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  1. #51
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    I think I would have done the same as LaMonte lol. But the song doesn't sound very Motowny so maybe the song wouldn't have done as well at Motwn. Motown would have probably not promoted it the same way as Soul City. In 1966 the Supremes were priority and the Four Top, Temptations and even Martha were still riding high.
    I might even reconsider buying LaMonte's book after reading your post. I was thinking about getting it a while back.

  2. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I can't think off the top of my head of any instances where both versions were a hit
    In 1955, four artists had versions of 'Unchained Melody' in the UK top 40 at the same time.

    In 1965, Cilla Black [[who had earlier gone to #1 with her cover of Dionne Warwick's 'Anyone Who Had A Heart) released her version of 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' and went to #2 on the UK charts with the Righteous Brothers version [[released the same week as Cilla's) reaching #3 the same week, before rising to #1 [[for two weeks) and eclipsing the 'stolen' version.

    It used to happen quite a lot that competing versions both did well on the charts but 'YLTLF' is the only one I can think of where the versions went to #2 & #1 within a week.

    Continuing the Cilla theme, when there was a TV mini-series about her life in 2014, the re-recordings of Cilla's top hits by the actress Sheridan Smith went into the UK singles charts but so did re-releases of Cilla's versions. So it shows it can still happen in modern times.

  3. #53
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    I had no idea but thought it was interesting to look it up. Another song that was at the top and number 2 here in the UK was Hallelujah by Alexandra Burke and Jeff Buckley.

  4. #54
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    I think you'd like his book, Tyk. Obviously you're fan of black music of this era and LaMonte has a lot to say. The book is only available, I think, as a soft cover so it's not expensive. Marilyn and Billy also released their autobiography Up Up and Away about ten years ago and it was pretty good too--but it's kind of more about their show biz marriage and how to keep it together. In fact, most bookstores carried their book in other departments other than the pop music section--they filed it under self-help, relationship books and even under religious books. It took me forever to find it and that was really a bad move on the publishers end. Who looks for a book on the 5th in the religious section of a bookstore?

  5. #55
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    The idea of multiple versions isn't the problem , may the best man win. It's kind of fitting really, the competitive nature of the music business in full swing. Also each version has that slant on it that the individual production provides. Sometimes its quite interesting , for instance what a difference say that a harmonica makes in the one version over the other. It could be the deciding ingredient that makes it the preferred version.
    Motown did that with their own music as a basic practice of course , GRAPEVINE being one such example to reap the biggest rewards of that practice. Although I don't think Motown ever pitted two versions of any of their songs simultaneously, am I right reese?

    In the case with LOVE HANGOVER. it was not a lingering song waiting to be [[re)discovered and the copy the 5th rushed out was basically a replica , mimicking the original as closely as possible. It was meant to supplant Diana's version.

    I don't blame the 5th though, they were in dire straits as a viable group at the time, recently losing Davis and McCoo and not having a hit in years. This record was basically a hail Mary for them with Marc Gordon ,their manager, having to take the helm at the production.

    But I do believe there was some kind of agreement or misunderstanding going on here.
    As mentioned, Hal Davis and Marc Gordon were buds, and not that long after this egregious stealing of his material, the Fifth Dimension found themselves with a contract at Motown. So Hal Davis and Berry Gordy especially weren't so put off by the situation that Berry declared, "no way in hell!" to that deal.

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    The idea of multiple versions isn't the problem , may the best man win. It's kind of fitting really, the competitive nature of the music business in full swing. Also each version has that slant on it that the individual production provides. Sometimes its quite interesting , for instance what a difference say that a harmonica makes in the one version over the other. It could be the deciding ingredient that makes it the preferred version.
    Motown did that with their own music as a basic practice of course , GRAPEVINE being one such example to reap the biggest rewards of that practice. Although I don't think Motown ever pitted two versions of any of their songs simultaneously, am I right reese?
    I can't recall Motown releasing simultaneous versions of a song as singles. But Gladys Knight did say that she wished Motown had waited longer before releasing Marvin Gaye's version of GRAPEVINE so that the Pips could have enjoyed the success of their version longer. But his came out a year later and was an even bigger hit that theirs and they felt they lost some of their identity.

  7. #57
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    I know Grapevine by Gladys was one of the biggest songs of 1967, but I swear to God I never once heard it on the radio in Western NY. Never. I knew Gaye's version only.

