A re-enactment of a Tommy Good fan protest from 1964; his fans wanted his record released!
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/en...m/69589966007/
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A re-enactment of a Tommy Good fan protest from 1964; his fans wanted his record released!
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/en...m/69589966007/
If It Helps here is two of them for the time being: One Issued & One Unissued
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99RBn3N-3nA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfYRBxEOW10
I've always thought that original "protest" about "Motown won't release Tommy Good's songs!" was a complete load of sh!t. A smart marketing idea to create buzz about a new artist with promise who had been performing around the city, but... not likely based in reality. I'm sure the intent was basically, "hey, kids like to protest things and march with signs these days," so maybe a bit of local media coverage can be generated if we do something like that--and hopefully people will want to hear the music? It was a gamble and it didn't work.
That said, I like Tommy's Motown output. Sadly, it didn't have the same electricity as music being recorded by The Temptations or Marvin or The Tops, etc., at the same time, but it was clearly material with a strong Motown Sound that definitely was worth hearing/having. I think of how some fans call out the difference between Los Angeles-produced Motown circa 1964-65-66 and generally find LA productions inferior to Detroit-produced Motown from the same period. Lucky Tommy at least got to record all his material in Detroit, in the Snakepit, with the Funk Brothers! I also think "Baby I Miss You" was a good choice for single. Too bad it just didn't click with the public so that there could have been further releases. At least we finally got the Collection CD back in 2006. [OMG, was it that long ago?!]
Was just looking at all the Tommy Good songs I have in my collection between TCMS4, the 2006 Collection, and subsequent Cellarful releases, and [unless there are more vaulted recordings that go beyond that date] Tommy continued recording into 1965 and his last recording date was September 11, 1965. Even though "Baby I Miss You" didn't chart, Motown clearly felt he was worth keeping on contract and working with. Too bad they didn't feel any of the music was worth releasing at the time. He seemed to work either with Smokey or with Staunton & Walker [the latter technically being Robert Dobyne]. Other than working with Smokey [who perhaps wanted to help], it makes it seem that Tommy was not necessarily a priority for the company since he wasn't working with HDH or continuing with Mickey. It would be interesting if Tommy could have been asked at that event last week some more in depth questions about what he felt might have gone wrong despite being signed to Motown for well over a year.
I found a copy of Tommy Good's "Baby I Miss You" Gordy 45 in a five-and-dime close-out bin for 39 cents back in the day, and I've been a fan ever since. His Motown recording[[s) -- especially "Baby I Miss You" and "I've Gotta Get Away" -- sound like top-notch Motown to me -- especially those complete with The Andantes. If "Baby I Miss You" flopped, it's because it didn't get any radio airplay -- at least not in my area. My local a.m. radio station played tons of Motown starting in 1964. If I had heard "Baby I Miss You", I would have raced to the record store to buy it. Same goes for "I've Gotta Get Away", had it been released.
Not really a fan of "Baby I Miss You" but I really rate "I've Gotta Get Away" whcih is among my favourite Motown tracks.
I really love that track, too, mystery. It's a shame that Tommy's version got relegated to the vaults. It's even more mind-boggling that Motown didn't reassign "I've Gotta Get Away" to another Motown artist or group. That recording with the marvelous string passages and The Andantes enriching it is/was far too good to let die on the vine, as it did.
Most are well aware concerning Tommy Good and his CD "The Motown Collection" there are 20 tracks and most are unissued from the vaults. It is difficult to find the CD as it was originally issued in 2006. Those that are really interested in supporting Tommy can download one or all of the Twenty tracks directly from Amazon. [The UK prices are around 2.50 per track] Maybe the supporters can then also distribute flyers to others?
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And of course the subsequent release of I Found My Love In You on Cellarful Of Motown 5 which wasn't overlooked for the 'Collection' but simply arrived from the US as a single very poor authentic 60's mix but didn't quite cut the mustard as we had heard much better versions. It took another ten years or so to turn up the much better mix that was released on COM5 which totally thrilled Tommy..
Yes well familiar with "I Found My Love In You" like most in the early 2000"s there was CD's after one another which was incredible at the time to hear all of these unissued and rare Motown songs. I do however prefer the raw and original acetates as well as the issued 45's throughout the 5T,6T's, & 7T's and keeping them as they were rather than different mixes. We all have different preferences and that's Ok.
I have always liked Tommy Good's music and it was a pleasure to finally get his CD and all of the unissued tracks. The "I Found My Love In You" [as you mention] personally I never found "I Found My Love" as one of his best. However I still love his music.
Absolutely agree with you and where there were mixed versions [[DM's) of tracks in the vaults in either mono or stereo these were of course used unless the mixes were really poor. The only times our team mixed tracks were when no previous mixes were found or only mono's had been released - much the same attitude as all other reissue labels follow. But of course if there were never any mixes done or saved the there was no choice other than to mix them nowadays, better to have a modern mix than no mix at all.
Inciedentally on checking, the label obviously had a lot of faith in at least I've Gotta Get Away as they made over a dozen and a half mixes of the track
Live performance of "Ask the Lonely" 2006. I also noticed his studio version was included on one of those Motown Treasures CDs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRmIf9iqQxM
I thought that the "Motown Sings Motown Treasures" version was Ivy Joe Hunter. I would love to hear Tommy`s original version if it exists.
Yes I think it was an error re Tommy Good/Ivy Hunter on that CD
I love "I gotta get away".
Will feature it on my radio soon.
When I got that Motown Collection CD, a couple of things struck me about Tommy's Motown career; as it often happened at Motown, they released the weakest recording and left the much more dynamic material in the can. "Baby I Miss You" wasn't much to get excited about. It ain't bad but it's a rather pedestrian song that went out in a period when Motown was really heating up with some great, exciting records. "Baby I Miss You" seemed saddled with a sound that was by-the-numbers with it's cilp-clopping beat and lyrics that were actually odd if you pay attention to them. The guy's girlfriend/wife is going away. OK, I get it, yeah he's gonna miss her. Except for one thing: the woman's only going for ONE NIGHT.
