Once Upon a Time...one of Marvin's Best Duets

[lockhartgary]

[marv2]

One of my favorites. Very mellow....

[motony]

Marvin always said his voice & Marys blended so well.I liked "Whats The Matter With You, Baby" the best.

[BigAl]

"Once Upon a Time" got a fair amount of airplay where I was living [[Richmond, Virginia). It wasn't until some years later that I discovered it was actually the B-side of the single, with "What's the Matter With You, Baby" being the intended A-side. Both are good, but I prefer "Once Upon a Time," and I suppose a lot of radio deejays did, too, and just flipped it over.

[marv2]

"Once Upon a Time" got a fair amount of airplay where I was living [[Richmond, Virginia). It wasn't until some years later that I discovered it was actually the B-side of the single, with "What's the Matter With You, Baby" being the intended A-side. Both are good, but I prefer "Once Upon a Time," and I suppose a lot of radio deejays did, too, and just flipped it over.

I use to play both of these songs a lot. I like them both. Mary and Marvin should have recorded a follow up album together.

[marv2]

Marvin always said his voice & Marys blended so well.I liked "Whats The Matter With You, Baby" the best.

They sounded so good together. I liked this mellow sound.

[midnightman]

I bet had Mary not left Motown so abruptly that year, Once Upon a Time would've been an even bigger hit than it was. A song that sounds as sweet as Once Upon a Time deserved a top ten ranking at least!

But I agree, Marvin & Mary worked well together. They would've been "Motown's perfect couple" had she not left and Tammi not joined BUT I guess it was fate that Mary left and made way for Tammi [[and Kim), I guess.

Heck, Marvin really worked well with ALL the leading ladies he had pleasure to sing with. I find nothing but joy with each one of them including "The Queen Diva".

[mysterysinger]

"The Queen Diva"? You're talking about Oma there, right?

[midnightman]

"The Queen Diva"? You're talking about Oma there, right?

I'm not saying NOTHING.

[BigAl]

Mary and Marvin were a great pairing, and quite sophisticated for that label at that time. One can only speculate as to where Mary's career might have gone had Morty Craft not enticed her to 20th Century with that cool quarter-million, and the notion of a movie career which he had no intention of delivering, and had Herman Griffin not pushed her to accept it. She was a kid with stars in her eyes and no concept of how cut-throat showbiz can be.

While Marvin's recordings with Kim and Diane were good, in my opinion they didn't measure up to those with Mary. But it was the perfect vocal chemistry with Tammi that really, really clicked. Had Mary stayed at the label, there's the chance we would never have had all those amazing duets with Tammi. And then she got sick and died too soon. Many have mentioned that every time Marvin was paired with a female partner, something unfortunate happened shortly thereafter. Mary, Kim and Diane left the label, and Tammi died.

[motony]

actually both sides of the single were hits:"Whats the Matter With You Baby" #2 R&B /#17 Hot 100, "Once Upon A Time" #3 R&B & #19 Hot 100. They probably both would have been Top 10 on the Hot 100 if released separately.

[midnightman]

^ That's what I meant, Hot 100 lol

[gman]

Love this cut...first heard it on MG's Anthology LP that I got in '75. I love the early Motown cha cha stuff....this one, I'm Giving You Your Freedom, Strange I Know, A Love Like Yours and You've Really Got A Hold On Me are among my favorites.

[luke]

Being they were top 20 hits, did Mary ever perform them in her later career?

[motony]

No, Luke , Mary never did those songs LIVE as far as I know.

[reese]

No, Luke , Mary never did those songs LIVE as far as I know.

Hey Tony,

I read a Blues and Soul review on Mary back in the 80s or 90s and it said that she and Curtis Womack performed ONCE UPON A TIME during her show.

[BigAl]

I read a Blues and Soul review on Mary back in the 80s or 90s and it said that she and Curtis Womack performed ONCE UPON A TIME during her show.

The several times I saw Mary and Curtis they did several numbers together but never this one. More's the pity; it would have gone over very well. They should have kept it in their set. Sadly, Mary's career just seemed to be filled with so many woulda-coulda-shoulda scenarios.

[marv2]

Mary and Marvin were a great pairing, and quite sophisticated for that label at that time. One can only speculate as to where Mary's career might have gone had Morty Craft not enticed her to 20th Century with that cool quarter-million, and the notion of a movie career which he had no intention of delivering, and had Herman Griffin not pushed her to accept it. She was a kid with stars in her eyes and no concept of how cut-throat showbiz can be.

While Marvin's recordings with Kim and Diane were good, in my opinion they didn't measure up to those with Mary. But it was the perfect vocal chemistry with Tammi that really, really clicked. Had Mary stayed at the label, there's the chance we would never have had all those amazing duets with Tammi. And then she got sick and died too soon. Many have mentioned that every time Marvin was paired with a female partner, something unfortunate happened shortly thereafter. Mary, Kim and Diane left the label, and Tammi died.

You are totally correct BigAl. I had been waiting for someone to mention Herman Griffin and his role in Mary leaving Motown.

[motony]

she did re-record "Once Upon A Time" in the 80's with Frankie Gaye. It might have been one of those Ian Levine things. Yes, Curtis did join Mary for some songs like "Chain Gang" onstage.

[motony]

Hey Reese, that's interesting....I never saw them do it but it would make sense that they did.

[gman]

Mary DID redo this with Frankie Gaye....there is a video of it. Frankie looked and sounded a lot like Marvin. it was an Ian Levine Motorcity track and one of the best IMHO. I agree that had the both songs been separated over 2 releases they would have charted better on the pop end. Many times the double sided airplay interferes with a higher chart position for one or both sides....the 2 exceptions I can think of immediately are the Beatles Come Together/Something and Carole Kings It's Too Late/ I Feel The Earth Move....in the 60's it was a common [[and frequent) issue for both Connie Francis and Brenda Lee.

[marv2]

Mary DID redo this with Frankie Gaye....there is a video of it. Frankie looked and sounded a lot like Marvin. it was an Ian Levine Motorcity track and one of the best IMHO. I agree that had the both songs been separated over 2 releases they would have charted better on the pop end. Many times the double sided airplay interferes with a higher chart position for one or both sides....the 2 exceptions I can think of immediately are the Beatles Come Together/Something and Carole Kings It's Too Late/ I Feel The Earth Move....in the 60's it was a common [[and frequent) issue for both Connie Francis and Brenda Lee.

I saw Frankie Gaye perform as part of the Motorcity Revue. Mary Wells was originally scheduled to perform as well, but she had to drop out because she had become too ill. She was battling throat cancer.

[RanRan79]

One of my favorite duets, period. I'm not wowed by the Marvin/Mary combo, although they made for a fine pair, but "Once Upon a Time" is a gem.

[midnightman]

Mary DID redo this with Frankie Gaye....there is a video of it. Frankie looked and sounded a lot like Marvin. it was an Ian Levine Motorcity track and one of the best IMHO. I agree that had the both songs been separated over 2 releases they would have charted better on the pop end. Many times the double sided airplay interferes with a higher chart position for one or both sides....the 2 exceptions I can think of immediately are the Beatles Come Together/Something and Carole Kings It's Too Late/ I Feel The Earth Move....in the 60's it was a common [[and frequent) issue for both Connie Francis and Brenda Lee.

I agree. The double-sided thing is never a plus. They did that a lot with Mary's songs.