• Deke Richards 01/16 05:35pm

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 11:42 am:

Deke,
Since your arrival to the forum you have just blown us all away. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for so generously telling us your stories.

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 12:21 pm:

Ralph,

You are most kind. I want to thank YOU and all the friends I have met up here. It is the good that men do that is many times forgotten. No one will soon forget what you have done here.

Deke

By john c (12.2.233.107) on Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 03:50 pm:

Could someone fill me in on who Billie Jean Brown was and how she got to the influential position she had at Motown? It would help fill in some holes for me in Deke's wonderful tales.

By Livonia Ken (136.1.1.33) on Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 04:45 pm:

I believe Billie Jean Brown was the head of Quality Control starting sometime around 1963-ish.

Regards,
Ken

By Livonia Ken (136.1.1.33) on Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 04:55 pm:

...and I just found out from Ritchie's site that prior to that, her job title was "tape librarian". There must be a story about how they discovered she had the ears to "pick the ponies" so to speak. Anyone?

Regards,
Ken

By John Lester (213.123.116.177) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 12:08 am:

Deke

Where are you........I can't sleep and I need my nightly dosage..lol

By John Lester (213.123.116.177) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 03:37 am:

I can't believe I am going off to work without my daily dosage......I guess you are still in the composing stage (he says hopefullY)....to quote a song..."I'm Still Waiting" woah woah woah woah LOL

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 04:01 am:

Sorry Soulkiddies, I know I'm late and you are all already tucked in. I'm cashing in my chips for the night myself. Since I'm going to be bogged down until Sunday or even Monday, I wanted to drop off a sweet roll to have with your coffee in the morning. You all take care.

"The Making Of One Legend, And The Return Of Another"

The story of The Clan, The Supremes and Their Love Child


Episode IV
When The Cat's Away, The Mice Will Play

"What was that you were playing?", Berry said as he came in with a smile on his face. Not wanting to sound like we had nothing to show for the last 20 hours, I said "New thing we've been playing around with". The guys looked at me like, "Oh yeah?". Well, you just have to stick yourself out there sometimes. That's how you get breaks. They don't come looking for you. Just then BG said, just what I was afraid he was going to say. "GREAT! Let me hear some more". Boy, that did it. I could see daggers in my comrade's' eyes. But Ol' Hank had it easy, he was just tapping to the groove. He wasn't gonna catch hell, but I was, if Frank and Dean didn't follow my lead, like RIGHT NOW! After all, I was the one that opened my big mouth. Come on guys, I thought to myself, it's only a groove, just go with it. Frank played a couple of licks the first time around that were nice and melodic, I just hoped he hadn't forgotten and would play a 'command performance'. Dean was giving solid rhythm support on the acoustic the first time through. I knew he would stay there and wouldn't be a problem. I knew where I was going. Just in case, I said to Frank, "Why don't you start with those little licks and that 3 chord turnaround this time". I figured if we screwed up, at least it would sound like we were trying something different, and it would be understandable to play a clam or two. I told Dean to hold out and just let Frank have it, then I'd kick in with the picking thing and then Dean could come in last. This way I figured Dean could hear just what kind, and how much rhythm support to come in with. I counted it off since I knew the right tempo that makes my 'pickin thing' work.


Now, to add a little excitement to the room, I counted, or should I say hollered it off as if we were in the session. One . . . .Two . . . One, Two.................! Well, Dean got so excited, he jumped the gun and came in at the top with Frank. So there was this rhythm going behind Franks 3 sustained chords and tasty licks. It sounded so good I just let it go one more time around as I reached back and cranked up the volume on my trusty Magnet Amp. I was thinking so fast, I almost blew a fuse in me. I wanted it to shake up Frank and Dean when I started playing, so they would look at me right away. Mainly because, I was just going to stay pickin on that one chord, We hadn't really figured out where to go, so I didn't want anyone to get any ideas to start looking for chords, or taking a chance and actually playing them; not yet anyway. The turnaround came around the second time and BAM! I picked that Tele to death. Well, I shook em up all right. We laid there for 8 bars maybe more, maybe less. Then Frank did something I didn't expect. He played the 3 chords and the licks like the intro, and Dean followed him. Me? I did the weirdest thing. I threw in this Duane Eddy sounding lick and then just stayed there in one key on that grove with my pickin thing. When Frank and Dean came around again, I 'Duane-d It' one more time. What can I say? It was beautiful. It was exciting. It was cool, and to top it off Berry was smiling tapping his foot. I was looking at the guys with a confident smile and stroking my ego at the same time with my silent thoughts, "Now THAT'S how you get in . . . and out of a jam!" (Note: Boy, it took me almost 30 years to see what a 'Brat' I must have been sometimes!)


We repeated both parts one more time and then I just stopped everybody with a heavy hit of my strings as I muted them. I quickly said, "Well, that's all we have so far, whaddaya think?" "Great", Berry said. "What's the concept for the song?" All I could say to that, was that Pam had been coming up with different ideas and words since yesterday, but we hadn't really put any of them inside the music yet. Well, now it was Pam's turn. Berry was inspired and went over to the piano and decided to play this chord structure that had been on his mind. He was playing slow and as I listened to the chords I thought of a lot of tunes. It was a progression many guitar players played. In fact, when he first played it the way he did, the first tune that came to mind, was 'Walk Don't Run" by the Ventures. (What did you say Deke? Did you forget you are at Motown, boy? The Ventures? What are you talking about? Sorry Soulkiddies, but that's what it was. i.e. Am-G-F-E). You see, Berry had a love affair with minor chords. So he was la-la-ing as he was hitting the chords and letting them sustain. Now, the only problem I saw was his groove was totally different than what we were doing. I know we all looked at each other a bit puzzled. (Note: Remember, Berry was a great writer. I loved all the Jackie Wilson tunes. In fact I used to sing almost half of them when I performed with my group. Sure, he was the President of Motown, but I had more respect for him as a writer, and I looked forward to learning all I could from him. Now Berry on the other hand, was a fan of HDH. Even though those songs meant $$$ for the company and they were going though bad times, he always liked HDH's stuff a lot. ) Just then he picked up the tempo and added the feeling of the bass from "My World Is Empty Without You". At the same time, Pam went for Berry's left ear and started talking about a new idea she just came up with about a child out of wedlock. Now I have to admit, it sounded a little strange. A few words were said here and there, but we all seemed to feel it was not the time to critique, but to back off and listen


Berry was the only one that really knew we couldn't just come up with a tune. The good, or even great melody was just not going to be enough; not this time. There had to be something special in the meaning of the words. It had to be more, it had to be . . . a classic. Think about it for a minute, and you might understand what I think the man was going through;
YOU are the one . . who is the President of the company.
YOU are the one . . who is having problems with your best writing machine.
YOU are the one . . who is responsible for what your top act's next record is and does next.
YOU are the one . . who will be judged by everyone else in the company (from Billie Jean Brown in Quality Control to Phil Jones in Sales and everyone in between) and FINALLY and possibly the most important to you personally,
YOU are the one . . who is going to be watched closely by the ones you are trying to prove something to. . . Holland-Dozier-Holland.


I just knew it was time to back off. He needed to find and feel good about something. There was too much at stake. So Pam continued on with lines and Berry kept playing the progression. I nodded to the guys and quietly went over to my guitar, as Dean followed suit. We began to back up the simple 4-chord structure, over and over.
At some point the words 'Love Child' hit the air. Now I know it wasn't me, so that leaves 4. Hank wasn't into the concept that much at first, so I'll take him out as well. Berry heard it as well, so he's out. That leaves Frank, Dean and Pam. I really do believe it was Pam or Dean, because Frank was trying in his head to see how these 2 parts were going to go together: Walk Don't Run ala My World Is Empty Without You and the little funky groove we had played earlier.


Berry now started singing the line 'Love Child' against the chords, once for each chord. Pam kept jotting down notes and occasionally talking out lines, as Berry would imitate or repeat what she said bending the words to fit inside the same space with the 4 chords. Hank was just not convinced yet. He was the only one of us not playing, so he could be totally objective to what was going on. He knew It was just plodding along from Am to G to F to E, from Am to G to F to E. The way Berry was playing it so far, there was no just real groove to that progression. No, there sure wasn't. Not yet. Not that night anyway. We never got back to our original groove we played earlier. Berry was too excited with what had been accomplished, and I think the rest of us needed to embrace this progress, and not critique it too quickly. So Berry finally stopped playing and said, "That's great, just great!, I think we definately have something". It was time for him to go. He told us to continue and see if we could develop it some more, and then said "See You tomorrow." and walked out the door.


All in all, I have to say it was a good night for all. Berry felt good. Pam was happy she finally had a shot, and came through quite nicely and the guys had a nice funky little track started. Somehow, we had all managed to get a little closer that night; even though there were holes to patch and questions to ask. However, It was too late for that now. The Boss was gone for the night. But . . . everyone knows when the cat's away, the mice will play.

. . . to be continued

By stephanie (206.214.1.159) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 05:15 am:

Deke
You are one great storyteller. I can now listen to Love Child and see the Ventures influence in the beginning. I heard it on the radio today and thought about you and the Clan!!! Man if you dont write a book....you are the best.
Steph

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 11:23 am:

Deke:
Whew! I always respected your work but reading this now deepens my admiration for what you and many others contributed to Motown. It's no wonder the QC people were looking over their shoulders....
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Nish (66.119.34.39) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 11:41 am:

Wow! Mr. Richards, I reiterate, you are a great storyteller, and it's all so interesting to know. That must be tremendous pressure on a given group of people, but obviously we all know the Clan rose to the challenge.

