So What Do You Know About Barrett Strong?

[marv2]

He recorded the first hit for Motown, "Money [[That's What I Want)". He also co-wrote some of the most successful and critically acclaimed soul songs ever to be released by Motown! Here's a great opportunity to learn more about this great legend right here :

[marv2]

Barrett Strong co-wrote:

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips
"War" by Edwin Starr
"Wherever I Lay My Hat [[That's My Home)" by Paul Young
"Smiling Faces Sometimes" by the Undisputed Truth

By the Temptations:

"Cloud Nine"
"Runaway Child, Running Wild"
"I Can't Get Next to You"
"Psychedelic Shack"
"Ball of Confusion [[That's What the World Is Today)"
"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
"Just My Imagination [[Running Away With Me)"

Barrett even co-wrote "Stay In My Corner" by the Dells !

[tmd]

Good stuff

One of the legends, Too Busy Thinking about My Baby my favorite MG song and Just My Imagination top 5 song Temptation

[marv2]

Good stuff

One of the legends, Too Busy Thinking about My Baby my favorite MG song and Just My Imagination top 5 song Temptation

Barrett wrote or co-wrote a tremendous amount of great songs. Well known songs and hits. My brief list above does not tell the whole story. The interview is invaluable.

[midnightman]

He should've got the full royalties for Money!

[marv2]

He should've got the full royalties for Money!

The royalties he gets for all of those classics he wrote or helped write, has more than made up for that trust me! LOL!!!! Him not hurtin'.......

[midnightman]

The royalties he gets for all of those classics he wrote or helped write, has more than made up for that trust me! LOL!!!! Him not hurtin'.......

That's true, but Money is an iconic song and he wrote that at 18 and still got cheated. JMHO.

[marv2]

That's true, but Money is an iconic song and he wrote that at 18 and still got cheated. JMHO.

That's interesting, because he said he was 17 when he recorded it in the video. LOL!

[snakepit]

Two CDs for collectors with his Motown career .
Amazon UK has copies for less than £2!!!

The UK "essential " CD is probably the one to get.

[mysterysinger]

Motown attracted so many truly great people - songwriters, singers, musicians, producers etc. Barrett's "Money" was the first [[and only?) release on the TMG400 series of singles though curiously numbered TMG402. He's a Motown Legend for sure.

[motownjohnny]

To me Barrett Strong is a bit of an enigma, in that I've never been able to find any detail on just how he came to Motown, in what capacity he was employed and when he joined.

It seems his singing on "Money [[That's What I Want)" was almost incidental - he just happened to be around the studio at the time Berry Gordy, Janie Bradford and the band were putting the song together and during that "session" he took over from B.G. on piano and vocals. Perhaps if he had not been there that day, the song would have been given to someone else to record and release.

Re his age, DFTMC doesn't give any details on just when Money was recorded, but it was released on Tamla in August 1959 and Barrett's birth date is always given as being Feb, 5 1941, which would therefore mean he was 18 when the song was recorded and not 17 as he suggested in the video.

As far as I'm aware there have never been any tracks on him released from the vaults other than what is available on the two CD's mentioned by snakepit and mysterysinger. Does that therefore mean that his complete Motown output has been released and there are no other completed recordings? That seems strange to me bearing in mind his initial success and the company clearly having plans to release an album on him, so surely he must have recorded more material that was never used and is therefore potentially still available for release.

[RanRan79]

I'm not a fan of Barrett's Motown period, but he made some good stuff in the 70s. My favorite is this one...

[marv2]

Two CDs for collectors with his Motown career .
Amazon UK has copies for less than £2!!!

The UK "essential " CD is probably the one to get.

Thank you Snakepit. Yes, once again it looks like the U.K. is the go to place for a lot of Classic Motown CD's.

[marv2]

Motown attracted so many truly great people - songwriters, singers, musicians, producers etc. Barrett's "Money" was the first [[and only?) release on the TMG400 series of singles though curiously numbered TMG402. He's a Motown Legend for sure.

What is also so remarkable is that they were regular, everyday people. By that I mean, they did not go to music college [[at least most didn't) Julliard, Boston Conservatory, etc.

[marv2]

To me Barrett Strong is a bit of an enigma, in that I've never been able to find any detail on just how he came to Motown, in what capacity he was employed and when he joined.

It seems his singing on "Money [[That's What I Want)" was almost incidental - he just happened to be around the studio at the time Berry Gordy, Janie Bradford and the band were putting the song together and during that "session" he took over from B.G. on piano and vocals. Perhaps if he had not been there that day, the song would have been given to someone else to record and release.

Re his age, DFTMC doesn't give any details on just when Money was recorded, but it was released on Tamla in August 1959 and Barrett's birth date is always given as being Feb, 5 1941, which would therefore mean he was 18 when the song was recorded and not 17 as he suggested in the video.