    Hey did you guys know Gladys and the Pips released Come See About Me before the Supremes did? It came out in 1963!

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Levi Stubbs Tears View Post
    In 1955, four artists had versions of 'Unchained Melody' in the UK top 40 at the same time.

    In 1965, Cilla Black [[who had earlier gone to #1 with her cover of Dionne Warwick's 'Anyone Who Had A Heart) released her version of 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' and went to #2 on the UK charts with the Righteous Brothers version [[released the same week as Cilla's) reaching #3 the same week, before rising to #1 [[for two weeks) and eclipsing the 'stolen' version.

    It used to happen quite a lot that competing versions both did well on the charts but 'YLTLF' is the only one I can think of where the versions went to #2 & #1 within a week.

    Continuing the Cilla theme, when there was a TV mini-series about her life in 2014, the re-recordings of Cilla's top hits by the actress Sheridan Smith went into the UK singles charts but so did re-releases of Cilla's versions. So it shows it can still happen in modern times.
    Both Hank Ballard and Chubby Checker had hits with The Twist though Chubby's was far more popular [[the only artist that I know that had the same song hit number one twice in two different years though Whitney Houston came close with IWALY shortly after her death in 2012).

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    I know Grapevine by Gladys was one of the biggest songs of 1967, but I swear to God I never once heard it on the radio in Western NY. Never. I knew Gaye's version only.

    Hey did you guys know Gladys and the Pips released Come See About Me before the Supremes did? It came out in 1963!
    That was probably a different unrelated version?



    Nella Dobbs released her version of the Supremes' CSAM before they did, Motown had to rush-release it to stop Nella's version from selling.

  10. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post

    Hey did you guys know Gladys and the Pips released Come See About Me before the Supremes did? It came out in 1963!
    They are different songs although I have seen the song incorrectly credited to HDH on some Pips collections.

  11. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by Levi Stubbs Tears View Post
    In 1955, four artists had versions of 'Unchained Melody' in the UK top 40 at the same time.

    In 1965, Cilla Black [[who had earlier gone to #1 with her cover of Dionne Warwick's 'Anyone Who Had A Heart) released her version of 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' and went to #2 on the UK charts with the Righteous Brothers version [[released the same week as Cilla's) reaching #3 the same week, before rising to #1 [[for two weeks) and eclipsing the 'stolen' version.

    It used to happen quite a lot that competing versions both did well on the charts but 'YLTLF' is the only one I can think of where the versions went to #2 & #1 within a week.

    Continuing the Cilla theme, when there was a TV mini-series about her life in 2014, the re-recordings of Cilla's top hits by the actress Sheridan Smith went into the UK singles charts but so did re-releases of Cilla's versions. So it shows it can still happen in modern times.
    Interesting info, thank you.

  12. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post
    Both Hank Ballard and Chubby Checker had hits with The Twist though Chubby's was far more popular [[the only artist that I know that had the same song hit number one twice in two different years though Whitney Houston came close with IWALY shortly after her death in 2012).
    I don't think the two "Twist"s were competing at the same time though.

  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I don't think the two "Twist"s were competing at the same time though.
    I thought both versions were out in 1960?

  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    I can't recall Motown releasing simultaneous versions of a song as singles. But Gladys Knight did say that she wished Motown had waited longer before releasing Marvin Gaye's version of GRAPEVINE so that the Pips could have enjoyed the success of their version longer. But his came out a year later and was an even bigger hit that theirs and they felt they lost some of their identity.
    That's a very interesting twist to its double success, and befits this thread, Marv sort of 'stole' their song!!! An inside job. lol!

  15. #65
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    Another funny tale about a 'stolen' cover version is this one.

    In 1961, Phil Spector had produced a single for Gene Pitney [[Every Breath I Take). Though the song didn't quite reach the top 40, it was Gene's 2nd best performing single at this stage of his career.

    Pitney was something of a song-writer too and next year he wrote a song that he thought would be a hit for a girl-group. He didn't give it to Phil though who was having success with the Crystals - he intended it for the Shirelles, who turned it down. A new artist Vikki Carr intended to release it as her debut single but when Spector heard about this, he rushed to release his own version to beat Vicki to the charts.

    With the Crystals on tour and unavailable in the studio, he recorded a version with Darlene Love & The Blossoms, but released it under the Crystals name.

