Martha and the Vandellas - "Canadian Sunset"

[Philles/Motown Gary]

P/M Gary do you recall which date "Lovebug Leave My Heart Alone" appeared. Was it Aug. 12. 1968 or Oct. 15. 1968?

Gee, Roger, I really don't remember. That detail is a blur to me. Motown released Martha & The Vandellas' "Lovebug Leave My Heart Alone" 45 on August 3, 1967. In fact, I remember taking the new 45 along with me to our aunt & uncle's cottage on the lake so that I could play it for my cousin. But when they performed it on Mike Douglas is beyond me. You would think they would have appeared on Mike's show to promote it in late summer to coincide with the release date, but it wasn't always that cut and dry.
There were times when groups would appear on Mike Douglas-type shows [[i.e., Merv Griffin) and perform songs that were a year or more older . Martha & The Vandellas might very well have performed "Lovebug...." the following year in August or October of 1968. Or, there's a chance that they may have performed it on Merv Griffin, not Mike Douglas. But I'm still leaning heavily toward the Mike Douglas show, as I didn't watch Merv that often. I much preferred Mike and his guests.

[Roger Polhill]

Many thanks P/M Gary, you are so lucky to have been around when all of those shows were playing.I`m trying to collect compile a list of all Motown Artists performances on TV and the movies. Martha did appear on the Merv Griffin Show around those times but I don`t know what she performed.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Many thanks P/M Gary, you are so lucky to have been around when all of those shows were playing.I`m trying to collect compile a list of all Motown Artists performances on TV and the movies. Martha did appear on the Merv Griffin Show around those times but I don`t know what she performed.

Roger, are you aware of the series of DVDs that Motown released back in 2011 -- all of which contained Motown artists' TV performances? Some were devoted to performances on the Ed Sullivan show, and some were not. Some DVD's were all of one artist, while some were Various Artists compilations. The picture and sound quality on all of the DVDs are excellent. Unfortunately, the Ed Sullivan DVDs do NOT contain a booklet listing the date of each performance, but the non-Sullivan-related DVDs DO have the informational booklets containing the name of the TV show and the date of the performance. I have all of the DVDs and I can provide you with that information, if you need it.