Where there's Smoke...

[Clifton Miller]

More of the "Being With You" backstory, including Mary J. Blige:
http://www.adampwhite.com/westgrandblog/kim-to-katy

[Motown Eddie]

Wow! It's great to know even more of the Backstory behind Smokey Robinson's "Being With You". I didn't know that Berry Gordy didn't care for the song and didn't think it would be a hit. I've said it before and I'll say it again; it's a good thing that "Being With You" became a major hit [[not only for Smokey but for Motown which was struggling at that time).

[marv2]

Wow! It's great to know even more of the Backstory behind Smokey Robinson's "Being With You". I didn't know that Berry Gordy didn't care for the song and didn't think it would be a hit. I've said it before and I'll say it again; it's a good thing that "Being With You" became a major hit [[not only for Smokey but for Motown which was struggling at that time).

I have always found it strange that Berry Gordy did not seem to care for many of Motown's greatest hits upon hearing them. What was wrong with him? LOL!

[marv2]

Thanks for this Clifton.

[Quinn]

I have always found it strange that Berry Gordy did not seem to care for many of Motown's greatest hits upon hearing them. What was wrong with him? LOL!

I know what you mean, but I guess you can't be right all of the time. That's usually the way it is with creative people. In the foreword of TCMS Vol.1 he stated that he liked many of those early tunes better than the well appreciated smashes. The late great Don Davis didn't think "Disco Lady" was the hit from "Eargasm". He loved " Don't Stop That Song From Playing". He said most creative people fall in love with the wrong parts of whatever they're involved in and time and research proves it right. Berry didn't think "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison was a hit either even though it's not a Motown tune. That's just life I suppose LOL!!!.

[marv2]

I know what you mean, but I guess you can't be right all of the time. That's usually the way it is with creative people. In the foreword of TCMS Vol.1 he stated that he liked many of those early tunes better than the well appreciated smashes. The late great Don Davis didn't think "Disco Lady" was the hit from "Eargasm". He loved " Don't Stop That Song From Playing". He said most creative people fall in love with the wrong parts of whatever they're involved in and time and research proves it right. Berry didn't think "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison was a hit either even though it's not a Motown tune. That's just life I suppose LOL!!!.

Quinn, but Berry hated songs like "What's Going On?" by Marvin Gaye, "Stoned Love" the Supremes and some other huge hits that I can't think of at the moment. I knew "Disco Lady" was going to be huge from the first time I heard it.

[Quinn]

Quinn, but Berry hated songs like "What's Going On?" by Marvin Gaye, "Stoned Love" the Supremes and some other huge hits that I can't think of at the moment. I knew "Disco Lady" was going to be huge from the first time I heard it.

In the grand scheme of things it's easy to say that disliking "What's Going On" is inexcusable, but let's put a magnifying glass over that. It sounded like nothing on the streets at the time,so you couldn't compare it to anything. Marvin was the company's sex symbol who sang to the ladies,not to politicians and social powerhouses. Motown was also a record company that prided itself on safe musical landscape and squeaky clean images. Mix all that in a bowl and give it to a man who's not versatile in his thinking in addition to a having a belief in keeping things where they work best. What do you get?. As far as The Supremes are concerned, they were already making an embarrassment out of Diana and him by not requiring her for a hit. They were supposed to fade away, but had a better career than Diana for awhile. Berry wanted to do anything but support those women,maybe even give them the money he owed them not to deal with them any longer LOL!!!. Hell,he almost gave Mary the group's name to rid himself of her. What do you think of that?.