By TonyRussi (68.18.227.90) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 11:56 am:

Deke, thanks so much for sharing with us.The guitar part sold the track to me & "Love Child" was always my fave Supremes recording after Florence left.

By cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 01:37 pm:

Deke

This is like coitus interruptus!!!! LOL!! Can't wait for the next session Deke. What a great writer you are... and I know....

By Livonia Ken (136.2.1.101) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 01:49 pm:

It's funny the way Deke crafts his little cliffhangers so well. My gut reaction is always, "Boy I hope this turns out well in the end." My immediately subsequent reaction is to slap my forehead and say "D'Oh!"


Regards,
Ken

By John Lester (213.123.124.118) on Saturday, January 18, 2003 - 09:39 am:

Roll on Monday.......

By Eli (151.197.5.157) on Saturday, January 18, 2003 - 04:18 pm:

Cleo,
Is that the famous Roman Emperor????

By Bob Olhsson (68.32.96.67) on Saturday, January 18, 2003 - 04:26 pm:

Deke,

I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying hearing this story fleshed out. Dean Taylor and Pam Sawyer had told me bits and pieces of it but I always hoped one day to hear all of the details.

By Ritchie (62.254.0.8) on Saturday, January 18, 2003 - 04:30 pm:

I believe you're right, Bobby. He was the Roman Emperor who always pulled out when things were getting hot, leaving it to his brother Gluteus Maximus - who always complained he got the "bum jobs".

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Saturday, January 18, 2003 - 06:01 pm:

Hey there Soulkiddies. I got a reprive today on my personal obligations, so I thought I'd write the next chapter and pass it on.

"The Making Of One Legend, And The Return Of Another"

The story of The Clan, The Supremes and Their Love Child


Part V
Going For The Kill


Well, we just sat there for a minute. "Love Child"? That title definitely didn't have that sound like "You Keep Me Hangin On" or "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", etc. That was where everybody was missing it, including myself. Then, all at once, it got crystal clear. Everyone was thinking too much about the other past Diana hits. It was blocking the minds from thinking beyond all of that. I said, "If we can't see it now, don't worry about it. We still have a chord structure to create, as well as a melody." There's plenty to do.


(NOTE: Since I'm going to be jumping back and forth, talking about us putting 2 musical sections together, I'll just give them names. I'll just call the funky track we did the 'pickin thing' and the 4 chords from 'Walk Don't Run,' the 'LC Chords.' In fact, let me shorten that up to . . . "PT" and "LC".)


We started to listen to the cassette we taped of the mini track we cut and Berry playing the basic 'Love Child' chords while he sang. The first thing was to get the LC to grove like the PT we had done earlier. Now, there is no possible way to explain just how we finally did it. We just kept playing the one, and at different points, jumping into the other trying to keep the same groove. It was really frustrating and we were slowly getting burned out. We had a few ideas, but every idea seemed to leave us cold. Boredom was beginning to fill the air in the room. Even the smoke from our cigarettes was beginning to have that stale smell. We were getting too close. We needed to step back and look at it from a distance. Sometimes these things are like puzzles. They can drive you mad, and I'll tell you something right now, if you don't already know it. In music, trying to get something to sound simple, is usually the hardest thing to do. I knew we needed a break, maybe a bite to eat, talk about something else, watch some TV, etc. We just needed to get away from it for a minute. However, Pam was still making notes, reciting lines now and then. However, no one was really into the lyric thing right then. We had to put this thing in shape so the words had someplace to go. We ordered some food, turned on the TV and took some R&R.


It's funny when you're in a group like this. You are friends, when you're making progress. The rest of the time you're really strangers. When you have a writing partner, you've come to know each other's little quirks. You know how far you can go, how hard you can push, how much you can joke. THAT'S because you KNOW the person you are working with. It was different in this situation. We all needed respect, but we also needed a leader. At least, that's what I felt we needed, someone to push us, get the best from us, produce us. God, we had enough talent in that room, that's for sure. Maybe I understood that a little more than the others. I had come to Motown just after a fairly long run of playing gigs with my band. Being the leader of the group, was still fresh inside of me. I've always been a leader and an Aries to boot. In fact, what Aries people do, whether we like it or not; we lead . So, I decided to gamble again, only this time it was going to be with a group of equals who were working side by side. No one really had the right, but I took a chance anyway. It was just so clear to me. Somebody had to tell us all what to do. Somebody HAD to strike a spark, start a fire, get a response. So, I just went ahead and laid out a game plan. It was going treat this like just another song we were going to play on stage.


"OK, Everybody out of the pool," I said. "Let's go get this song finished." Everybody got up and walked back into the main room and went to their 'battle stations.' Whew, I thought to myself, so far so good. I had an idea we could try, when we go from the PT to the LC. Since the PT was really a guitar thing, I suggested that Frank just play the 4 chords of the LC, and let them sustain and I'm going to keep going with the PT. "Let's go for say 16 bars with the PT, then into those turnarounds, and then to the LC twice and then back to the top.", I said. Then I told Dean, "When we get to the LC, you take the rhythm there. Just fill the holes with a good rhythm that's in the pocket. Frank won't be in your way, so you'll have a clear shot at it. Don't ask me what to play or tell me what you're going to do; just do it, OK?" I just didn't have the answers yet, and I didn't want to play 'arranger' at that point either. Then I asked Hank to just come up with a simple rhythm and tap on the table. (Note: I may have told him to try playing 16's on the tambourine, but just can't remember if we brought one or not.) We were moving right along. None of the guys seemed to mind me calling the play. Again, I counted it off in the ballpark where I could do the PT. ONE . . TWO . . . ONE, TWO....BAM!


We were into it. It sounded so good when it started. "HOLD IT", I said. "Is the tape going?" We had all totally forgotten. Someone pushed record on the cassette player, and we were off and running again. We went for the 16 bars as planned, then I nodded for the turnaround change twice and then we came to the LC. Woah! Dean played this great rhythm right on cue. He played a full fat strum on that acoustic. Now, it wasn't exactly what we ended up with, but I gotta say, Dean was close. We kept on going. When we got back to the top, everyone just kept going one more time around. We stopped and all smiled. Everyone blurted out one liners of approval. Pam was even tapping her foot. That was a good sign, since Pam didn't usually keep time. "Play THAT back!." Funny, I think 2 or 3 of us said that at the same time. Now, that inspired Pam to come up with a few more lines. We all liked it, except for just one thing. The different sections sounded fine, but the order we played them in, was not making it. We switched the parts around, and tried it again. No, that didn't do it. We switched the order again and then tried it one more time. THAT DID IT. We were getting there, but we still needed another part and some more chords. What we needed was what I used to call 'The Mountain'. (Songwriters have their own names for this part.) It's not the intro. It's not the verse. Its not the chorus, and it's not the turnaround. I call it 'The Mountain'. It's the part that takes you from the verse and leads you up to the chorus. I've always called it that. It reminds me when I'm writing, to 'climb up' to the chorus.


Now, Pam had gotten inspired by the track. Before we got into it again, she shot off a few more lines. Well, one line hit a nerve on Dean. That one line was, "never meant to be". Dean said, "Hey, lets do it one more time". This time when we came to the LC, Dean mimicked the rhythm of the lyric line "never meant to be" on the 2nd and 4th chord of the LC. THAT finally nailed the rhythm guitar part. Now things were really picking up. This was important. It's one thing to be led; another thing to be told what to do, and another to know what you have to offer, is accepted and appreciated by others. So, everybody HAD to feel a worth, a purpose, and an individual sense of pride. If everyone had frozen up when I started leading them, I would have failed. We might have gone sideways, you never know. We were all producers, except for Pam. How does one producer, produce another producer? For that matter, how does one producer produce 4 producers at the same time? Eh . . . well I'll tell you. Gently, v-e-r-y gently.)


It is too difficult to go into detail from this point on about 'where this chord came from' and 'why that chord was used there', etc. I know we put together 3 or 4 different progressions. Part of this became mathematics as well as what sounded good to our ears. I mean, you just know you don't go from this chord, to that chord. You already know it won't work. However, Dean did a lot here with melody ideas, forcing us to try different progressions. We laid them all down on tape. It had been a long day, and I believed the best one yet.


The next day, Berry came over to hear the progress. He loved it. Between the different track ideas, Pam's lines and the different melody ideas we had, Berry felt we just might have all the parts. He stayed for a while and then took the tape and said he wanted to have some time with it. We were all in a state of limbo. We couldn't really go on any further at this point, until we knew what Berry thought. So, this was a good time for us to go back to our hotels and check in with the rest of our lives, etc. We decided to come back in a few hours. When I got to my room, I called Berry at the house and told him we were talking a break. He said, "Deke, I LOVE that guitar thing. Come over to the house now and bring your guitar." Well, there went MY break!