    And in 1962 this 'stolen' song recorded by a 'fake' Crystals reached #1 on the US charts. Ironically it kept Gene Pitney from the top spot with his record 'Only Love Can Break a Heart' peaking at #2 that week.

  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post
    I thought both versions were out in 1960?
    Hank's was originally released in 1959 as a b-side that charted, then reissued in 1960.

    I assume the 1960 reissue was due to Chubby's remake and on the R&B chart, Hank's reissue charted a week before Chubby's version.
    Last edited by reese; 07-13-2020 at 08:21 AM.

  17. #67
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    Reese--I found out about the Pips' version from Wikipedia. They said it was the same song! I guess it was wrong. I kinda thought I would have known if Gladys did this Supremes song.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    That's a very interesting twist to its double success, and befits this thread, Marv sort of 'stole' their song!!! An inside job. lol!
    The twist of this story is Marvin actually recorded the song first. It was voted down in one of those quality control meetings, so it remained unreleased until Motown decided to finally include it on his next album. This was after the success of the Gladys Knight & The Pips version.

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    Quote Originally Posted by khansperac View Post
    The twist of this story is Marvin actually recorded the song first. It was voted down in one of those quality control meetings, so it remained unreleased until Motown decided to finally include it on his next album. This was after the success of the Gladys Knight & The Pips version.
    Boy Berry had the golden touch didn't he. Even when he blew it , it could wind up paying off. Rejecting Marv's version , resulted in another that doubled the song's residuals.
    It also fascinates me the way Norman Whitfield could create such diverse treatments of the same song.

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    Yeah Marvin recorded his version in April 1967. Gladys' was months later.

  21. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Hank's was originally released in 1959 as a b-side that charted, then reissued in 1960.

    I assume the 1960 reissue was due to Chubby's remake and on the R&B chart, Hank's reissue charted a week before Chubby's version.
    Ah okay, I got it now.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Boy Berry had the golden touch didn't he. Even when he blew it , it could wind up paying off. Rejecting Marv's version , resulted in another that doubled the song's residuals.
    It also fascinates me the way Norman Whitfield could create such diverse treatments of the same song.
    wiki says that for The Pips version , Norman tried to Aretha-ize it:



    learning that .... it most definitely is permeated with RESPECT


    added:

    just noticed how NOT dressed alike they are here for a TV appearance especially. I wonder what that was about ....
    Last edited by Boogiedown; 07-17-2020 at 02:14 PM.

  23. #73
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    wiki says that for The Pips version , Norman tried to Aretha-ize it:




    just noticed how NOT dressed alike they are here for a TV appearance especially. I wonder what that was about ....
    Artists often dressed casually on SOUL TRAIN. You can find appearances by other artists like Martha and the Vandellas, the Honey Cone, Ike and Tina, etc. wearing their street clothes on the show.

  24. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Artists often dressed casually on SOUL TRAIN. You can find appearances by other artists like Martha and the Vandellas, the Honey Cone, Ike and Tina, etc. wearing their street clothes on the show.
    Really ? I will definitely check that out !

    Hmmm ...so what gives?? You suppose SOUL TRAIN didn't have any dressing rooms!!

  25. #75
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    I didn't know Marvin recorded Grapevine first! the production is so much cleaner and more modern than Gladys' take. It sounded more like a 70's record. Gladys' sounded 60's to me
    Last edited by BobbyC; 07-17-2020 at 03:43 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    I didn't know Marvin recorded Grapevine first! the production is so much cleaner and more modern than Gladys' take. It sounded more like a 70's record. Gladys' sounded 60's to me
    Yeah, Marvin's was recorded on these dates: February 3, 8, 13, 15 and April 10, 1967. I forget when Marvin recorded his vocal but in those days, Norman had to produce different sessions by itself, adding them in later. So one day, he could be producing the rhythm instrumental track, the next would be the background vocals and the next being the lead vocal and then the symphony instrumental being overdubbed.

    Gladys Knight and the Pips recorded their version on June 17, 1967. Aretha's "Respect", which Norman based Gladys' version off of, was recorded on Valentine's Day 1967 and put out that April. So yeah, Norman wanted to "outfunk" Ree's anthem. I don't know if Norman produced the GK&TP's version live or not [[probably not) but they were all recorded that same month [[June 1967). The rhythm instrumental track was done first and was sent to GK&TPs for them to come up with their own vocal arrangement to it, which took a few days. So that version was recorded rather quickly.

