Quote Originally Posted by robb_k View Post
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Many people forget that Barrett Strong was working in Chicago with Carl Davis at Okeh, Constellation, and ATCO Records, on songwriting and assisting in production. It was he and ex-Motowner, Sonny Sanders, who helped add Motownish elements into The Chicago Sound, especially used with Mary Wells and The Artistics' early, Okeh material [[such as the super-Motownish "This Heart of Mine", "So Much Love in My Heart", "I'll Come Running", and "Loveland". Strong wrote several of Mary's ATCO songs, and was involved in the production of "Dear Lover".
Strong and Davis did excellent work with their productions. It always fascinates me that the appeal of what Motown was doing was so strong, even Chicago was trying to fit into that Detroit vibe. Seems for a hot minute, there was a great Chicago Sound, but it couldn't get enough traction to hit as big or as consistently on the charts as Motown. Then I realize it all goes back to how far sighted Berry was in developing the careers and images of his artists as opposed to just getting hits.