When I arrived at the mansion. Berry was playing the tape, singing some melodies, etc. He told me he how much he liked the guitar licks and wanted to hear more of them. "Well ", I said, "did you decide on a progression you like the best?" "Let's just play around with them for a bit. Plug in your guitar.", he said. So we went over the different changes, moving things around, etc. Like I said earlier, sometimes writing songs, is just like doing a puzzle. We used pretty simple chords, so it was easy for Berry to actually learn the progressions, and play along on the piano. I helped just feeding him the chords verbally, till he was comfortable. When we finally stuck with the composite progression we both seemed to like the best, we gave it a try together. It felt right and the order of the chords went together fine. We sang some melodies back and forth. Then, I played the tape we had made at the Ponchetrain earlier. "OK", I said, "Now see if you like this" When it came to one of the sections we had decided to use, I played more of the 'Duane Eddy-ish' guitar licks at the changes. 'Great", he shouted. That's it.!" Well, THAT did it. The man was definitely hyped up and ready to roll. "Call 'The Clan' and tell them to get over to the hotel RIGHT NOW!" I got on the phone and passed on the word. I reached Frank in his room. I could hear the TV in the background. I said "You sound like you're kickin' back. Well, get your shoes on, It's time to go back to work. I'm here with BG at the mansion. He wants us to meet at the Ponchetrain now. We're going for the kill!"


. . . to be continued

By dvdmike (12.84.10.236) on Saturday, January 18, 2003 - 06:02 pm:

Ritchie, are you sure it wasn't Homo Erectus flatulating his liquids by merely delineating the colonic orafice, thereby separating the gluteus from the maximus?

By soulboy (213.105.242.198) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 08:27 am:

I was curious about the ventures record,so i took time out to listen to 'walk don't run' yes the chord sequence is there, but amazingly it sounded totally disimilar in rythym and feel. In fact it sounds very similar in style to the shadows records.

By dvdmike (12.84.17.3) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 10:15 am:

For those who didn't get my last thread, it came from a Keenan Ivory Wayans line on "In Living Color". You remember the skit about the guys in prison who always mispronounce words?

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 01:20 pm:

To Soul Boy:

Now, I see I'm going to have to be careful. I didn't say anything about the 'feel' or 'rhythm'. Musicians hear when chords are relative or have similar progressions. I'll give you another example. There is another progression, too many songs to mention were written off of. However, I give you just a few of the titles. "Stay" (Maurice Williams), "You Send Me" (Sam Cooke) and ""Donna" (Ritchie Valens), and I'll throw in "Duke Of Earl" (Gene Chandler) for good measure. All of these songs may have had different 'feels', but were written from the same chord progression. This is what I was referring to, when I mentioned 'Walk Don't Run".

DR

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 08:24 pm:

"The Making Of One Legend, And The Return Of Another"

The story of The Clan, The Supremes and Their Love Child


Part VI
The Beginning Of The End Of Deke


I had gone ahead on over to meet the rest of The Clan at the Ponchetrain. Berry said he would be there directly. He also told me to have everything ready when he got there, so we could go right to work.


We were all ready and waiting when he arrived. Berry had been studying to the tape on the way over to the Ponchetrain. He came through the door with barely a hello. You could tell he just wanted to get right into it. He sat down at the piano. Although he knew the structure, I felt it was better to let Frank play piano. I jokingly told him, "Hey, BG! We'll play the tune, you play the producer". Now it was just a matter of putting the whole tune down on cassette in the order that BG and I had discussed it at the mansion. I'm pretty sure he made one change while he was playing the tape on his way over. At this point, we all just wanted the same thing: a track we would all be 'turned on' by. It was all still fresh in our minds, so this went fairly quickly. As we all became more familiar with the final progression, the parts each of us were playing just got tighter and better. (NOTE: I can't remember when Paul Riser was called. It was either at the Ponchetrain, or when I was over at the mansion. At any rate, Paul showed up and wrote up a quick chord chart that everyone could use. I don't even think he wrote anything for Jamerson.) We all decided that Frank, Dean and myself would play our parts, when it came time to cut the track. As far as Berry was concerned, the time was NOW. Berry threw out the first curve ball. I didn't know, that after I left his place, he had put out the call. The studio was ready and waiting, and the Funk Brothers were summoned.


It's too bad that no one was on hand, or called to take photos of this historical occasion. However, that's the crazy thing about taking photos. You never think of those things when you're just doing what do. I mean, this was a first. Berry back in the studio, producing with 3 other producers and going for the Brass Ring (a Smash on Diana Ross) at the same time. Since Frank, Dean and I were going to be playing on the track, Hank would act as producer inside the studio, and Berry would be producing inside the control room.


(Note: I can't remember if Earl Van Dyke, couldn't be located, or just wasn't called because Frank was going be on piano. However, Robert White, Eddie Willis and Joe Messina all showed up as well as Jamerson.)
I was pretty excited myself. It was going to the first, and maybe the last time I would ever have the honor to play side by side with The Funk Brothers. The engineer sat me up in a chair directly across from them. I have to say, I was really a little uncomfortable. JJ and the boys always sat in the same chairs placed in a line. They were ragging on me and I remember Joe saying something like ,"You're on our turf now' and they all laughed. I was never what I'd consider a 'great guitar player', but I could hold my own. I remember I just kept thinking, 'settle in, relax, everything's going to be fine'. At the end of the studio there was a door that went into the small room for the horns. I think it was also used for small string sessions, although I never cut strings there. This is where R. Dean was placed, since he was playing the acoustic guitar.


We ran down the chart a few times and I watched what the guitars were playing. Robert White had these serious fingernails, and always kept them manicured to a tee. He is the one that would pluck the chords with his nails instead of using a pick. That's what got that clean distinct chord sound. Joe mostly played rhythm. I noticed he only used the first four strings, staying off the E & A bass strings, thus making a cleaner rhythm sound. Eddie always did the little licks and added the personality here and there. Keep in mind, this style I mention, wasn't etched in stone, but they did use these styles on many of the sessions I observed or produced. Everyone knows they could switch gears and play whatever, whenever. Anyway, I decided to keep Robert on the sustained chords. I had Joe double Deans acoustic, and Eddie I took with me. I wanted the PT to really stick out there and be seamless. I didn't want Eddie to double me, or it would have sounded too busy or clashing. So I told Eddie to mute his strings and just pick 16ths on his bass string in the verses. I finger picked all the notes that went over, under and around Eddie while he just stayed on the same note all the way.


OK, we (the guitars) were ready. Frank and Dean were balanced and ready. Frank gave the drums the same 16ths that Eddie was playing for the intro and verses. The only thing missing was the actual intro. We tried a drum kick, a bass lick, a piano lick, but none of it worked. Then, Paul Riser (bless his soul) actual gave me the idea for that made me find the intro. If it was going to start up with the guitar pickin thing as the basic foundation, then I should get us there on the guitar as well. I just needed something quick, simple and tasty. I put in these 2 chords up higher on the neck. It sounded a bit thin, so we added the cymbal crescendo to build it up and then slam it down into the groove. It really worked quite nice. We were ready for a take. Frank did the count-off, Hank stayed with the drummer, (It was Pistol or Uriel), and Berry made sure it was going on tape. We used up the entire 3 hour session on "Love Child". We had just cut the track for the next Diana Ross single. It was a simple sounding track, but solid and strong.


It was over. It was time to relax and rejoice. We listened a few times in the control room and then went over to Berry's place for a mini celebration and listening party. It was kind of embarrassing how much he would mention my guitar stuff. Don't get me wrong, everyone likes their ego stroked, but when you're in the room with the rest of your producing/writing team, you get a tad queasy. The fact is, Berry just liked what he liked, period. He had respect for everyone in the group, or none of us would have been chosen in the first place. I just know we enjoyed working together. I don't know what made him single me out and take me under his wing. However, I always thought I was getting the better end of the deal. The "Love Child" project, was the beginning of a great relationship between the two of us.


It was time to tighten up the melody and the lyrics. We already knew that Pam's strong suit was the words. I really gained a new level of respect for Dean as he polished up and added parts of the melody. In the meantime, we went for a string session. Paul Riser gave us a great string arrangement . The intro still needed something to help that guitar and drum crescendo. The string gliss Paul wrote was perfect. If anyone wasn't sure about this track before, the doubt was melting quickly. It was time for Diana and the group. Dean, Pam and Berry worked with Diana. I was only at some of the dubins. They really had that part of the production under control. That's the one advantage to having a team of players. At first Diana was fine, but I could feel she was a little uncomfortable with so many people in that small control room. It can get a little trying with 5 people coming up with ideas for her, so I just paid my respects and left. On the second dubin I went to, I could see Diana was just not in the mood to sing at all that night. I know that Berry made her come in, like it or not. Well, I couldn't really feel sorry for her. We (The Clan) had all worked our butts off getting to this point. It was all for Diana. Berry expected her to give just as much as everyone else had. No more, no less . . . just her best!


When it was time for the BG vocals, whatever input and ideas we had, were noted. However, Frank took charge here with the Andantes. Frank always had a great feel for background parts. The 'buzz' was spreading through the company that this new group called 'The Clan' was getting ready to unveil their creation for all to hear. All we needed now was to mix it. The next QC meeting was only a day away. There was just no way we could have it ready by then. Berry was loaded down and behind with some company business. Of course this record was serious business as well, but there were other important matters for him to deal with. However, the Sales Dept. was climbing the walls and Billie Jean was telling him we have to come out with something, like now. She said she had one or two things she was going to play in the meeting. Berry really felt bad about this. I could tell he did NOT want to wait one more week till the next QC meeting. As we walked down the hall after leaving his office, I suddenly blurted out, "Berry, I can do this. Let me mix the record tonight and I'll have it ready for the QC meeting tomorrow." He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me. "Are you sure", Berry said. "I mean are you SURE you do it?". "Yes!, I said. "I know I can. I can pull this off. I know every part of this record like the back of my hand." Berry hesitated for a moment, then turned and said, "Let's go, I 'm going to call Billie Jean right now". We went back to his office. He called Billie Jean and told her, "We want mixing time tonight. We're going to have it ready for the meeting tomorrow". Done. BJ set up the time and there was no turning back now. As Berry and I left his office the second time, he was smiling. We bumped into Frank and Hank in the hall. "Deke's gonna mix 'Love Child' for us tonight. We're going to play it at the QC meeting tomorrow morning." Hank had a semi-blank look on his face. "Don't worry", said Berry. "Deke's got us covered".