    Marvin's version, however, was produced more meticulously by Norman since the original version done by the Miracles in August 1966 was a flop. Norman always felt strongly that his version with Marvin was THE masterpiece of the three versions he did.

    So yeah, when Gladys Knight tells you she recorded Grapevine FIRST, take what she says with a grain of salt.

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    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post

    Gladys Knight and the Pips recorded their version on June 17, 1967. Aretha's "Respect", which Norman based Gladys' version off of, was recorded on Valentine's Day 1967 and put out that April. So yeah, Norman wanted to "outfunk" Ree's anthem. I don't know if Norman produced the GK&TP's version live or not [[probably not) but they were all recorded that same month [[June 1967). The rhythm instrumental track was done first and was sent to GK&TPs for them to come up with their own vocal arrangement to it, which took a few days. So that version was recorded rather quickly.

    Marvin's version, however, was produced more meticulously by Norman since the original version done by the Miracles in August 1966 was a flop. Norman always felt strongly that his version with Marvin was THE masterpiece of the three versions he did.

    So yeah, when Gladys Knight tells you she recorded Grapevine FIRST, take what she says with a grain of salt.
    Gladys said she and Pips worked on GRAPEVINE for two months, on the road, at home, etc. She said when they brought it to Norman for him to hear their arrangement, he wanted them to record it right away. Smokey was in the studio but gave up some of his time so they could get in.

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    Interesting, Midnightman. I guess I need to bone up on my Gladys/Marvin history!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    wiki says that for The Pips version , Norman tried to Aretha-ize it:



    learning that .... it most definitely is permeated with RESPECT


    added:

    just noticed how NOT dressed alike they are here for a TV appearance especially. I wonder what that was about ....
    Wiki got it wrong in this case. Gladys, Bubba and William Guest have all said that The Pips and Gladys came up with their own vocal arrangements for Grapevine. They were totally original and had nothing to do with Norman Whitfield or Aretha-izing it. Thatis how talented Gladys and the Pips were!

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Gladys said she and Pips worked on GRAPEVINE for two months, on the road, at home, etc. She said when they brought it to Norman for him to hear their arrangement, he wanted them to record it right away. Smokey was in the studio but gave up some of his time so they could get in.
    I heard that part. I forgot how long she said they worked on it. Two months??? I think Bubba or Gladys said that when they returned the tape, it was smoking and Norman couldn't play it? Two months? Yeah I can see how that would probably be true. But again, who knows? I also heard they sung it to him on acapella and that's how they did that song so quickly in one take cause they themselves vocally arranged it [[now that part I do agree with because they refused to let Motown help them there lol much like the Temptations).
    Last edited by midnightman; 07-18-2020 at 12:34 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    Interesting, Midnightman. I guess I need to bone up on my Gladys/Marvin history!
    Yeah, it's a very complicated history. Even Gladys claimed Norman stole a song that was supposed to be theirs and had Marvin sing "End of Our Road" on top of that LOL [[both Gladys and Marvin covered "End of Our Road", both versions hit the top 40).

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    Didn’t the Miracles record Grapevine first on an album? Hank Ballard said he didn’t mind about Chubby’s as Hank wrote it and got rich!

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    they're back !!



    But robbing from Diana's material some ten plus years later gets them off the hook this time ! lol!!

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    Boogie--I'm friends with Joyce, who took the Marilyn McCoo spot in the 5th. I asked her why this album never came out and she said something about legal disputes between their [[then) management and the record label.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    Boogie--I'm friends with Joyce, who took the Marilyn McCoo spot in the 5th. I asked her why this album never came out and she said something about legal disputes between their [[then) management and the record label.
    There was an album? Shame as they therefore had no LPs released in the eighties....

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Artists often dressed casually on SOUL TRAIN. You can find appearances by other artists like Martha and the Vandellas, the Honey Cone, Ike and Tina, etc. wearing their street clothes on the show.


    Looking into this some more...I'm noticing Honey Cone didn't seem to dress alike too often ....although sad to see they perhaps did very little TV ??? Not a lot of film on them ...BUT I was excited to find this with them singing live to a live band;


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    Nice! Never saw a live Honey Cone clip before. Thanks.

