What If: Jackie Wilson signed with Motown

[thomas96]

What producers and song writers do you think he'd be paired with, and do you think he would be more successful with Motown than he was with Brunswick, or less successful?

[skooldem1]

Perhaps Berry would have still written songs for him.

[144man]

He probably would have recorded "Jamie" instead of Eddie Holland.

[skooldem1]

Would Berry sign Jackie and then not release anything so that he didn't out shine the Prince of Motown Marvin Gaye? Or would there be no Marvin Gaye if Jackie was in the picture?

[thomas96]

If he got signed by '61 or '62 I would say there'd be no Marvin. He may have gotten put on the soul label along with Shorty Long and Jr Walker [[who came with him from Harvey).

[mowest]

Jackie Wilson recorded a wide range of hits with Brunswick "that spanned R&B [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%26B), pop [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music), soul [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music), doo-wop [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doo-wop) and easy listening [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_listening)." This might have been possible at Motown but more likely he would have been fit into the assembly-line production that was emerging at Berry Gordy's company and his style would have been more limited.

[captainjames]

Good Question
Often wonder how Mr. Wilson would have fit at Motown. Berry would have tried to write for him at first and then perhaps later on HDH would have got him. He would have been great with the females as a duet. I think Marvin was destined to be a star one way or another. There was just too much soul, energy and drive there for Marvin not to succeed and especially being married to a Gordy he was not going to take no for an answer.

[jsmith]

At least if JW had been signed to Motown, [[hopefully) he wouldn't have been allowed to cut all that 'smatz' that he did around 62/63/64.
Of course, BG would probably have utilised JW to front the move into 'supper-club' album tracks by the mid 60's .... then we would have lost the best JW tracks of all time [[66 to 68 era).

[marv2]

I think Jackie would have had a nice career as long as he continued to update his sound ala "Higher and Higher", but I don't think things would have been radically different than how they turned out in reality. Maybe he would have been a management type role in the organization. I don't know.

[Motown Eddie]

What producers and song writers do you think he'd be paired with, and do you think he would be more successful with Motown than he was with Brunswick, or less successful?

If Jackie Wilson were sings to Motown in the '60s, I could imagine him doing songs like "Jamie", "Leaving Here", "Just Ain't Enough Love" [[and having blockbuster hits with them) as well as doing albums featuring pop standards [[think Jackie Wilson in A Mellow Mood). And just imagine the duets that he would've done: Jackie Wilson with Tammi Terrell [[or Kim Weston). The mind boggles.

[Motown Eddie]

What producers and song writers do you think he'd be paired with, and do you think he would be more successful with Motown than he was with Brunswick, or less successful?

I forgot to say that I think Jackie Wilson would've worked best with the H-D-H or Hunter/Stevenson writing teams if he were at Motown in the early to mid '60s. For his late '60s- early '70s stuff, I would say that Norman Whitfield [[or Frank Wilson) could've take the helm.

[rovereab]

Regarding JW being in place of MG, I wonder if JW had song writing and production skills like MG?

I also doubt very much that Jackie and Tammi would have delivered as much as Marvin and Tammi given the strength of empathy between the latter pair.

An interesting thread.......

[mowest]

My favorite recording by Jackie Wilson is "Whispers [[Gettin' Louder)." Interestingly, both the Funk Brothers and the Andantes are on the track!

[thisoldheart]

doesn't "higher and higher" also contain the funks and the andantes? that single is what jackie wilson would have sounded like at motown!

[mowest]

doesn't "higher and higher" also contain the funks and the andantes? that single is what jackie wilson would have sounded like at motown!

You're right, thisoldheart. Perhaps they were both recorded at the same session.

[robb_k]

Jackie would have had a great career at Motown. I can imagine him singing Smokey's, HDH's and Stevenson-Hunter's songs. He'd have also sung Jazz and MOR songs on albums. There would have been a LOT more great music around [[given that Motown recorded around the clock, and released probably less than 65 % of what they recorded even on major artists). I was VERY, VERY disappointed that he didn't return to Berry Gordy after his first Brunswick contract [[unlike Eddie Holland and Marv Johnson).