I was all set to go and showed up at the mixing room at 6pm. It was just the two of us, the engineer and myself. Hold on a minute! How could everything be so right, and then suddenly go so wrong? In less than 24hrs, I went from Berry Gordy's 'Golden Boy', to 'Mr. Bad Guy'. Little did I know, I would be responsible for the attempted assisination of 'Love Child' and 'The Clan'. I was about to experience the most embarassing moment of my life. It was like a bad dream. It was like . . . the beginning of the end of Deke.


To be continued in THE FINAL CHAPTER . . . "The Miracle Mix"

By Steve Litos (209.100.86.4) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 08:51 pm:

CLIFFHANGER!!!

This has been the best chapter to date!

Are you writing this as you go along?

By John Lester (81.132.26.66) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 09:18 pm:

I can't beleive its 2.19 in the morning in the UK.

Deke....where does Syreeta's version come into this "histoire"

By John Lester (81.132.26.66) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 10:10 pm:

Deke...how come Syreeta has a version of the song with almost the same band track but with slightly different lyrics and a swop round of the verses?

By P.J. (12.227.39.23) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 10:25 pm:

Deke,
Did any of the Clan members ask where Mary and Cindy were or why they weren't there- even on the sly to one another, since Berry was present with you at this stage? Or did Berry make some announcement to that effect? You've subtitled this piece 'The story of The Clan, The Supremes and Their Love Child (rather unorthodox capitalization-does this have a special meaning?)
Early on in Part VI it sounds almost as if you(singlar and/or plural) thought you were/actually were working on a Diana Ross solo single. Diana's name is mentioned twice in this fashion; the third time you mention Diana and the group. Only then do you mention the Andantes being involved in the recording. Will the next installment resolve this tension and answer my initial question?

By STUBASS (64.12.97.7) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 10:55 pm:

DEKE: THESE ARE FASCINATING STORIES AND I AS WELL APPRECIATE YOUR SHARING THEM WITH US!!!...THEY GIVE ONE ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE OF THE PERSONALITIES THAT WE DISCUSS HERE ON THIS FORUM!!!...FOR YOUR OWN SAKE...PLEASE COPYRIGHT YOUR MATERIAL...SO NOBODY STEALS SOME INFORMATION AND CLAIMS IT FOR THEIR OWN!!!...LOOK FORWARD TO MORE!!!...STU

By Julian (64.12.97.7) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 11:22 pm:

Where can I hear Syretta's version!?

By John Lester (81.132.26.66) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 11:40 pm:

Julian...Pop over to my place for a cuppa of tea one night!

By Sue (205.188.209.38) on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 11:42 pm:

Deke,
Fascinating insight into the creative process. I bet those Pontchartrain rooms were the bomb in the early '70s ...

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 04:30 am:

For PJ:

I personally did not know why Mary and Cindy were not called in for the dub in. Nothing was said to me. With Frank on top of this part of the production, I didn't question it. There was also one week during the project when I had to go back to LA on business. The decision regarding the girls, could have been made while I was away.


As far as the title and special meaning to the capitalization? No. I usually capitalize the first letter of each word of a 'Title'.

Singular or plural Diana and/or Supremes: No. I t was always Diana Ross & The Supremes. I just typed her name quickly in those spots. When I went back to check for spelling or punctuation errors, I missed adding the Supremes to each occurrence I used only Diana's name.

DR

By P.J. (12.227.39.23) on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 06:54 am:

Deke,
Thanks for the clarification.

By cleoharve (160.79.83.208) on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 02:29 pm:

Deke:

Again thank you for the wonderful story. If you have not thought about it already, you must think of writing a book. It would be of great interest to a lot of people. Not filled with vitriol and scores to settle, but an actual telling of the story from someone who was there.

I hope you understand the questions about Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. These ladies are dearly loved by the fans (as shown by the failure of the Diana Ross and the Supremes Return to Love 2 years ago), It was around the time of Love Child that Motown stopped calling Mary and Cindy into a lot of sessions of Diana Ross and the Supremes. It is strange because it is evident that the Andantes were imitating Mary and Cindy's sound, especially Cindy's soft top range. Mary and Cindy have both said that they began to feel as though they were not necessary at Motown.

I once asked Valerie Simpson why she did not use Mary and Cindy on Some Things You Never Get Used To and she replied that it was not ouf of spite as far as she and Nick were concerned but because of expediency. They were under the gun and simply did not have enough time to teach Mary and Cindy the harmonies that she and Nick wanted.

In any event, I cannot wait for the next segment. And think about that book....
Thanks

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 03:02 pm:

To: cleoharvey and STUBASS

Thanks for hanging in there as well as being concerned. Just so you know some parts are ©, and some parts need to be sent in. Thanks for kicking me in the gluteus to remind me.

DR

By soulboy (213.105.242.198) on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 03:23 pm:

Deke
One of the most detailed and amazing stories i have ever read on soulful detroit. I can't resist asking you this (if you know). If Love child hit number one 11/30/68,(billboard). when did the session date and the hotel happen? Just for us to get some idea of timeline of the record.

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 05:23 pm:

To Soul Boy:

I can't believe it. I have tapes, I have notes, I have scribbled notes all from back then . . . and NOT ONE is dated. Keep in mind this all went down fairly quickly. Either Harry or John can come up with the date of the session, then just back up 2 to 3.5 weeks from there and you should be in the ballpark.

DR

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 07:03 am:

Pam Sawyer co-wrote the Young Rascals' first single, "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" from 1965. How did she hook up with Motown?

By RD (63.188.33.127) on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 07:42 am:

With Lori Burton, Pam Sawyer wrote "It Won't Hurt" for the original O'Jays' quintet on Imperial Records around the midsixties.

She wrote "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" with Jimmy Roach and both were surprised to see Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol's names added as songwriters when the record came out.

By Nish (216.148.246.134) on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 03:20 pm:

Mr. Richards, your retelling of the story is excellent! Thanks so much.

Were you at all involved in the writing of the follow-up "I'm Living In Shame" or just the production?

NISH

By John Lester (217.40.237.76) on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 04:45 pm:

Just got back from sunny Manchester...arrived in rainy London...

so let's see what I have missed!!!!

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 11:45 pm:

For Nish:
Only production on the second single, and late in the game. My Mother was quite ill, so I had to go back to LA during pre-production of 'Shame'.

DR

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 03:32 am:

"The Making Of One Legend, And The Return Of Another"

The story of The Clan, The Supremes and Their Love Child

THE FINAL CHAPTER, "The Miracle Mix"is coming tomorrow. The unforgettable conclusion is the longest chapter of my story. It originally was going to be 2 chapters, but I knew, if I did that, you would have run out of town. So, get comfortable. I hope you enjoy it. See you tomorrow.

Deke

By John Lester (213.123.116.52) on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 03:38 am:

Deke.....I am SO glad you told me that..I am sitting here waiting for you.....

The folks at the office will wonder why I am early for a change!

By cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 10:41 am:

Deke:

I hope our interest in what you have to say moves you to "complete" that book. Those of us who are in the business are aware that there is always more to the story than what the popular folkfore is, and it is so nice to finally hear it.

I received an email from Mary Wilson and when I replied I told of her of how you were enthralling the members of this forum. I also told her that the forum would get a kick out of her gracing the site.

Can't wait for the next installment.
Michael

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 12:22 pm:

Deke:
Keep it up, my friend! If you ever decide to write that book on Motown, let me know - I'd be happy to assist you.
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By BankHouseDave (195.93.49.10) on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 04:31 pm:

Deke and Kevin - if you're looking for a publisher....

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 01:25 pm:

Hi Soulkiddies. It's time for the FINAL CHAPTER. Here is the conclusion of . . .


"The Making Of One Legend, And The Return Of Another"

The story of The Clan, The Supremes and Their Love Child


Part VII
The Miracle Mix


A normal mixing session would run 1-2 hours. If the record, or producer was important, then of course it could go longer When it came to 'Love Child', I didn't know how long we were scheduled for, but we obviously had carte blanche. So Ed started doing the normal setup, as I went over my notes of all the parts of the production. There were a lot of miscellaneous things to keep track of while mixing, i.e. low levels on this track, a mistake on that track, a breath or bad punch-in on Diana's track, etc. He did a number of mixes but always missed something. Even with some limiting here, and some compression there, it soon became clear to both of us. This was a job for more than one pair of hands on the console.


We split up the 'watch out for' list between us and started to mix again, together. I must admit there were a few early mixes that didn't sound bad. However, this mix was too important. I had to come up with a mix that was w-a-y beyond something that 'didn't sound bad'. I kept thinking to myself, "Everyone in that QC meeting has to fall over like bowling pins when they hear it. They have to love this record. 'Love Child' has to get a unanimous hands up reaction to be the new single for Diana. Keep in mind, this project had been under raps, so no one had heard anything yet. The anticipation was overwhelming. The fact is, in some circles, 'The Clan' with it's secret project, was looked upon as a bit of a joke. We all knew this kind of stuff drifted down the halls like cigarette smoke coming from underneath closed doors. After all, think about who was in the group. Hank had some credibility, but the rest of us have any real serious track record. Even with Berry in the group, didn't change it much. I think many had given up hope on him every writing another classic.

