Originally Posted by
Quinn
The Underdogs were sleepers,a band with much potential,but many factors kept them at the starting gate. In my opinion the major problem was Berry Gordy's refusal to expand on the Motown Sound.Eddie Holland was one of the first producers at his company to make him aware this and it's partly why HDH left. Berry Gordy relied on his present staff to create for artists that would've taken Motown into the future. Not that the tunes weren't great, but they follow the same formula for the genre to be different at the root. Had he hired the best candidate producing underground rock in Detroit to handle the band there's no telling. He needed a guy whose specialty was their kind of music. The Mynah Birds probably would've got that assignment had Rick James not had his AWOL situation. Marketing was not setup great for the company's white counterparts either. Rare Earth was the biggest thing going at Motown in that area and they weren't super successful. Imagine if HDH had given "We've Got A Way Out Love" to them and made it work somehow. You can clearly tell it was inspired by The Beach Boys and their master stroke "Pet Sounds". They were trying to show B.G. where music was headed but lost patience and made their exit. " Window Shopping" by The Messengers was released in the wrong season much to R. Dean Taylor's chagrin. This makes for a great discussion like Chris Clark.