before. "Doin' His Thing" was the original name for "Feeling Good". The main offender was Motown 1061 The Joy Buzzers - TG's Voodoo Lounge/ Snoots 'n' Thangs.

[Roger Polhill]

Thanks 144man I only checked the albums.That could have been quite a discussion point if I`d noticed, especially as the original 1061 was not released!

[marymary]

Do you know I've never noticed "Gemini" before. "Doin' His Thing" was the original name for "Feeling Good". The main offender was Motown 1061 The Joy Buzzers - TG's Voodoo Lounge/ Snoots 'n' Thangs.

Ha! He must have had fun coming up with that one.

[destruction]

destruction, as the father of a 15 year old singer myself, I wish you well on getting your daughter back on track academically. It is a challenge that I am sure you will meet, because it sounds like you are there, and sometimes that is all it takes. My daughter was fascinated by the Temptations movie, and we spent many hours when she was younger, watching it together.

I place the Tempts book in upper 75%, mostly due to having a lot more material to choose from as sources. While I remember the author saying he was not indebted to Mr. Williams in any way, there was a sense that I had that the author stayed away from painting a negative image of Mr. Williams perhaps due to the very real fact that Otis, unlike other members of the group is very much still alive.

Just wanted to thank you and MaryMary for the book recomendation.....I agree with your rating and the Otis POV.

When I took it back, I picked up the Phillip Bailey book. It was a quick read, even for a word for word slow reader like myself. I never got around to re-reading the Wax Poetics story on EWF a few years ago to compare notes. Phillip shared quite a few insights, especially on the early germinaton of the group and his entry. Not really big on controversy and he sort of eased past what I felt were a few controversial points such as moments leadng up to the dissolution of the group and the period that immediately followed.

[franjoy56]

Just wanted to thank you and MaryMary for the book recomendation.....I agree with your rating and the Otis POV.

When I took it back, I picked up the Phillip Bailey book. It was a quick read, even for a word for word slow reader like myself. I never got around to re-reading the Wax Poetics story on EWF a few years ago to compare notes. Phillip shared quite a few insights, especially on the early germinaton of the group and his entry. Not really big on controversy and he sort of eased past what I felt were a few controversial points such as moments leadng up to the dissolution of the group and the period that immediately followed. i dont know if this book motown hot wax city cool and solid gold, by j.randy taraborelli is on the list if it is not it is an excellent account of each artist history highly recommended written and published in 1986 doubleday books. The pics and stories are worth its weight in gold. Ralph I did not know u were related to, russ terrena at motown. Wooow u must have stories to tell about the studio goings on hhhheeeee hehehehe lol nice to know.

[steveat21]

Any opinions on Mark Ribowsky's book, Signed Sealed and Delivered-The Soulful Journey Of Stevie Wonder? There seem to be lots of unreleased songs..and probably a lot have been lost/stolen.