Mix, after mix, after mix was completed and played back. Sometimes, it came so close . It was Midnight and I was still excited and feeling fine. Ed was really into it as well, so we kept going. We were going to get this baby if it killed us. Well, it almost did. At about 3:00 in the morning, it seemed like we had it between 2 different mixes. So, we decided to make a splice and put them together. We tried it in a couple of different places. There was too much tambourine on one mix, and it just called your attention to the splice. The other splice point had a similar problem. We had spent almost 45 minutes trying out the 2 different takes and the 2 different splice points. I could feel that Ed was starting to fade a bit. We started to mix again. It was now 4:00 am.


We mixed for another hour. Keep in mind an hour disappears like a shot in the dark, when you're mixing. There are false starts, and places where a cue is missed, playbacks, etc. You might end up with 4 or 5 mixes. During these mixes little things got tweaked up, i.e. a little more echo on Diana, a little more edge on the snare, a little fattening up of the acoustic guitar. At any rate we finally came up with another mix close to 6:00 am. We both made all the cues perfect, it looked like we had a winner. We played it back. DAMN. One of us, while reaching for one of the cues, had bumped the master fader. You could hear it as plain as day. There was no way this was going to fly, I thought to myself. All we had to do was make one more mix, and we would have been home free. We started up again, but we just missed little things in each mix. After about ten or so of these, I just knew Ed was starting to lose it. Now the clock seemed to start ticking in double time. Every time I looked up another 30 minutes had disappeared. Whoops, I just lost the tambourine, then there too much echo on the snare, and finally the BG vocal sounded dull. These all got fixed and we continued. It was now 7:00am. I knew it was time to start counting backwards. I thought, "The meeting starts at 10:00 am. I have to cut the acetate. That would take 30 minutes, with the paperwork, etc. It would take me 30 minutes to take a 'bird bath', change clothes, freshen up. I had to add traveling time from the studio to my hotel and from the hotel to downtown. (You have to remember, the new offices had now moved, and were no longer at Hitsville.) That was another 30 minutes. There was 1-1/2 hrs. right there. So, I had until 8:30 at the latest to finish the mix, not one minute later. I couldn't be late for the QC meeting, period. That gave me 1-1/2 hours before I had to walk out the door. On top of that, the final mix had to be leadered, logged etc.


Billie Jean got into her office at 9:00am, sometimes earlier on a QC meeting day. I thought I better make the call. "What?", you're still there? You've been there all night? Damn, Deke!". BJ said. "Look, BJ we've had a tuff time with this, and I know right now I'll be running late. That's why I called. I'll need to have the Disc Mastering Room waiting for me when I get there.", I said. (The Disc Mastering Room is where we cut the acetates.) Now I know, if Berry wasn't involved in this project, just what Billie Jean would have said to me. I'm sure she had to really bite her tongue. I knew I was going to hear about this at some point down the line. "All right, but get your butt in gear!", she said, then hung up. With that out of the way it was time to get back to the mix. 1 hour and 20 minutes to go, that's it. We made another one, but something sounded strange. During the mix, Ed took muted something and forgot to put it back on. Unfortunately, that was straw that broke the Camel's back. Ed was tired and pissed. He was so cool until then, so I never knew it was building up inside of him. He wanted to call it off. I said, "Come on Ed, we're almost there". Begging and pleading would have done no good at this point. I could see, he was wasted. I said, "OK, take a break, I can handle it. I'll keep going." By now, I knew all of the changes by heart. I had to keep my concentration, but I kept on going. Ed stepped in from outside and made a comment while I was playing back a mix. I made the adjustment or change and kept going. 49 minutes . . . 27 minutes . . . 16 minutes and then with only 12 minutes to go, I got it. I cut and spliced in the head and tail leaders and almost put half of my finger inside that mix as well. Razor blades can bite you, when you're trying to work at 90 mph. I grabbed my stuff and with only 4 minutes to spare, I was out the door at 8:26. I did it!


I raced to the hotel, cleaned up and continued on to the office downtown. I ran in, jumped on the elevator and got inside the Mastering Room at 9:20. The engineer was waiting for me. He cut the disc, and I took the stairs just in case the elevator was crowded. When I got in the hall, I saw Hank and Frank. "BG was looking for you. Have you got it?", they asked. "Right here", I said. We walked down the hall and into the meeting. I saw Billie Jean and Berry seated at the tables at the end of the room. The 2 turntables, sitting on the table in front of them. The meeting hadn't begun. Various producers and others from A&R and sales were sitting in the fold up chairs that filled the room to capacity. Besides Hank and Frank, Pam and R. Dean were also there. There was Johnny Bristol & Harvey Fuqua, Ivy Joe Hunter, Norman Whitfield, Clay McMurray and more. Even VP-by-day Smokey Robinson, who didn't always come, showed up. (I'm sure Berry asked him to make it on this so-called special occasion.) I walked up to the end of the room and calmly handed the acetate to Berry, almost interrupting his conversation with Billie Jean. She barely looked up; just long enough to give me a stern look. There was no 'hello' or 'good morning'. I turned and went to a chair that Hank had saved for me on the end. Normally, I always sat in the back of the room. It was fun back there. Besides, If your record was a 'bomb', you didn't feel everyone's eyes looking at you from behind. However, Hank and Frank got us all seats in the middle of the room. Oh well, I thought, today . . . so what?


Berry called the meeting to order. The first acetate was placed on Turntable A. It was played, voted on, comments made, graded and then on to the next. If a record got a majority of hands up, it could almost be considered the next release. About 4-6 sides were played, then Berry in a low key style, introduced the next record he was going to play. He wanted it to be the last record played in the meeting. There were a few words about the new producing team , but our names were not mentioned. Everyone knew what they were getting ready to hear. It was ours. It was 'The Clan'. It was 'Love Child'. Everyone looked over at me an smiled, and I returned the gesture. Berry slowly lowered the needle on the beginning grooves. From the moment it started, you could hear a pin drop. The first thing that happened was Berry looked up directly at me. I felt the eyes of Hank and Frank as well looking at me as well. The record almost sounded like some kind of a joke. It was thin and you could barely hear Jamerson on the bass. Diana's voice had too much edge and way too much echo. At first I thought the cartridge on the turntable just blew out. For me, listening to this record continue for almost 3 minutes, was nothing short of pure torture. My God, I thought what happened?


As the record was beginning to fade, Berry lifted the needle. He was smiling and almost everyone in the room was laughing or giggling. It had to be the most embarrassing moment of my entire life. Berry was laughing himself, jokingly said, "I'm going to have to have a long talk with 'our mixer', Deke Richards. We are going to have to go and do another mix on this, and resubmit it in the next meeting." Then he continued with a humorous line or two, that was probably very funny to everyone but me. Then he said he wanted to meet with "The Clan" after the meeting was over. I could barely stand it. I just couldn't believe what had happened. My whole world had just turned upside down. The meeting ended and some of the producers made cracks to me on their way out the door. People were filing out the door. Hank looked at me and said, "What did you do, man?". I overheard someone else say, "Well, THAT was a big mistake". I could see Billie Jean was still giggling and laughing. While Berry was talking to her, he motioned to us to follow him as we all walked out the door. I thought to myself, I had it all in the palm of my hand, and I blew it. It was all over now.


We all stopped in the hall and Berry said he had Billie Jean schedule some mixing time and was going to go upstairs to mix at 6pm. I remember one the guys telling me, "Why don't you go back to the hotel now and get some rest? You look like you could use it." I just stood there still stunned for a second, as they continued to walk down the hall. "No! Wait a minute", I shouted as I shuffled up to the group. "I want to mix this again". There were a number of comments firing all at once. All I can tell you is, none of those talking approved of my request. "Look", I said. "I blew it, I know that, but making me stay away is not going to change anything or make it better. Berry, I've GOT to know HOW I screwed up so badly. I've got to make it right. Please, man." Then it was quiet for a second. Berry said, "It's OK Deke, go home, go back to the hotel". "Berry", I said again, "I NEED to do this. I want to learn. I really want to be a good mixer. Let me work with you." There was another moment of silence. I glanced at each of the group, but their eyes were fixed on Berry. I felt so bad for everyone, but I knew they all thought I single-handedly tried to assassinate "The Clan" and "Love Child" at the same time. Now we were all looking at Berry, waiting for his answer. "All right, you can come. Just meet me at the Mastering Room upstairs tonight at 6. Right now, I want you to go back to the hotel and get some rest. You look like hell". "I'll be there", I said, and walked away, leaving them all standing in the hall. I'm sure a few more things were said after I walked away, none of it very good. However, I couldn't blame them; and at the same time I couldn't let it get to me. I knew 2 important things. I just got a second chance, and I was NOT going to blow it. I was going be a winner. Nothing was going to stop me from doing that.


