Just saw an article on Benny Reeves, brother of Martha and Lois Reeves. It states Benny was a member of the Contours in the early 60's. This is news to me!
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Just saw an article on Benny Reeves, brother of Martha and Lois Reeves. It states Benny was a member of the Contours in the early 60's. This is news to me!
I've never seen that name in connection with the ContoursQuote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
I've mentioned that fact several times on the forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
Check this out for a list of former members of the Contours:
https://soulfuldetroit.com/showthrea...t=Benny+Reeves
He wasn't a permanent member, just temporary.Quote:
Originally Posted by soulwally
Sylvester Potts replaced Benny Reeves in the Contours in the early 60s. Benny was in the group prior to their hit "Do You Love Me?".
Found this article.....
https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/benny-reeves-a-motown-original-is-still-hustlin-in-between-uber-gigs/Content?oid=2478866
According to Joe:
"We talked about it down at the studio and Martha overheard us and said that her brother Benny could sing," Billingslea says. "So I got in touch with Benny and had Benny come to a rehearsal. And he was hitting it so we added him to the group. He really can sing. He was singing baritone and bass. And if he hadn't been in the military, he would've been with the Contours."
WOULD'VE BEEN.
Another Motown Myth.
He, Benny Reeves was with the Contours briefly. That's why I said he was not a permanent member, just temporary. His situation was similar to Thearon Hill's with the Four Tops back in the late 50s, early 60s when he temporarily replaced Obie Benson who was in the service. I don't know how many shows Benny did with the Contours,but he did perform with them.Quote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
Although Martha has said several times that her brother Benny Reeves was a member of the Contours. I know some have to see it in writing:
https://www.soultracks.com/The_Contours
Joe Billingslea, Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs, and Billy Rollins founded a singing group called The Blenders in their native Detroit, Michigan in 1959. The group soon added Leroy Fair [[in place of Billy Rollins) and bass singer Hubert Johnson and changed the name to The Contours. In the fall of 1960, the group auditioned for Berry Gordy's Motown Records. Gordy turned the act down, prompting the group to pay a visit to the home of Johnson's cousin, R&B star and Gordy associate Jackie Wilson. Wilson in turn got The Contours a second audition with Gordy, at which they sang the same songs they had at the first audition, the same way, and were signed to a seven-year contract.
The group's first single, "Whole Lotta Woman," was released in January 1961 and failed to chart. Within months of its release, Leroy Fair was replaced by Benny Reeves, brother of Martha Reeves. Shortly thereafter, Benny Reeves left to serve in the United States Navy and he was replaced by Sylvester Potts. In 1961 the group's second single, "The Stretch", was released and it also failed to chart. In early 1962, Gordy had The Contours record "Do You Love Me," a composition originally meant for The Temptations. The resulting record, with its shouted lead vocals from Billy Gordon, became a number-two hit in1962.
Although The Contours never quite repeated the extraordinary success of "Do You Love Me," they returned to the charts three times during 1963 and 1964 with "Shake Sherry," "Can You Do It" and "Can You Jerk Like Me." In 1964, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and Sylvester Potts all left Motown. Berry Gordy hired Council Gay, Jerry Green and Alvin English to back Billy Gordon, making the Contours a quartet. Within a year, Sylvester Potts returned to the group [[replacing Alvin English), and Billy Gordon departed shortly thereafter. Gordon was replaced by Joe Stubbs, brother of Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs. Stubbs soon quit the act and was replaced by Dennis Edwards.
With all of the original members gone by the mid-1960s, The Contours recorded several records which received R&B radio play [[notably "First I Look at the Purse" and "Just a Little Misunderstanding"), but were considered secondary to Motown's major male vocal groups, The Temptations, the Four Tops, and The Miracles. The group's seven-year contract with Motown expired in 1967 and when lead singer Dennis Edwards was recruited to replace the departed David Ruffin as lead singer of The Temptations in early 1968, The Contours disbanded. Edwards later became a solo hits maker as well.