The lyrics corner Tommy into sounding incredibly dependent on someone to the point that he has to bolster his inner strength by saying "you can take it Tommy, I know you can!" Tommy and the Andantes really are the BEST thing about this record. But even the Andantes seem to be working overtime trying to elevate this record.
By comparison, "Talk About A Good Feeling" was a better bet and"She's A Living Doll" was even better. One of Tommy's best songs was the Staunton and Walker production, "You're Something To Talk About." Why was Motown forever stashing away really good records and going with weaker material?
The other thing that struck me about Tommy's time at Motown was that the timing was super unfortunate. 1964 was a surprisingly explosive year for Motown because all of a sudden, the Temptations, Brenda Holloway, Four Tops and Supremes got hot. Very hot. Motown was still a relatively young company and trying to gain some sustainable momentum. Mary Wells had been Motown's ticket but NOW they just got a run of big hits within a short period of time. So if Motown was your company, where is your attention going to be focused? And think like a business man and NOT a fan. Unfortunately, Tommy, Carolyn, and others who weren't hitting were suddenly out in the cold.
I sent Tommy an email regarding this interesting thread. Hopefully he will post.
I wasn't at the reenactment of the "protest", but I was asked to play Motown records at the former Berry Gordy mansion in Boston-Edison the next day. Tommy Good performed in the ballroom in the basement and sounded great! Louvain Demps was also there, and I was able to get my copies of both of their records signed.
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Hey WaitingWatching, I have to disagree about "Baby I Miss You" :p, which I think is pretty excellent, and single-worthy. Also, Tommy’s version of "Leaving Here" [the B-Side of "Baby I Miss You"] is possibly my favourite.
But, "You're Something To Talk About" is a great song [it has that distinct Staunton & Walker sound!!], as is "I've Gotta Get Away". :cool:
Hi Tom! Mid-Week Greetings! Recently, my brother and I were remembering some of the music we grew up with and we started talking about Al Green. I was saying how I loved those songs and still do but I was amazed to find out he NEVER liked them! He just heard them completely differently than I did. I often think about that whenever I'm on SF and there are differences of opinions about the music. It's amazing how our ears can hear things so differently!��.
I do wish Motown would have put out more of those Staunton and Walker productions!
I did DJ quite a bit when I lived in Chicago, but not really anymore since I moved to Detroit in 2013. And by DJ, I mean playing one 45 after another. Lol. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime type experience getting to play records at the mansion. It's beautiful inside, and the current owners definitely seem to know and care about the history. There were no Frank Wilson 45s stuffed in medicine cabinets and forgotten about though - I checked.
I too wish that Motown would have used Staunton -Walker more.
I think we recently discovered that this great NS tune is Motown's Robert Walker.
The Blizzard...RCA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Q161ChlLo
Hey Nick
Was that the Detroit Berry Gordy mansion the one that went up for sale in 2017 and there was records galore [29 copies of Camel Walk by Saundra Mallett and a number of Message 45's] that also went for sale including Berry's piano?
https://www.soul-source.co.uk/search...e=cms_records5
Robert Walker's RCA 45 9304 1967 was a favourite during the mid 7T's 1974/5 mostly it was the era of uptempo instrumentals and it was the B side "Stick To Me [Inst]" that was the more popular side of the record at the NS events. The "Blizzard" still a great record.
Robert Walker & The Night Riders also had an uptempo NS 45 on "Detroit Sound" from 1966 "Everything's All Right" . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfdRNEmfCEc
Any sound files let me know.
I'm in touch with Tommy and he should appear soon. Working out the details.
Tommy Good is such a nice guy, and a wonderful singer. To this day he's got it! I'll try to get some more footage but this was Tommy sitting in with my group for the opening night of this year's Detroit A Go Go fest, he is always great!
https://www.facebook.com/1267020107/...43427849555223
This is great, thanks for posting this! He sounds as if "How Sweet It Is" could have been written just for him. It's really great to see that he never stopped performing and that even with just ONE official Motown release, thanks to YouTube, I think he has more fans today than ever. I became one as soon as I bought that CD anthology. I've noticed the responses I get on videos with his music are always the same: "why didn't Motown put out more of his records?" The overall feeling is that Tommy had the talent and was deserving of much more. Even with viewers that I know were born maybe only within the last 20 years or so, the response is positive to his Motown recordings. His voice was one of the best Motown had- there's a song he did "Talk About A Good Feeling", and they had Marvin also do the song with the same backing track- both were great, and that says a lot about Tommy; any day you can sing the same song as Marvin Gaye AND sound just as good- yeah, you got IT!
Still waiting for Tommy. Dealing with a storm now. Hope he is okay.
I'm thinking Tommy may have lost power because of the storm. Stay tuned. I'm working on it.
Hello to all my friends at Soulful detroit It’s good to talk to you again. Ralph emailed me and asked if I would answer some Questions on the reenacted march. I of course will do that for my good friend.
the march was Al Abrams Idea [[ Motown press man). Al sold Berry to the Idea and that’s how it started. It was a publicity stunt. Singing for berry and all my fans that day on the front lawn was something I’ll never forget. I was a gutsy move on Berry’s part.
Tommy.So good to see you and have you join us. We go back many years.
My good friend Phill Dick called me and asked if I would like to do an reenactment of the original march which was 58 years ago. I said great. It was great fun and done so well. I Should say right now that I’ll do my best with my computer skills. Which are Questionable.
You're doing just fine, Tommy.
ypo'