Russ Terrana was the engineer assigned to meet us in the Mastering Room that night. I liked Russ. He was a sharp, quick thinking, knowledgeable engineer, with a sense of humor. Russ had everything set up and ready to go, including the ID tapes for the tracks at the base of each fader. Berry immediately sat down at the console, and Russ stood to his left. I stood to the right of Berry, but in more front of him. I didn't want to be looking over his shoulder. I hate that, myself. I wanted him to be able to see me at all times. He started to run down the tape and get a feel for the balance and the levels on each track. I watched every single move Berry made that night, but I never got on the console. He never asked to play the mix I brought to the meeting, even for comparison. That let me know, just how bad it really was. We stayed only until about 9:00pm. Berry had made a few mixes and I asked for a 7 1/2" ips copy for myself. "Why?", he said. "I want to study it.", I said. Berry told Russ he wanted to come back tomorrow night.


Day 2 started about the same. Berry sat down at the console, Russ and I stood. He would ask for this echo or reverb and use terminologies I was not familiar with. When I saw a moment I wouldn't break his concentration, I started to ask questions. What is this?, What does that do?, Why use this instead of that?, etc. Then I'd leave him alone and just listen and study what was happening to the sound. I waited for him to miss one thing that I believed was important, or would sound better another way. (Note: I may have totally screwed up the mix that everyone heard, but I LIVED with that 8-Track Master tape for 14 hours. I knew where all the little problem areas were.) However, I wanted him do his mix and not be interrupted. At the same time, It wasn't my place, not yet anyway. I waited patiently to hear 4 little words. Russ was helping him with compression and limiting, etc. Then after the 5th mix, he was smiling confidently and then turned to me at last and said:

BG-"What do you think? (BINGO! Those 4 little words were music to my ears.)
DR-"There was a snare beat you keep missing just before the second verse."
BG-"Where?", he said in a tone that was a little like "What are you talking about".
DR-"Play it back from the first chorus and I'll show you." When it came to the part, I said "THERE". (I still refrained from touching the faders since he was at the controls . I just had to be patient.)
BG-"Yea?, so . . .? What?"
DR-"I thought you heard it"
BG-"Heard what?" (This seemed like a little bit of a 'cat and mouse' game, but I didn't want to push him. Finally, he said:
BG-"What are you talking about? Show me!"
That did it.
DR-"Do you mind?"
BG-"Here, sit down". He got up and I sat down.

This would be better anyway, I thought . With him standing, he could just listen and hear the difference. I had Russ play the tape from the first chorus again. I let it play the way once through just the way he had it mixed it. "Now," I said, "check this out!" I asked Russ to rewind the tape and play it again. This time when it came to the part just before the second verse (Diana is singing, 'different from the rest') I slammed up the fader on the snare for a split second. WAP!. Berry said, "That's great, play it again". Now he was watching my hands on the faders. I did it again. "Excellent!" he said, then I started to get up and Berry said, "No, stay here. Russ, get us another chair." From that point on, we were inseparable at the console.


Side by side we mixed for hours at a time. I soaked up every little bit of knowledge I could from Berry like a sponge. I even stayed after Berry left and continued to mix a few. I even spent time talking to Russ. He would show me the correct use and application for various types of echo and reverb, limiters and compressors, etc. I remember when BG and I were mixing, the rest of 'The Clan' stopped by at different times to check on Berry and 'The Bad Guy'. However, the ice had begun to melt. Everyone could see I was going to make sure it was right this time. You could just tell, this record was going to be great. Then, something strange happened. I had started early on one session, and had made a few changes and found a another 'goodie' (Note: 'Goodies' were the great little parts in the track or production, that were just lying there, waiting to be found and then featured in the final mix so they would stand out). Berry walked in and just listened to what I was doing, instead of sitting down at the console. He said:

BG-"Did you put that on tape?".
DR-"Yes"
BG-"Well let me hear it back". (When the playback was done, he smiled.)
BG-Almost, but you forgot one thing". (He seemed so proud as if to say 'Got Cha!" He made another mix as I watched. Then, we played it back.)
BG-See? You forgot to bring up the strings there?
DR-You're right. Not bad, but . . . you blew it!".
BG-"Bull Sh--!, where?"
DR-Move over a minute. (I made a mix an showed him another 'goodie'.)
BG-Damn. That's good.

Well, it was like this. The two of us in friendly combat, shooting each other down, picking each other up, right down to the end of the line. There were times we felt we had the final mixes. Berry ordered acetates cut. Then, we went down to QC room and played them back on the turntables. Acetates had white labels with all the info regarding the mix. The title was followed by the mixing engineers initials in parenthesis, then the date, master number, etc. One acetate was placed on each turntable. This process was called 'A-Bee-ing". We would cue up both turntables, let them go and switch between the output of Turntable "A" and Turntable "B". Then these acetates were given grades just like in a QC meeting. 1 to10, 10 being the best. Most of the final mixes (acetates) brought to the QC room to check out, consisted of one done by each of us. There were some that were even done by both of us together. Those acetates had both of our initials typed on them as mixing engineers. i.e. (BG/DR). We intensely competed 'to the death'; or should I say, ' for the life' of the next Diana Ross and The Supremes release. He knew deep inside, how I felt. I would have given anything to undue the wrong I had done that one black day when I walked into the QC meeting with that first mix of "Love Child". We had such great fun working together. I was working beside one of my idols. I had learned so much, it was time for me to give back. I even taught my 'teacher' a few tricks. We used to laugh and joke when the he was grading our acetates on the turntable. "Well, this one sounds good (referring to my mix), but this one has this little 'goodie' . . etc. (Referring to his mix.) Then he would write the grade in pencil on the label. "I'm going to give this one (mine) a "8". However, this one (his) I have to give a "8-1/4". I would shoot back, laughing so hard, "What? Hey, come on man, where did you get that "1/4" crap! Let's go back down, I can beat that one". Back down to the room we'd go, both squeezing a little more 'juice' out of the tape and into the mix.


When it was finally over, we sat in the QC room, our acetates on the turntables. Berry always put his on the left and mine on the right. We both swore this would be the last. Back and forth, back an forth he switched the monitor from Turntable 'A' to Turntable 'B'. 'Mine has got the guitar lick here, but yours has got that string gliss", he said as we both laughed. "I don't care BG, you call it.", I said. I felt confident that both mixes were just as great.. "Well, I'm going to give this one a "9" (referring to my mix the right) and THIS one (referring to his mix on the left) a "9 3/4". That was it. It was over. "Mark down the mix, and give Billie Jean the number. Then, have a couple more acetates cut for me." Berry started to leave, then he turned to me, shook my hand and said, "Deke, you were a 'dead man'. Everyone in the group was out for your blood, but you came back! You did one hell of a job". We congratulated each other, said good-bye and then Berry walked out the door. I just stood there for a minute, alone in the room. The memories of that fateful day I came to the QC meeting with that 1st mix of "Love Child" flashing in front of my eyes. I walked over to the desk and picked up both the discs off the turntables, and walked over to the door. I turned and took one more look at the empty room and I began to see ghosts of all the producers talking and laughing in their seats. It was almost like a kid's classroom before the teacher walks in. I had a feeling this room would haunt me the rest of my life. It was starting to already. My chest swelled and let go one last sigh of relief. Then I turned off the lights, and walked out the door.


The End? . . . not quite.


I kept those 2 final acetates for myself to remind me of this special moment in my life. When I finally got ready to leave Detroit to go back to LA, I looked at the discs one more time before I put them in my bag. I laughed to myself as I looked at the grades Berry had written on our final mixes: "9" on my mix and a "9 3/4" on his mix. Then, I saw something that suddenly put me in a sort of trance. I had to look twice. Examining the discs carefully, I discovered that the mixing engineers initials on both discs were the same (DR). In other words, the 2 final mixes that Berry graded that day, were both in fact, my mixes. Was this some mild form of 'Sweet Revenge'? No, not at all. Let's just call it a miracle. Until now, it is the one secret I have kept to myself all these years. I never even told Berry.

___________________________________________

I hope you enjoyed taking this ride with me down Memory Lane.
Here is a little extra something I wanted you to have. Click Me!


Thank you all, so much . . .

Deke

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 01:55 pm:

Deke,
Great story pal and a very good lesson in the importance and complexity of top notch mixing. I would have given you a 10 though.

By cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 02:17 pm:

Deke:

I cannot tell you how much I loved the story of Love Child. The irony: it seems that you were being birthed at the same time as the creation of the "Love Child." I hope you will continue to grace this magnficent forum and let us know when that book is finally written.

Great success on any project that you are working on and I would be delighted to meet you one day.
Michael

By Bradburger (172.179.124.78) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 02:42 pm:

Deke,

What can I say. Mind blowing stuff. You really should write a book.

And thanks for those pics of the acetates.

No I need to go and lie down!

Cheers

Paul

By soulboy (213.105.242.198) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 02:58 pm:

Amazing story Deke, and extraordinary detail, all the way from the conception to the birth of love child.
SB

By TonyRussi (68.18.227.90) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 02:58 pm:

Thanks so much Deke...I appreciate the records even more knowing how much work went into it.It really is a combination of all involved that makes a "hit".You are a great writer...I felt like I was there with you.You should write a book.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 03:01 pm:

Deke:
For once I'm speechless....Great story.
Please write that book on your Motown years...We young guns have so much to learn from you.
Peace,
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Nish (66.119.33.170) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 03:13 pm:

Thanks so much for allowing the "Love Child" saga to unfold right before our eyes! Mr. Richards, you're an ace storyteller, and I would CERTAINLY be the first in line to buy any book you write! And thanks for sharing those pictures!!