As far as I'm aware there have never been any tracks on him released from the vaults other than what is available on the two CD's mentioned by snakepit and mysterysinger. Does that therefore mean that his complete Motown output has been released and there are no other completed recordings? That seems strange to me bearing in mind his initial success and the company clearly having plans to release an album on him, so surely he must have recorded more material that was never used and is therefore potentially still available for release.

I think Barrett found his niche as a songwriter. He was more of a songwriter than a singer/performer. Similar to the route Eddie Holland took.

[midnightman]

That's interesting, because he said he was 17 when he recorded it in the video. LOL!

Money was released in August 1959. He was born in February 1941.

[marv2]

Money was released in August 1959. He was born in February 1941.

You may need to write and tell him that.

[robb_k]

To me Barrett Strong is a bit of an enigma, in that I've never been able to find any detail on just how he came to Motown, in what capacity he was employed and when he joined.

It seems his singing on "Money [[That's What I Want)" was almost incidental - he just happened to be around the studio at the time Berry Gordy, Janie Bradford and the band were putting the song together and during that "session" he took over from B.G. on piano and vocals. Perhaps if he had not been there that day, the song would have been given to someone else to record and release.

Re his age, DFTMC doesn't give any details on just when Money was recorded, but it was released on Tamla in August 1959 and Barrett's birth date is always given as being Feb, 5 1941, which would therefore mean he was 18 when the song was recorded and not 17 as he suggested in the video.

As far as I'm aware there have never been any tracks on him released from the vaults other than what is available on the two CD's mentioned by snakepit and mysterysinger. Does that therefore mean that his complete Motown output has been released and there are no other completed recordings? That seems strange to me bearing in mind his initial success and the company clearly having plans to release an album on him, so surely he must have recorded more material that was never used and is therefore potentially still available for release.

I think we can take Barrett's word that he came to the attention of Berry Gordy through a friend, and Berry listened to him, and decided to sign him as a singing artist. Berry recorded 2 songs by Barrett, near the beginning of Tamla's operation - "Do The Very Best You Can" and "Let's Rock", released in mid 1959, as Tamla [[54021/22). So, I think it's reasonable to believe Barrett, that Berry first heard "Money" as a demo tune, sung by Strong especially for him, and that Berry decided to record him singing it, and to release it as soon as possible. I doubt that they had any other artist in mind for it. He played piano on the recording because he did such a good job playing it for Berry during the demo session.

As to vaulted cuts by Strong, I am very surprised none were found. But, back during his first tenure with Motown, all recordings were made live, and therefore, Berry didn't have the ability to afford making lots of extra recordings from which to choose the best to release. So, Barrett only recorded 2 songs at a time, for release on his next 45. During 7 years of my perusing The Vaults, I never saw an unreleased Barrett Strong recording. So, I think his handful of 45s represented the entirety of his recordings as a singing artist for Motown.

[snakepit]

DFTMC lists 21 tracks.
I need to dig out the 2 CDs and have a refresh on his stuff.

[woodward]

I retrieved this from a former Motown Forum post. Maybe some new members have not seen it and might benefit from reading it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/a...ts.html?ref=us

[midnightman]

I retrieved this from a former Motown Forum post. Maybe some new members have not seen it and might benefit from reading it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/a...ts.html?ref=us

Thanks for finding it because I sure was about to! That's what I meant. The guy got cheated out of royalties. I seriously do believe that.

[mysterysinger]

I almost forgot about this CD from 2017 from Hallmark. Will be a needle drop but the sound on the Hallmark CDs is good. They have released several Motown albums but this is their representation of one that wasn't. There is also a useful little essay [[I'm assuming by our very own Graham Betts).

Hallmark 717072
Money & Other Big Hits
Barrett Strong
Hallmark UK CD

Tracklist
01 Money [[That's What I Want)
02 Yes No, Maybe So
03 I'm Gonna Cry [[If You Quit Me)
04 Money & Me
05 Misery
06 Do The Very Best You Can
07 Oh I Apologize
08 You Know's What To Do
09 Whirwind
10 You Got What It Takes
11 Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right
12 Let's Rock

[mysterysinger]

DFTMC lists 21 tracks.
I need to dig out the 2 CDs and have a refresh on his stuff.

There are 22 tracks on the spectrum album which included the 12 on the Millennium Collection [[and in the same order) but added 10 more.

9807773
The Complete Motown Collection
Barrett Strong
Spectrum / Tamla Motown CD

1 Money [[That's What I Want)
2 Oh I Apologize
3 Yes, No, Maybe So
4 You Knows What to Do
5 I'm Gonna Cry [[If You Quit Me)
6 Whirlwind
7 Money and Me
8 You Got What It Takes
9 Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right
10 Misery
11 Let's Rock
12 Do the Very Best You Can
13 Tell All Your Friends
14 Actions Speak Louder Than Words
15 Believe It or Not
16 Who's Taken My Place
17 I'll Make It Up to You
18 Sugar Daddy
19 That's All You Need
20 [[You're) Too Young
21 You Need Me
22 What Is Love

[robb_k]

There are 22 tracks on the spectrum album which included the 12 on the Millennium Collection [[and in the same order) but added 10 more.

