Bobby Darin - Motown Years 1970 to 1973

In the late 60s and early 70s Motown signed several well established acts but then sort of took their eye off the ball resulting in frustration. True that a lot was happening at once with the move to LA and entering the film industry with "Lady Sings The Blues". Nevertheless there were some fantastic tracks from artists such as Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Bobby Darin and to a lesser extent Sammy Davis Jr and Lesley Gore.

Thankfully, in the case of Bobby Darin, material that had long been vaulted has been made available over the years - mainly thanks to Joe Marchesse & co [[e.g. Andy Skurrow) who've made it possible for these tracks to see release on CD. The Real Gone CDs have wonderful liner notes as well and are well worth looking up. In particular, "Another Song On My Mind" includes a great resume of Darin's Motown career - much of this can still be seen on the Real Gone website -

https://theseconddisc.com/2011/02/16...-motown-years/

You can see the full CD artwork here -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...57668721459480

And here are the covers for Darin's Motown albums / CDs

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...in/dateposted/

Please advise of any errors

BOBBY DARIN MOTOWN DISCOGRAPHY

Recorded - 6 February 1971 Live at The Desert Inn [[Renamed “Finally” but still unreleased at the time)

M1183 – 17 April 1971
A Melodie
B Someday We'll Be Together

M1193 – November 1971
A Simple Song Of Freedom
B I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

M1203 – 2 June 1972
A Sail Away
B Hard Headed Woman

M753 ALBUM AUGUST 1972 – Bobby Darin

M1212 – Promo 3 November 1972 [[withdrawn)
A Average People [[mono)
B Average People [[stereo)

M1212 – 3 November 1972 [[probably a bootleg)
A Average People
B Something In Her Love

M1217 – 20 November 1972
A Happy [[Love Theme From "Lady Sings The Blues")
B Something In Her Love

Bobby Darin died 20 December 1973

M813 ALBUM February 1974 – Darin 1936-1973

PR4 [[PROMO EP) - 1974
A1 If I Were A Carpenter
A2 Moritat [[Mack The Knife)
B1 Blue Monday
B2 Happy [[Love Theme From "Lady Sings The Blues")

MW3014 – 1974 [[UK & EU)
A Blue Monday
B Moritat [[Mack The Knife)

M5185 ALBUM July 1981 – Darin 1936–1973 re-issued with 5 tracks having different mixes.

MCD09070MD CD 1987 – Live At The Desert Inn [[first ever issue)

MOTD -5185 CD 1989 – Darin 1936–1973 first issue on CD.

3746351852 CD 1991 – Darin 1936-1973 CD re-issue

NTD-6509-2 CD 2005 – Live At The Desert Inn [[re-issue / remaster / 2 extra tracks “Work Song” and “Beyond The Sea”.

RGM-0440 2xCD 6 May 2016 – Another Song On My Mind [[Real Gone Music)

RGM-0714 CD 13 July 2018 – Go Ahead And Back Up [[Real one Music)

I came across this Paul Simon track for the first time today and was struck by how much its style and lyrics sound like a certain Motown artist….!!!



But the question is, which one!!? ;)

Info from Real Gone Music:

In 1971, Atlantic Records released a pair of Dusty Springfield singles produced by the legendary songwriter/producer Jeff Barry [one-time songwriting and romantic partner of Ellie Greenwich, and author of too many hits to name]: "Haunted"/"Nothing Is Forever" and "I Believe In You"/"Someone Who Cares." A restless Dusty, freshly relocating to America from her native England, then departed the label and left an additional 9 songs recorded with Barry in the can, where they stayed until Rhino issued one track, "Faithful" [in mono], as a bonus track on the 1990s CD release of Dusty's 1970 Atlantic album A Brand New Me. The other tracks didn’t surface until a subsequent deluxe reissue of Dusty’s landmark 1969 album Dusty in Memphis included them as bonus cuts.

Then, reissue producer Jim Pierson—who tracked down the missing masters after being lost for over two decades —assembled Dusty’s Barry-produced masters and put them together in a single package for the first time to create the third Dusty Springfield Atlantic Records album as planned in 1971. Real Gone Music’s release of Faithful on LP presents these historic Barry-Springfield collaborations exactly as they were originally intended to be heard, with the 12 tracks meant for the album release out on vinyl over 50 years later. All tracks are in stereo, while the liner notes on the new gatefold spread, penned by The Second Disc's Joe Marchese, feature a number of rarely-seen photos of the legendary singer. These stunning pop, soul and gospel flavored selections showcase the iconic singer at the height of her vocal magic. A missing/jumbled part of Dusty’s august recorded legacy, finally set right and available in its intended format. Out on metallic gold and purple “royalty” vinyl as befitting The Queen of Blue-Eyed Soul…limited to 1500 copies!

1. I'll Be Faithful
2. Live Here With You
3. Haunted
4. Someone Who Cares
5. Make It With You
6. Love Shine Down
7. I Believe In You
8. Have A Good Life Baby
9. Natchez Trace
10. All The King's Horses
11. You've Got A Friend
12. I Found My Way Through The Darkness

Dusty Springfield LP – Real Gone Music

Mario Corbino joined in 2020 as a new lead singer for the Temptations but after only a handful of performances in 2021, he was gone from the group. Mario sounded amazing from the clips on Youtube.

He's on every song on Temptations 60 but something clearly went wrong because he's not even credited on the album and isn't mentioned at all. Even in Otis extensive linear notes where he thanks every previous member including Ricky Owens. I know there's been plenty of line-up changes already but this one looks a lot more serious since they weren't willing to even acknowledge his contributions on the album. I wonder if something criminal-related happened?

Congratulations to Norman Whitfield and Suzanne de Passe on being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Class of 2024. The ceremony will take place in October in Cleveland, Ohio.

Suzanne's bio - https://rockhall.com/inductees/suzanne-de-passe/
Norman's bio - https://rockhall.com/inductees/norman-whitfield/

Full list of the class of 2024
https://rockhall.com/2024-inductees/

The documentary debuted in Detroit after a successful showing at the Sundance Film Festival. It was an amazing celebration of the life, legacy and longing for love of Luther Vandross. Appearances from Nile Rodgers, Lisa Fischer, Clive Davis, Fonzi Thornton, Jamie Foxx, Valerie Simpson, Dionne Warwick and others. Very rare video footage, great concert performaces. There were tears and cheers. Can't wait to see it again.