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Often wondered just what made EMI drop the Tamla prefix from Tamla Motown, completely re-design the label from black and silver to blue and call it Motown.
Always annoyed me as I felt the label should have been left alone. To be fair the old label was re-instated every now and again for a heritage release.
The black Tamla Motown label was a 1960s relic by 1976.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_nixon
All of the other EMI labels that had shared the same label template [[Columbia, Parlophone, His Master's Voice) had largely been replaced by the "catch-all" 1970s EMI label, and perhaps it was felt that Motown should have a real label of its own instead of a standard 1960s EMI corporate label.
Paul, I also was very disappointed when the black and silver Tamla Motown label was dropped.
The Tamla Motown logo graphic was and still is to my mind a masterpiece, and coming after the Stateside homogenous label issues, it gave Tamla a distinctive personality all of its own. At the time, Tamla Motown even sounded exotic, as there was no such word as Tamla in the english language! I along with many contemporaries actually referred to 'Tamla' records and the Tamla sound, rather than the Motown sound. The orange sleeves with the 5 stars were also very distinctive. I recall the disappointment when the affectionate relationship with Tamla was terminated and the bland corporate Motown label was imposed. An historic example of how a brand can engender loyalty and create a personality.
I guess this affection for the Tamla Motown label design won't apply in the U.S. as Tamla and Motown were always separate labels with their own logos in the U.S.
You'll see the Original TM design adorn countless Polo/T shirts, badges, club flyers etc.
Never see the Blue label....
I agree with Sotosound that EMI probably thought the standard black label template was dated by 1976 - all the others had either morphed into the beige & red of the new EMI label, or the cream of United Artists. In fact, looking through my mid 70s UK issue soul records, they are a rainbow of colours in comparison [the green of Philadelphia Int., the blue & red of Atlantic, etc.] - I think in 1976 the 11 year old black label and 'box' logo were seen as old fashioned - iconic came later.
One advantage for me of the blue label was the return to the TMG 500s style "tall thin" typeface for title and artist, which I've always found more aesthetically pleasing than the 640-1040s typeface.
Whilst we're talking about EMI and UK Tamla Motown, i've always wondered why EMI went with TMG as the prefix - always presumed the TM was the obvious answer, but the "G"? Was it for 'gramophone' [EMI was subtitled The Gramophone Company]? Gordy? A tribute to the pioneering work of Dave Godin? Something completely unrelated or random? And why did stereo singles get a "Y" in front of the smaller TMG number on the left side of the label? I can think of no word-y explanation for that one.
It's been suggested that TMG was Tamla, Motown, Gordy but no proof.
And the 500 typeface was SO important to the 'look'....the later typeface just didn't have it.
Am I right in saying that this was the new design adopted...?
Attachment 20424
The Tamla Motown logo is a classic, but I think the blue shiny one looks kinda cool too. :cool:
You're right.
I'm not sure about the whyfore of the 'Y' but it was also used by EMI on their Columbia, HMV, and Parlophone labels, and not just on Tamla Motown.Quote:
Originally Posted by psychedelic jacques
On those other EMI labels it replaced an 'X', which denoted mono. So it was probably just the next letter after 'X', which begs the question "Why use X in the first instance?"
Here is an unusual "Blue" US 45 , I have never come across one of these before, the 'A' Side is "The One I Really Loved You" I picked this up in Kennebunkport from a Thrift shop whilst on Hols. I assumed it might be Canadian? only seen one another with Discogs listed as 1962 and a 1962 variant?.
This one & any other Blue US 45's? Clues ?
George H.W. Bush and Barbara lived in Kennebunkport and were both alive at that time, what a superb town. We saw Barbara in the town, she was very friendly and talking to a few people,but had quite a few big guys in black suits watching over her.
Attachment 20425
This is an interesting label. I'm sorry to say that I know absolutely nothing about it. But the font used looks closer to what Motown used on some 70s singles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Jarvis
That Mary Wells single seems a bit dodgy - especially with an A side of "The One I Really Loved You". Any clues in the run out matrix number?
Were any UK 45's made available with both label designs ?
Attachment 20426
I never saw any.Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmith
I was working for a record wholesaler at the time and remember Stevie's "I Wish" and Diana's "One Love In My Lifetime" both using the new label.
The catalogue numbers immediately prior to these singles had all recently been used for a set of Tamla Motown double A-side reissues, and those were still on catalogue and all used the black Tamla Motown label.
Back in the 1960s, when the green Columbia, Red Parlophone, and blue His Master's Voice labels all got replaced by the more generic black EMI label [[which is what Tamla Motown is another example of), EMI simply switched when stock of the old labels ran out.
In 1976, however, there was no such switchover. Instead, it looks like a conscious decision was made to switch new single releases over to the new blue label whilst continuing to use the old label for some, but not all, re-issues of classic tracks. So EMI continued printing the old Tamla Motown label alongside the new blue Motown label but only for reissues.
After Motown left EMI for RCA in the early 1980s, they created another new set of reissues of classic hits using an unused sequence of TMG9nn catalogue numbers and all using the classic Tamla Motown label. How RCA squared this with EMI I don't know.
TMG 1095 [a reissue of Gladys Knight & Pips help me make it/daddy could swear] was issued on both the blue label and old black label for some reason by EMI, and I think a couple of the blue label reissues were later re-reissued on black by RCA when they took over [needle in a haystack springs to mind].
As Sotosound says, EMI changed the label design with a clean break from the old black 'box' label from TMG 1053 onwards in the autumn of 1976. With hindsight, it would have made more sense to do it the autumn before. My understanding is that EMI lost the Tamla Motown contract in the summer of 1975, but regained it in September. When they regained it they resumed the cat # sequence at TMG 1001, even though their last issue in the summer had been TMG 955 [#s 956-1000 were allocated subsequently by either EMI or RCA, but all for reissues except for 999 and 1000]. If EMI's thinking in Sept 75 was "new contract, let's fast forward the cat #s to 1001", it would have seemed a logical time to also introduce a new label design at that point - but they didn't.
The Gladys Knight 45 ...
Attachment 20434
The black label version of Help Me Make It Through The Night was re-issued by RCA not EMI....the re-issue of My Guy by Mary Wells TMG 1100 was re-issued by EMI on both labels as I have both in my collection.
No, there was one issued by EMI as well [[the Gladys Knight) - I have it in my collection.
Hi psychedelic jacques ...sorry you are correct I just checked my collection and I have both too..there is also an EMI black label release of The Night by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons originally released on Mowest but I think this was released a awhile after the original am I correct?
Hi Paul, I totally agree the British Tamla Motown label was iconic. Much as I also love the big blue M that black & white TM carries so much nostalgic magic. I understand Mrs Edwards put it together in a hurry on a visit to UK to finalize the EMI distributorship. Another of her key contributions to the company. There were the red/blue Canadian and red Japanese versions but the UK black + silver is the one in my heart.