9807773
The Complete Motown Collection
Barrett Strong
Spectrum / Tamla Motown CD

1 Money [[That's What I Want)
2 Oh I Apologize
3 Yes, No, Maybe So
4 You Knows What to Do
5 I'm Gonna Cry [[If You Quit Me)
6 Whirlwind
7 Money and Me
8 You Got What It Takes
9 Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right
10 Misery
11 Let's Rock
12 Do the Very Best You Can
13 Tell All Your Friends
14 Actions Speak Louder Than Words
15 Believe It or Not
16 Who's Taken My Place
17 I'll Make It Up to You
18 Sugar Daddy
19 That's All You Need
20 [[You're) Too Young
21 You Need Me
22 What Is Love

Is Barrett's "Action Speaks Louder Than Words" the song Mable John had released on Tamla? Or is it the song David Ruffin had released on Billy "Roquel" Davis' Check-Mate label, from an Anna Records master, which Davis took along with him to Chess, when he, Gwen and Anna Gordy and Harvey Fuqua, dissolved Anna Records?

[motownjohnny]

Robb, they are two separate songs with slightly different titles writing credits and consequently they have different entries on DFTMC.

The first "Action Speaks Louder Than Words" is the David Ruffin one, released on Check-Mate -1003-B. It's written by Billy Davis and Berry Gordy and published by Fidelity Music BMI. It's produced by Billy "Roquel" Davis.

The second and slightly later song, is called "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" [[actions - plural and speak - singular) and is the one released on Mable John on Tamla 54050 and also covered by Barrett Strong. It's written by Berry Gordy and published by Jobete and until the Spectrum CD release referenced by mysterysinger, Barrett's version remained in the vaults.

So the answer to your query is that the Barrett Strong song is different from the David Ruffin one, but is a version of the one released by Mabel John.

[marv2]

Robb, they are two separate songs with slightly different titles writing credits and consequently they have different entries on DFTMC.

The first "Action Speaks Louder Than Words" is the David Ruffin one, released on Check-Mate -1003-B. It's written by Billy Davis and Berry Gordy and published by Fidelity Music BMI. It's produced by Billy "Roquel" Davis.

The second and slightly later song, is called "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" [[actions - plural and speak - singular) and is the one released on Mable John on Tamla 54050 and also covered by Barrett Strong. It's written by Berry Gordy and published by Jobete and until the Spectrum CD release referenced by mysterysinger, Barrett's version remained in the vaults.

So the answer to your query is that the Barrett Strong song is different from the David Ruffin one, but is a version of the one released by Mabel John.

Are the lyrics to the two songs very different?

[motownjohnny]

Yes Marv, the lyrics are totally different, as is the musical approach. As you might expect the Mable John song is much more bluesy than the David Ruffin one.

If you think about it if they had been similar, then without a shadow of a doubt there would there would have been a potential legal case for copyright infringement and plagiarism by Billy "Roquel" Davis, as a joint writer with Berry Gordy of the David Ruffin song. It was published four years before the Mabel John one and the Mabel John one only gives writing credit to Berry Gordy.

[marv2]

"An Evening with Barrett Strong" HardRock Cafe Detroit Motown

[robb_k]

Robb, they are two separate songs with slightly different titles writing credits and consequently they have different entries on DFTMC.

The first "Action Speaks Louder Than Words" is the David Ruffin one, released on Check-Mate -1003-B. It's written by Billy Davis and Berry Gordy and published by Fidelity Music BMI. It's produced by Billy "Roquel" Davis.

The second and slightly later song, is called "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" [[actions - plural and speak - singular) and is the one released on Mable John on Tamla 54050 and also covered by Barrett Strong. It's written by Berry Gordy and published by Jobete and until the Spectrum CD release referenced by mysterysinger, Barrett's version remained in the vaults.

So the answer to your query is that the Barrett Strong song is different from the David Ruffin one, but is a version of the one released by Mabel John.

Thanks. I knew all that about both records, as I have had them both since they were out, EXCEPT that somehow, I never noticed that there is the spelling and word difference! The only other thing I didn't know was which of the two very different songs Barrett Strong had recorded. Now, I finally understand why Berry wrote "two songs with the same title, and didn't remember that". It's funny how similarities make the mind jump to conclusions, and the eye see something different from what is really there. I remember liking David Ruffin's song very much, and being excited to hear Mable John's "version", only to be disappointed to find out that it was a totally different song.