Love Tones - backup singers on Mary Wells recordings

[woodward]

During the period 1956-1962, there were 4 singers known as the Love Tones employed by Motown Records. The names of the four are Stanford Bracely, Carl Jones, Joe Miles, and Mickey Stevenson. Stanford and Carl are both deceased as has been reported and Mickey is still with us. Does anyone know anything about Joe Miles and what he is doing today music wise if anything?

[jboy88]

I read where Carl was killed in a hit and run accident shortly after "You Beat Me to the Punch" became a hit. So Eddie Kendricks had to fill in on a few sessions [[including the Two Lovers session) until a permanent replacement was found. This is probably what led to some sources believing the Temptations sang backup on "Two Lovers". It was really just Eddie and the remaining Love tones.

[robb_k]

They were also The Raindrops on Sampson Records in 1953, and The Lovenotes on Plus Records in 1956, as well as The Mello-Dees, as back-up singers for several Mickey Stevenson and Berry Gordy pre-Motown productions for Carmen Murphy's House of Beauty Records, Anna Records, and Stevenson's Stepp Records [[backing Herman Griffin, Leon Peterson, and Tony Clarke).

[kenneth]

Does anyone else remember that on the Mary Wells "Recorded Live on Stage" album, which has the Love Tones singing her introduction, the audience [[kind of rudely) keeps yelling at them to be done with it and get Mary Wells out there? It's probably not as obvious as I'm making it sound, but I definitely remember laughing that Motown left that audience noise intact, as it really sounds like a couple people in the audience [[with very loud voices) are kind of dismissive acting during the singing introduction!