[BigAl]

I agree that Eddie Holland's tracks could just as easily have been Jackie Wilson's, as their voices were close to identical. Thus, he might have been handed over to HDH because of this had he signed with Motown. He scored so well with Gordy's tunes and production at Brunswick, however, that perhaps he would have been Gordy's pet project. More likely, I suspect he would have been paired with a variety of writers and producers and possibly not confined to one individual/team or another. He was probably best served at Brunswick since he had fared so well there.

[BayouMotownMan]

There were plenty of chances for BG to get Jackie and didn't pursue it. Gordy wanted total control of his artists and Jackie Wilson would never have gone for that.

[Motown4Ever518]

Somehow I feel given how big JW was in the 50's, I don't see him trying to or needing to fit into a situation that required more discipline that perhaps he was used. Everything about him suggested Star, and I don't see him altering his ego to go along with "The Plan". Also, when you have a working relationship with someone and the tables are turned in the relationship it takes a lot of give and take, probably not going to happen with BG and JW. Though a previous poster suggested Mr. Excitement pairing up with Kim Weston, hmm........

[thomas96]

Could anyone see him going to Motown and fighting for creative control from the beginning? And BG giving in to it because of his star power.

[BayouMotownMan]

Well Marv Johnson came to the company in 1964. But by then Gordy had established Gaye, Smokey, Stevie, The Tops and The Tempts and he was focusing on keeping their star rising. Marv's popularity had fallen and it would have taken extra promotion that Gordy didn't want to give. The result is that Johnson languished, except in Europe where he had a massive following

[robb_k]

There were plenty of chances for BG to get Jackie and didn't pursue it. Gordy wanted total control of his artists and Jackie Wilson would never have gone for that.
I don't believe this. I read that Jackie wanted badly to sign with Motown, and that Berry Gordy tried to sign him, but that Nat Tarnopol did everything in his power [[including intimidation) to keep Jackie under contract with Brunswick).

[no_place_like_motown]

I don't believe this. I read that Jackie wanted badly to sign with Motown, and that Berry Gordy tried to sign him, but that Nat Tarnopol did everything in his power [[including intimidation) to keep Jackie under contract with Brunswick).

I agree with Robb. I'm reading Carl Davis' book and Nat Tarnopol was a shrewd and intimidating man and known to be involved with some shady characters. Jackie was his biggest act @ Brunswick and there was no way that Tarnopol was gonna allow him to jump ship.

[thomas96]

I don't believe this. I read that Jackie wanted badly to sign with Motown, and that Berry Gordy tried to sign him, but that Nat Tarnopol did everything in his power [[including intimidation) to keep Jackie under contract with Brunswick).

Was Jackie unhappy at Brunswick, or did he just think Motown would've been better for his career?

[Motown4Ever518]

The sense I have is that JW felt there was an opportunity gap between what he was earning , and what he was receiving. Not having read the book yet, I feel his management team felt more comfortable @ Brunswick, and would not have appreciated Motown basically replacing them by managing JW.

[Nothing But Soul]

Was Jackie unhappy at Brunswick, or did he just think Motown would've been better for his career?

It wasn't just a question of being unhappy at Brunswick--by the mid-sixties, Jackie wasn't having a whole lot of success at Brunswick. He didn't have a major hit between "Baby Workout" in 1963 and "Whispers [[Gettin' Louder)" in 1966. "Whispers" and "[[Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" in 1967 were considered comeback hits for Jackie. Thank goodness record producer Carl Davis came on the scene at Brunswick to give Wilson "Whispers", "Higher and Higher" and a lot of other good stuff in the late sixties and early 70s.

[BayouMotownMan]

That is my point, At any point when Wilson became a free agent in either the late 60s or early 70s, BG could have signed him. Most everybody who checked into their own business knew they weren't getting the money they thought they should have gotten during this period. Motown was quite controlling and disliked it greatly when artists, writers, producers etc questioned the policies. Jackie Wilson was quite aware of this.

[jsmith]

Surely Jackie knew he was being screwed.
But as it was mob members who were running his management, he knew what would happen to him if he tried to break away from them and go with Motown for record releases & management.