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    Boogiedown--Yeah there's a whole album that was released a few years ago online, but never officially released. Nobody from the group knows who leaked it but they can confirm nobody got a dime out of it. The record was pretty solid--far better than that garbage In the house CD they released in 1995. I knew In the House was gonna be bad because I met the [[then) current 5th when they played Dallas. I met [[then) male lead singer Gregg Walker backstage--Florence announced onstage that their new record was coming out soon, and I was excited, so I asked Gregg about it. He immediately got kinda weird and evasive when I asked him if it was good. He sort of avoided the question but then said that "Well, Puppet Man is pretty good" but didn't say crap about the rest of it. I don't need a house to fall on me to read between the lines! And of course I understood his misgivings when I bought the CD. It was HORRIBLE.
    Fun Fact: Florence dragged me out of the crowd to come up on stage with them to "help them sing a song." I couldn't have been more clear that I did NOT want to be onstage. But Florence forced me to sing that wretched song Jump by the Pointless Sisters. I am just an okay singer and had she wanted me to sing one of the 5th's songs, I probably would have been passable. But all she wanted me to sing was the line "Jump!!" Have you ever tried to sing just one word? It DOESN'T work. Even if I were a bargain basement Luther Vandross, it still wouldn't work. How do you "sing" one note, one word? Eventually my lack of cooperation led Miss Florence to say "You really don't want to be up here, do you?" I was thinking No shit, Shirley but instead just told her no and went off the stage. Needless to say, talent scouts did not knock at my door to sign me.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    Boogiedown--Yeah there's a whole album that was released a few years ago online, but never officially released. Nobody from the group knows who leaked it but they can confirm nobody got a dime out of it. The record was pretty solid--far better than that garbage In the house CD they released in 1995. I knew In the House was gonna be bad because I met the [[then) current 5th when they played Dallas. I met [[then) male lead singer Gregg Walker backstage--Florence announced onstage that their new record was coming out soon, and I was excited, so I asked Gregg about it. He immediately got kinda weird and evasive when I asked him if it was good. He sort of avoided the question but then said that "Well, Puppet Man is pretty good" but didn't say crap about the rest of it. I don't need a house to fall on me to read between the lines! And of course I understood his misgivings when I bought the CD. It was HORRIBLE.
    Fun Fact: Florence dragged me out of the crowd to come up on stage with them to "help them sing a song." I couldn't have been more clear that I did NOT want to be onstage. But Florence forced me to sing that wretched song Jump by the Pointless Sisters. I am just an okay singer and had she wanted me to sing one of the 5th's songs, I probably would have been passable. But all she wanted me to sing was the line "Jump!!" Have you ever tried to sing just one word? It DOESN'T work. Even if I were a bargain basement Luther Vandross, it still wouldn't work. How do you "sing" one note, one word? Eventually my lack of cooperation led Miss Florence to say "You really don't want to be up here, do you?" I was thinking No shit, Shirley but instead just told her no and went off the stage. Needless to say, talent scouts did not knock at my door to sign me.

    that's some good stuff right there! Bobby, did they already know you and that's why they particulary called you onto the stage, or is this how your friendship started?

    [[When acts do other acts' material to sound more contemporary , ie The Fifth doing The Pointers' JUMP , that's a good clue they are in trouble.
    And when performing JUMP some ten years + after it was hit, I wonder what percent of the audience even knows that hit wasn't their's, they recognize the song from somewhere , and that's good enough!)

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    No they didn't know me--I guess I was more animated than some of the other people in the audience, and it was clear I was a big fan. I think that's why Florence grabbed me! Over the years I've met the group many, many times, including when they did a live presentation of Ain't Misbehaving--and that was where I met Joyce. She is one of the sweetest people I've ever known. Billy and Marilyn were super nice too. Florence was different every time I met her and I sensed she wasn't very sincere. Ron was always more concerned about the backstage buffets than talking to me, but he was cordial. LaMonte was always downright rude to me and I have no idea why.