Although they charted up a hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1970 with a re-release of "Just A Little Misunderstanding," The Contours' real claim to fame lies with "Do You Love Me." Both these tracks and others Contours work can be found on various Motown compilation albums.
In the early 1970s, Joe Billingslea resurrected the group with himself, Council Gay, Arthur Hinson, Martin Upshire and C. Autry Hatcher as its members, and began performing at local clubs around Detroit. During the seventies and early eighties, the group's popularity increased and they began playing dates throughout the US and even some international dates. In 1984, Charles Davis replaced Hinson and a week later Potts rejoined the group replacing Gay. In 1987, Hatcher left the group and Arthur Hinson returned. In 1988, Darell Nunlee was added when Martin Upshire left. The same year, "Do You Love Me" was prominently featured in the film Dirty Dancing. In 1988, a reissue of "Do You Love Me" sent the song back to the Billboard pop charts for eight weeks, peaking at number eleven. The movie and the record spawned a 1988 "Dirty Dancing Concert Tour" followed by a new recording contract for Ian Levine's Motorcity Records where the group recorded two albums Flashback and Revenge although the latter was not released although the songs came out on a later compilation.
In 1992, Hinson and left the group, and it continued as a quartet until 1993 when Nunlee left. Al Chisholm [[formerly with The Falcons) and Gary Grier were recruited in 1993. This configuration - Joe Billingslea, Chisholm, Davis, Grier and Potts - continued from 1993 until 2004.
In 2004, Sylvester Potts left to form his own group with the four members [[Leroy Seabrooks, Kim Green, Tony Womack and Darell Nunlee) of a local Detroit group named Upscale, which immediately began performing as 'The Contours'. Billingslea sued and Potts countersued, each claiming the rights to the name. These suits were resolved in an out-of-court settlement which provided for the existence of both groups to be identified as "Joe Billingslea and The Contours" and "The Contours featuring Sylvester Potts," respectively. Seabrooks has since left the Potts' group making it a quartet. In 2006, Joe Billingslea and The Contours filled the vacant bass singing spot created by Potts' departure with Odell Jones. Both groups are currently performing. Joe Billingslea and The Contours are among the acts featured in a DVD released by Motown in January 2007 called "Motown: The Early Years," featuring their appearances on the Public Broadcasting System specials.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article The Contours.
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What I have deducted from Marv2's wonderful information is that her brother Benny was a performing [concert and event wise] member, but never actually had his voice as part of any actual record that was recorded and released.
Am I interpreting this correctly?
Woodward, thank you and yes you are interpreting the info. correctly. Benny came and went between the group's first and second releases due to his service commitments.Quote:
Originally Posted by woodward
This is no myth. It says right there in your own post " And he was hitting it so we added him to the group...."Quote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
If that's the case, then are we to assume that Flo Ballard was a real Marvelette?Quote:
Originally Posted by woodward
Flo did not join the Marvelettes. She was a stand in when one of the members had to miss a performance similar to Gail Sonders standing in for one of the Velvelettes when she could not make it. Benny was an actual member of the Contours similar to Ricky Owens becoming and actual member of the Temptations although briefly. Situations took Benny and Ricky from their groups. For Benny it was Uncle Sam, for Ricky, he was fired.Quote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
I believe Ian Levine recorded Benny as part of his Motown revival project Motorcity. Therefore he had to have been an ex-Motowner. :D:D
Great history Marv! Two quick footnotes - Billy Hoggs did rejoin and appear with Joe's group for "Motown: The Early Years" -- while the 2004 line-up included Joe and Sylvester for "Rock, Rhythm and Doo Wop".
It's time we went back and re-mixed those tracks, a few were not released and are still unmixed.
I’ve never quite understood what happened to Ricky Owens. Did he have stage fright?
Ricky was a veteran of the stage coming from popular Philadelphia group, the Vibrations. I think he just had a hard time getting the Temptations act down which was far more regimented that what they were doing with the Vibrations.Quote:
Originally Posted by luke