NISH

By john dixon (63.101.17.207) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 03:28 pm:

Damn, Deke, what a story! And what a storyteller!
My mind reels at the possibility that every great Motown record has a similar fascinating backstory.
Did HDH ever write a book together filled with the stories behind their hits? Even if they do, I seriously doubt that they could be as spellbinding in the actual telling of the tale as you, Deke. Thank you sir.

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 04:05 pm:

Deke ; what a great story ! Excuse me if I missed it somewhere above , but what does 'rundown' mean on the acetate?

Steve K.

By John Lester (213.123.132.241) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 04:15 pm:

Deke..

Oooo..you bring tears to my eyes...I felt like a fly on the wall...and you still have those acetates!! WOW

Now that's what I call BREATHTAKING......

By Livonia Ken (136.2.1.153) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 04:36 pm:

The End? ... but how did the record do? Did it sell?

[pregnant pause]

[forehead slap] D'Oh!

Thanks for a great read to go along with a great record.

Regards,
Ken

By 1wicked (64.32.154.94) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 04:44 pm:

And the crowd stomps, claps, and yells "We want more...we want more...we want more !!!!!"

Great story......better than anything Aaron Spelling (or any daytime soaps) EEEEEEVERRR had on the "tube" !!

By Bob Olhsson (68.32.96.67) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 04:52 pm:

Deke,

I was one of the guys who picked up the mixes you and Berry were making and took them down to cut acetates.

This is the best explanation of Berry Gordy's quality control process imaginable. It's something that I've been struggling to explain to people for years but I've only been batting 2s and 3s. You've got a 10!

This is exactly what working at Motown in Detroit was like.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 07:20 pm:

Bob & Deke:
Stories like yours are the reasons why Motown became America's top independent label (next to Atlantic until Ahmet Ertegun sold the label in 1967).

If I may paraphrase -

Excellent writing...

Excellent arranging...

Excellent producing...

Excellent musicianship (all hail the mighty Funk Brothers!)...

Excellent engineering (thank you, Russ & Ralph Terrana & Co.)...

Excellent equipment standards (kudos to Mike McLean)...

Excellent TALENT (well groomed & skilled, above all)...

Excellent quality control standards (makes an Apollo Theatre Amateur Night audience look like a bunch of wimps..)...

Excellent salesmanship (take a bow, Barney Ales..)..

Excellent marketing & promotion...

Excellent performances (gotta love the Motortown Revue!)...

And, of course, an excellent bunch of staff & executives led by a man who settled for nothing less than A+.

Best regards to you and those who contributed to the Sound of Young America.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By stephanie (205.186.129.84) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 08:00 pm:

Deke,

I was one of the guys who picked up the mixes you and Berry were making and took them down to cut acetates.

This is the best explanation of Berry Gordy's quality control process imaginable. It's something that I've been struggling to explain to people for years but I've only been batting 2s and 3s. You've got a 10!

This is exactly what working at Motown in Detroit was like. >>>>

This is what I like about this forum who would have known Bob Ohlsson was the one who picked up those precious acetates and Deke (the master storyteller) was the one who was earning and learning at the same time. Bob thank you for letting us know your awesome part in this. Deke thank you for a great memory!!! Man everything was so descriptive I felt like I was there do you keep a diary or do you just have a photographic memory!!!! This is the kind of stuff I want to read about Ive had enough of this one did drugs or this one slept with that one THIS is the kind of stuff I want to hear more of.
We bow down to Deke and say thanks for the memories. Bob is right working in Detroit must have been an awesome joy to go through the creative process like this and wind up with a winner like Love Child.
Steph

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 10:54 pm:

FOR Steve K.

Steve,

That explanation was in the story originally and I accidently cut it out. 'RUNDOWN' was stamped on all acetates on the first cut of a mix. It simply means playing the tape back and cutting the disc. No special Equalization, limiting, or compression was done while cutting. The reason one of 2 labels you saw didn't have a stamp, is probably because I was always running, i.e. mixing, getting the acetates cut, going to QC room to listen, back to mix, cut, listen, etc. I probably grabbed that one out of the cutters hands before he had a chance to stamp it. I probably said. "Come on, I gotta go, forget the stamp" or "We (Berry & I) know it's a RUNDOWN"!

DR

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 11:03 pm:

For Bob Olhsson,

Bob,

How great it is to hear you are still hangin' in there. Good times . . . and the good ol' days will never be forgotten. I'll get in touch and drop you a line at your email address in the next week. Take care and thanks for visiting my thread.

Easy,

Deke

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 11:16 pm:

Deke; Thanks

steve k

By P.J. (12.227.35.46) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 11:21 pm:

Deke,
A gazillion 'thank you's' for sharing such an honest and forthright story and for revealing so much of your creative self in the process. I agree with Stephanie 100%. We need to hear more of this type of tale rather than dreadful gossip. What story are you going to tell next? Don't forget the "Everything Is Everything' album sessions. How did that end up being released between 2 Ashford & Simpson efforts?

By Edgar (200.46.12.43) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 12:50 am:

Deke, wonderful story! I thank you for the hours you took from your free time to share this story with all of us. Hope you will tell us a story or two about The Corporation. And isn't it funny or ironic that you remixed in 1987 all the Rodgers & Hart sessions Berry had produced on The Supremes? Gracias again from Panama.

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 02:33 am:

To: est@sinfo.net

Rogers & Hart...I almost forgot about that one. Thanks for bringing back another one of my dead brain cells.That just made me remember I was the one that wrote & produced all the backgroundvocals for the "Funny Girl" Album. Unfortunately they already had the artwork and separations for the album, so it was too late to add me to credits. The only difference is I used the REAL Supremes , Mary & Cindy. I haven't heard the album in years. So if you hear any Andantes, someone recorded over my backgrounds.

Thanks for stopping by,

DR

By John Lester (213.123.153.2) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 02:43 am:

Deke

Now sit back and relax and tell me what comes into your mind when I say these words

Love Child.....Rita Wright

Now let those fingers start typing away, go boy go!!


LOL

By padgburyman (195.93.49.10) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 02:44 am:

Deke

That was just amazing. Well done, my man.

By David Meikle (213.122.172.126) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 04:04 am:

Deke

Thanks for making 2003 go off with a bang.

Much appreciated.

David

By PhilH (203.220.98.36) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 05:13 am:

Deke:

Truly amazing! Now, I heard a long time ago that you did most (if not all) of the CC RIDES AGAIN album. I wouldn't mind hearing about that one!

Phil

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 10:41 am:

Hi Phil,

"CC Rides Again"? That's a good one. However, I really need to go back to the top of the first thread now, and answer whatever miscellaneous questions I can, before I go into another story. I'll add this one to the list.

You take care,

Deke

By Larry (12.141.160.25) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 11:44 am:

Deke,

I copied and pasted all your stories into 1 document. 18 pages worth.

The making of Stoned Love is just fabulous reading as is everything else. You write so well and put the reader 'right there'. I'd buy your "tell all" in a heartbeat. When's it comin' out?

Anyhow, thanks for the gift.

p.s. if anyone wants my Word DOC of Deke's stories email me privately at lrott@corpinfo.com

By Scratcher (65.133.219.20) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 12:18 pm:

Come on Deke tell us about Deke & the Deacons and how you befriended Debbie Dean in a California nightclub and didn't know she was a ex Motown artist. Who were the Deacons?

By Carl Dixon London (62.31.40.155) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 12:44 pm:

Thank you Deke. I will hopefully recover soon from this instalment. The scans were the icing on this cake. A great story told. I was glued to my PC monitor, hypnotised and mesmerised.

By padgburyman (195.93.33.10) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 02:17 pm:

Carl

I had actually gone back to bed, just to think on this. Glued, hypnotised and in AWE of the tale, before I could respond!

By larry (216.23.183.2) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 06:32 pm:

My bad in renaming Deke's riveting story of Love Child to Stoned Love. Pardon moi.

By John Lester (81.132.41.32) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 06:45 pm:

Larry...........I see you got carried away in the excitement! Like most of us! LOL

By Deke (12.229.234.28) on Saturday, January 25, 2003 - 06:44 pm:

Well Soulkiddies, I went back up to the top of Thread #1 and picked up all the questions I haven't answered or covered in stories so far. Please understand if I refrain from a detailed answer on some questions. This is because the subject may be included in other stories I will share with you. At the same time, there are some things I want to put aside for now. I have to save a few goodies, in case there is a book.


By LG Nilsson (213.89.29.210) on Saturday, January 04, 2003 - 06:58 pm:

Was Berry Gordy really afraid of giving songwriters credits... after H-D-H leaving Motown?

LG


LG,

Yes, it is true, At that particular time, Berry was gun shy about giving credits. That is why I named the group, 'The Corporation'. I thought he'd like that.


�� By John Lester (217.40.207.114) on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 02:05 am:

Why Am I Loving You from Debbie Dean is a HUGE UK Northern song.....do you recall that song?

John,

"Why Am I Loving You?" was indeed my very first record for Motown, and one of my favorites. It was cut in LA. Here's a small slice of trivia: I was stumped at one point with the lyrics and Smokey bailed me out (bless his poetic heart) with the line, "Me + 3, makes 4 . . . girls knockin at your door".


�� By Steve Litos (209.100.86.4) on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 03:22 pm:

Hey Deke,
From the ebay post, it looks like you played a bit of guitar as well. Did you just play on your own sessions?

Steve,

I played on many of the first sessions I cut in Detroit. I wrote those on guitar, and thought it would be easier to just play, rather that to write out the part or teach it to one of the boys. As time went on, I switched to piano to compose. Then I would cut the session and overdub my guitar part later.