    Now regarding Jump--for some bizarre reason, the 5th always put really strange pop songs into the shows. For instance, there's a clip online of them playing Vegas, and they open with a version of Barry Manilow's song It's a Miracle. Why? It is a total buzz kill. I know they are doing songs they must think their middle aged white audience wants to hear. I don't know. But IMO doing that song or Jump is just stupid. Even back with the original group, they insisted on doing mediocre versions of pop songs. A bootlegged live album came out in the 90's, which featured really terrible versions [[even the group agreed this was true) from 1968. Billy sounded terrible on Monday Monday--it just didn't fit his voice AT ALL. And you have never heard anything as painful as Marilyn McCoo trying to sing Aretha's Respect. Florence did a killer version of How Insensitive and it's about the only good live cut on that record.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    No they didn't know me--I guess I was more animated than some of the other people in the audience, and it was clear I was a big fan. I think that's why Florence grabbed me! Over the years I've met the group many, many times, including when they did a live presentation of Ain't Misbehaving--and that was where I met Joyce. She is one of the sweetest people I've ever known. Billy and Marilyn were super nice too. Florence was different every time I met her and I sensed she wasn't very sincere. Ron was always more concerned about the backstage buffets than talking to me, but he was cordial. LaMonte was always downright rude to me and I have no idea why.

    Now regarding Jump--for some bizarre reason, the 5th always put really strange pop songs into the shows. For instance, there's a clip online of them playing Vegas, and they open with a version of Barry Manilow's song It's a Miracle. Why? It is a total buzz kill. I know they are doing songs they must think their middle aged white audience wants to hear. I don't know. But IMO doing that song or Jump is just stupid. Even back with the original group, they insisted on doing mediocre versions of pop songs. A bootlegged live album came out in the 90's, which featured really terrible versions [[even the group agreed this was true) from 1968. Billy sounded terrible on Monday Monday--it just didn't fit his voice AT ALL. And you have never heard anything as painful as Marilyn McCoo trying to sing Aretha's Respect. Florence did a killer version of How Insensitive and it's about the only good live cut on that record.
    Bobby, sometimes nobody wants to tell a star the truth, so they keep singing duds like I Will Survive and More Today Than Yesterday.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    Bobby, sometimes nobody wants to tell a star the truth, so they keep singing duds like I Will Survive and More Today Than Yesterday.
    lol!



    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    No they didn't know me--I guess I was more animated than some of the other people in the audience, and it was clear I was a big fan. I think that's why Florence grabbed me! Over the years I've met the group many, many times, including when they did a live presentation of Ain't Misbehaving--and that was where I met Joyce. She is one of the sweetest people I've ever known. Billy and Marilyn were super nice too. Florence was different every time I met her and I sensed she wasn't very sincere. Ron was always more concerned about the backstage buffets than talking to me, but he was cordial. LaMonte was always downright rude to me and I have no idea why.

    Now regarding Jump--for some bizarre reason, the 5th always put really strange pop songs into the shows. For instance, there's a clip online of them playing Vegas, and they open with a version of Barry Manilow's song It's a Miracle. Why? It is a total buzz kill. I know they are doing songs they must think their middle aged white audience wants to hear. I don't know. But IMO doing that song or Jump is just stupid. Even back with the original group, they insisted on doing mediocre versions of pop songs. A bootlegged live album came out in the 90's, which featured really terrible versions [[even the group agreed this was true) from 1968. Billy sounded terrible on Monday Monday--it just didn't fit his voice AT ALL. And you have never heard anything as painful as Marilyn McCoo trying to sing Aretha's Respect. Florence did a killer version of How Insensitive and it's about the only good live cut on that record.


    OK , you got me curious, shall we give it a go ....for old times sake??





    .... oh, dear !!

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    You just had to post that, didn't you? I wasn't lying...this is total cringe

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    You could have at least posted this cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O7QsiH0mxU

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    Ugh this is even worse than I remembered: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPvZ31-Xja4

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    OMG the monday monday live is, lets be nice, not very good . I was listening to the mamas and papas yesterday and their version is perfection.

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    Circa--I don't mean to be evil, but did you see Diana Ross singing More Today Than Yesterday on [[I think it was) America's Got Talent? One of those talent search type shows. It was very, very bad--she couldn't hit the notes at all. That is not the Diana Ross I used to know--the perfectionist would never have gone on there unless she could really do that song justice. I was shocked!

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    Tyk! Ha! I told you it was bad. But listen to Billy and Marilyn butcher Respect. Billy is my favorite male singer and he's a stunning vocalist, but this was just horrendous. Marilyn has one of the best soprano voices ever, but she isn't a soul singer. Florence LaRue was angry that this ever got released but said it would cost more to pursue who's to blame than it was worth. She said it was not up to their quality standard despite the fact SHE had by far the best performance in the bunch!

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