Hitsville 1966

[jsmith]

A piece from a UK magazine of that time ...

[DWSheffer]

"and I've got an ulcer!"

It's funny to read the writing style of the era. Comments and details that would never be printed in a modern piece.
Darin

[woodward]

Thanks for posting this very interesting story. It clearly shows how things were done in the good old days.

I was surprised to see where Booker Bradshaw was mentioned in the story. Very little has ever been written about him. In Al Abrams book there was a reproduction of a press release he wrote about Booker. And as most people know, Booker introduced the Supremes on their George Alexander 1079 Supremes interview promo release.

I am intrigued by the mention of "television filming at Greenfield Village!" First I ever heard of this. What can anyone add to this discussion?

Keep these articles coming, they are really appreciated.

[reese]

I am intrigued by the mention of "television filming at Greenfield Village!" First I ever heard of this. What can anyone add to this discussion?

They were referring to filming the Murray the K TV special IT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING BABY.

Note: Martha mentions running up and down the assembly line, which she and the Vandellas did while lipsyncing NOWHERE TO RUN in this special.

The article also mentions the Four Tops filming at a hot dog stand with children, another spot from the same special.

[danman869]

They were referring to filming the Murray the K TV special IT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING BABY.

This is what had me shake my head for a second when I first read the article above. I realized they were talking about "It's What's Happening, Baby!" which aired on CBS-TV on June 28, 1965. Based on Mary Wilson's itinerary in "Dreamgirl," as well as the fact that there is green grass and everybody is outside in Detroit and surroundings wearing lighter clothing, the Motown spots in the TV special would've likely been taped circa May/early June 1965. If this UK reporter was in Detroit to witness this, it took a LONG time for it to be published in the UK in 1966! Or did the OP accidentally reference this as "Motown 1966"?

The first time I was able to watch this special was around 20 years ago at The Museum of Radio & TV at the Los Angeles branch in Beverly Hills. Fortunately, TJ Lubinsky [[a member here) was able to get the special released on DVD back in early 2021. It's still available on Amazon [[among other places, I'm sure).

https://www.amazon.com/Treasury-Coll...dp/B096HJF4WJ/

All this said, it's fun to read an "And I was there..."-type recounting from back in the day!

[Claudia]

[Clifton Miller]

On the subject of Booker Bradshaw...

https://www.adampwhite.com/westgrandblog/bradshaw

[jsmith]

The article was published in the UK mag on 3rd September 1966. The next page has a review of Marvin's "Little Darling" which was released here on 2nd September 66.
However, it refers to Martha Reeves being 25 years old -- as she was born in 1941, that would place his chat with her in 1966.
No idea why it wasn't used earlier if it does date from 65.

[soulwally]

John, what publication was it in, and who wrote it?

[jsmith]

It was in NME and written by a R E Britchford.