�� By P.J. (12.227.35.104) on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 - 12:09 am:

Mr. Richards,
Black Oak Arkansas?????

PJ,

My Rock & Roll days. I won't go into too much detail here, mainly because it takes us away from Motown and out of Detroit. I did 2 LP's for Black Oak when they signed with Capricorn Records. If I see others are really interested about my career, regardless of where I was, I'll post it later. Otherwise, I'll save it for the book.


�� By Rich (162.33.246.166) on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 - 08:22 am:

I am curious (if you know or recall) who's idea it had been to put "I'll Bet You" on the ABC album.
Peace, Rich

Rich,

I basically had control of the J5 albums, since I (The Corporation) did the singles. However, I was trying to come up with original material and running out of time. I needed other material to fill the album. I could have cut some cover tunes, but I wanted the group to make a name with original songs. I just told Hal Davis to get some material together and that I wouldn't be able to do the whole album. One thing about Hal, he was fast. He cut a lot of the cover tunes, including 'I'll Bet You". I lost a lot of album cuts to Hal, simply because I was a perfectionist and was concentrating on their singles and image.


�� By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 10:45 am:

Deke:
. . . .and was the piano intro to "I Want You Back" based on how Leon Huff would "strum" the keys on his productions with Kenny Gamble?

Regards,
Kevin Goins - KevGo

Kevin,

Very Good, my man! You busted me up on that one. The piano was added right at the last while I was actually mixing "I Want You Back'. I put in a crash cymbal at the top, but something still bothered me. We needed something. Freddie, Fonze and I loved Gamble & Huff stuff. So, as a tribute, I had Freddie go out in the studio and do that gliss on the piano


�� By The Old Miner (195.93.33.10) on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 12:23 pm:

Deke - any memories of the track with Edwin Starr

"BackYard Lovin' Man"

One hell of a production IMHO

Thanks for the kudos on BLM. I always liked this one myself. I had come into Detroit once to cut 1 tune each on 3-4 different acts. They were really designed to get me some album cuts, since I didn't have that much being released. I thought if I cut a few of the acts that didn't have a smash yet or a producer who had already locked them up, I'd have a better chance. Edwin liked 'country stuff' so he got a big kick out of my concept of 'Country Soul', before there was such a thing.


�� By Scratcher (65.132.76.209) on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 04:34 pm:

Deke, enlighten us about the I Want You Back track; I hear you completed most of it yourself. Also, tell of Bobby Taylor's exit from the Corporation. It's my understanding he was an original member of the songwriting/producing team, at least he's been quoted as saying he was.

Scratcher,

I have to pass on this one for now. All I can tell you now, is that Bobby was NOT a member of The Corporation. He started producing most of the cuts in the first J5 LP. I completed his productions, but the work he DID do was truly excellent.

The only 2 true 'Corporation' cuts were "I Want You Back" and "Nobody". Hal covered the Bob E. Sox hit from 'Song Of The South', "Zip . . . Doo Dah"


�� By Promises Kept (12.227.139.195) on Monday, January 13, 2003 - 10:31 pm:

Mr. Richards........do you recall which tracks from both "Reflections" & "Love Child" that Florence Ballard sang on? This is an on-going debate you could help shed some light on.....thank you so much!

Sorry Promises Kept,

I can only speak for the ones I did, "I'm Gonna Make It' (Mary and Cindy), 'Love Child', "Honey Bee" and "Does Your Mama Know About Me". The others I would have to listen to, then I'd be able to tell you. I have to get some of my tapes out of storage. However, I'm sure there are some sharp fans on this thread than will be able to answer you in the meantime. How about it? Someone want to help out and give Promises Kept the lowdown?.


�� By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 04:59 pm:

Hi Deke,

Did you join as a writer and took on production dutiers because you could "hear" the final record better than the existing staff producers ?

Davie,

I was actually signed to a 7 year writers and producers contract at the same time. That's another pretty good story I'll get to later.


�� By Scratcher (65.132.77.129) on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 06:43 pm:

Tell 'em about Deke & the Deacons, Deke.

Scratcher,

This was the name of my group when I was performing in in early 60's. Two of the members thought it sounded to 'country' and I was forced to change the name to 'The Four Sounds'. Since it's pre Motown or Detroit, I'll come back to this or put it in the book.


�� By P.J. (12.227.35.46) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 11:21 pm:

Deke,

Don't forget the "Everything Is Everything' album sessions. How did that end up being released between 2 Ashford & Simpson efforts?


PJ,

Since 'I'm Still Waiting' was a hit in the UK, this forced Sales to put the single out in the states. This album was designed to house that single and at the same time give us (Hal and myself) a chance to put together an album. Ashford and Simpson had not finished their album. So this one filled the gap. Hal did the 1st four cuts of Side A and I did the rest. At least, Diana did get a grammy nomination for the version I did of Aretha's "Call Me'.


Well, there it is. I'll be tied up for the next week or so, but I will check in now and then.

Take Care,

Deke

By David Meikle (62.252.128.6) on Saturday, January 25, 2003 - 07:42 pm:

Deke

Your response to our forumers is absolutely remarkable.

sincerely
David

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Saturday, January 25, 2003 - 07:46 pm:

Deke;
thanks for all the details. When in doubt , work a "gliss" into an intro seems to be a good rule of thumb


Steve K.

By P.J. (12.227.35.46) on Saturday, January 25, 2003 - 08:01 pm:

Deke,
You are a gem. The best of luck on the book! Thank you, once again, for sharing your time, memories and self with all of us.

By Promises Kept (12.227.139.195) on Saturday, January 25, 2003 - 09:24 pm:

Thank you so very kindly, Deke! It's just great to hear it all from an original source! Can't wait for the book!

By John Lester (217.40.216.193) on Sunday, January 26, 2003 - 02:05 am:

Deke

What can I say...........didn't I tell you that we were a nice bunch of enthusiasts!! You have made a lot of people very happy.

Put me down for the first copy of the book.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 12:11 pm:

Deke:
From one Gamble/Huff fan to another, thank you for answering my question re: Freddie Perren's piano intro on "I Want You Back".

Have a productive week & come back soon!!!
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 12:56 pm:

Deke:

I absolutely love the work that the Corporation did on Martha Reeves and the Vandellas "Black Magic," especially Martha's take on I Want You Back. This cut should have been a release and may have been a second hit of a song similar to the Gladys Knight/Marvin Gaye I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Also, Bless You should have been a much bigger hit than it turned out to be. When I first heard that cut years ago, I thought Martha is Back!! I believe it died because of lack of promotion and possibly because Martha was about to leave Motown.

I went back and listened to the album again and the Corporation's work is wonderful. The only odd thing is the weird mix of Your Love Makes It All Worthwhile. It sounds as though Martha and the backup singers are coming out a can. It is a bit jarring because of the quality of sound of the other cuts like No One There and the other Corporation tunes on the album. Of course, I am no expert and the mix may have been intentionally a bit tinny. Any comments on this great album.

Deke, thank you so much for your incredible insights and writing. You and Clay McMurray are my particular favorites of the truly "unsung" heroes of Motown.

Promises Kept

You are right my friend the Supremes fans have been debating for years about exactly what cuts Florence or Cindy are singing on. It was my understanding that most of Love Child is either Mary and Cindy or the Andantes. Reflections is another matter. Florence is on several of the cuts, including In and Out of Love. Cindy and Florence had distinctive differences in their voices and normally I can clearly hear which is which, but on the Reflections album I am stumped on some of the cuts. Smokey's "Then" clearly sounds as though it is Cindy, Misery and Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things, sounds as though it is Florence. Cindy Birdsong says that it is she on Forever Came Today, but there are fans who strongly argue that she did not record that song (I am not sure how they know). The Andantes and the arrangers were brilliant at imitating the sounds of a particular group members when they went into the studio. Their backups for Martha Reeves are not the same as the backups for Diana. I was stunned when I found out that Mary and Cindy were not singing on the recording of I'm Living in Shame because Mary and Cindy did such an incredible job when it was sung live. In any event, it is a tribute to the legacy of these ladies that people are still debating 35 years after the music was recorded.

This forum is just incredible!!!!
Michael

By dvdmike (12.84.13.214) on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 06:21 pm:

Freddie Perren was Jerry Butler's keyboard player in the late sixties and I believe he played on some of the Gamble-Huff Mercury sessions.

By John Lester (81.132.22.101) on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 06:52 pm:

The questions about Mary, Florence and Cindy are more likely to be known by the engineers and the producers rather than the artists. I would therefore suggest that we ask Russ, Bob, Deke, Clay and the others first in prority to the ladies themselves.

Flo is actually on tracks featured on Cream of the Crop and Let The Sunshine In. Both of which were released a long time after she left the group.

By Promises Kept (12.227.139.195) on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 09:19 pm:

Thanks Guys!........but Yikes! Looks like a "new" debate to me?! LOL

By RALPH (209.240.198.62) on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 10:06 pm:

Deke,
No doubt about it pal...you areHOT..HOT..HOT.. TIME TO CLOSE THIS THREAD AND START A NEW ONE GO TO DEKE RICHARDS 3 THIS THREAD IS CLOSED..CLOSED...CLOSED...

{CLOSED}

By Eli (151.197.5.7) on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 10:30 pm:

Mike,
Freddie Perrin did notplay on any G&H Mercury sessions!! I was there on all of them.

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Tuesday, January 28, 2003 - 06:56 am:

Then somebody lied