Another 'Motown' Singer ??

[jsmith]

In 1970, an article was written about a female singer currently on the US charts ......
....... here's a tiny piece of it ...............
Attachment 1128
anyone know [[guess) who the lady was ??

[jsmith]

By the way, it may help to know that the article writer was 'stre-t-c-h-i-n-g the facts a bit in their piece .....
..... as if anyone discovered & selected her from the Motown NY office, it was most likely Raynoma & Eddie [[or Sidney).

[luke]

Syreeta--??

[robb_k]

That would have to be someone from New York, who worked as the secretary in 1963 or early 1964. Off the top of my head, I have no idea what female singer from New York sang backgrounds for Motown. But, when I hear the answer, I'll think to myself, "I knew that! "

I know that George Clinton brought Tamala Lewis, The Parlettes and The Pets to Jobete's NY office. Gene Redd brought Shirley J. Scott and RoseMarie McCoy. But, I doubt that any of them were the secretary. George Kerr had some female singers there as well. But, I doubt that any of them was the secretary.

I remember some acetates and/or tapes with names I hadn't heard. One was Moore [[was it Carol Moore, Helen Moore?).

[marybrewster]

How about Kiki Dee?

[marv2]

I believe Kiki Dee was from the U.K.

[pj1]

Robb,
This might help refresh your memory. It's long but well worth it.
http://faac.us/adf/messages/28522/13...tml?1170122862

[pj1]

The line- "Thus she became one of the long line of luminaries of Motown' would indicate someone considered to be quite important at Motown. I suspect that the writer has gotten the secretary part right but the city wrong [[New York rather than Detroit) I'd say he's writing about Diana Ross. Diana, the solo artist, was on the charts in 1970, sang background for other artists at Motown in the early days, and is so much more than another 'Motown' singer- hence your question marks.

[nomis]

Diana was never a secretary in NY..she shuffled papers in Detroit for a short time but it was really just a gesture from Gordy than an actual job..her singing commitments always came first..so if this article is indicating its Ross its editorially incorrect..

[pj1]

Nomis,

Jsmith's second post about stre-t-c-h-i-n-g the truth would cover your objection.
But if the person was a "real" secretary, even if for only a short while, Martha Reeves would fit the bill.

[jsmith]

............ I'll put you out of your misery ........
I guess the writer of this article was REALLY stre-t-c-h-i-n-g the actual facts to the limit ...
Attachment 1133

No mention of her period as Doris Willingham.
I guess that name stemmed from a short period when she was married [[mid to late 60's) and in 1970 she had blanked that out of her 'history'.

[copley]

There's stretching and there's S-----T-----R-----E-----T-----C-----H-----I-----N-----G!!!!!!!!! Ain't that the truth.

[robb_k]

Robb,
This might help refresh your memory. It's long but well worth it.
http://faac.us/adf/messages/28522/13...tml?1170122862

It was great reading over that old SDF thread. That was one of the greatest threads ever produced at SDF. I'm glad that Lowell was able to save it for posterity. It has some great information from our dearly departed friend, Ron Murphy.

The only reference to an unreleased cut by a female artist was my reference to an acetate from the NY Jobete office by Carole Moore. Could SHE have been the secretary at Miss Ray's NY Jobete office? I don't remember hearing about a Carole Moore hitting the charts in the late 1970s. On the other hand, I know almost NOTHING about music released after 1972.

But this thread already mentioned that the story about the secretary really probably occurred in Motown's Detroit offices, rather than in New York. So, this clue didn't help at all. The only fact I know about a Motown secretary hitting it big in the charts, was Martha Reeves [[and she was a recording artist BEFORE becoming a secretary at Motown). She didn't suddenly become a star in the '70s. So, the answer must be someone else.

[pj1]

Robb,
Look 2 posts above your most recent one; [[jsmith Today 6:58 A.M.)
The singer in question : Doris Duke.
That was going to be my 971st guess. LOL

[robb_k]

So, the secretary WAS in The NY office. Doris Duke never lived in Detroit. I wonder if she sang any backgrounds on the NY Jobete demo recordings?

[jsmith]

Doris WAS a Motown singer ... going by this ad .........
Attachment 1153
mind you, they might just have meant David !!!

[tamla617]

jsmith
well done!thats the the kind of question to ask.its hard to get the details on the internet unless you can guess then check.
i was convinced it was rita wright/syreeta.but with a change of city and who she was sec. too she fitted the bill like a glove.........with 10 fingers!
give us another

[robb_k]

I don't remember ever seeing anything indicating that Doris Duke was a Motown artist [[had a contract as a singer). That advert might only be referring to David. But wasn't CTI distributed by Motown for a while? She was on CTI/Canyon Records. Maybe she was on Motown's Kudu Records for a while?

[Kamasu_Jr]

I don't remember ever seeing anything indicating that Doris Duke was a Motown artist [[had a contract as a singer). That advert might only be referring to David. But wasn't CTI distributed by Motown for a while? She was on CTI/Canyon Records. Maybe she was on Motown's Kudu Records for a while?

I can't imagine Doris Duke being on Motown. She's was not the type of singer Berry Gordy would have been interested in. My guess would have been Syreeta.

[topdiva1]

Doris Duke mainly sang background for many other singers - and had little success as a solo artist. She was however, pretty good.

[jsmith]

Its unfair to say that Doris had little success as a solo singer ............
... all three of her solo LP's were hailed as 'great' by UK soul fans.
They may not have sold in the quantities necessary to make the UK charts
... but they were always much sought after due to their high musical quality.
... Her masterpiece deep soul album ...
Attachment 1189
....... Her earlier JayBoy 45 .......
Attachment 1188
.... MORE INFO ON DORIS ..........
Doris Duke was born as Doris Curry in Sandersville, Georgia, and started singing with gospel groups including the Queen of Gospel Albertina Walker and Caravans. By 1963 she was working in New York City on sessions and as a backing singer at the Apollo Theatre. Under her married name of Doris Willingham, she cut her debut solo single, "Running Away from Loneliness," for the tiny Hy-Monty label in 1966; "You Can't Do That" followed two years later on Jay Boy. Despite solid reviews, neither record made a commercial splash, and she returned to her session career, often commuting to Philadelphia to record with the production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. She also sang back-up on Nina Simone's live album, A Very Rare Evening, recorded in Germany.
In 1969, former Atlantic Records producer Jerry 'Swamp Dogg' Williams Jr. signed her as a solo artiste, renaming her Doris Duke and recording the album “I'm A Loser” at the Capricorn studio in Macon, Georgia. The album was eventually issued on Canyon Records, and over the years became regarded, by Dave Godin and others, as one of the finest deep soul records of all time. The first single, "To the Other Woman", reached the R&B top ten, but success was cut short when Canyon spiraled into financial disaster, destroying the album's commercial momentum. Duke spent some time in creative limbo before reuniting with Swamp Dogg for a Mankind label LP release "A Legend in Her Own Time" — their partnership however ended acrimoniously prior to its release.
A later album, “Woman” cut for the UK Contempo label also received good reviews but she retired into obscurity.

[robb_k]

Was Doris married to prolific Screen Gems/Columbia songwriter J. B. Willingham? That's the rumour I have always heard.

[tamla617]

robk
the post #21 has a mention of her married name as willingham



i've been thru' so many sites with doris duke's biography and i cant find any mention of motown,berry gordy's secretary etc?

[robb_k]

robk
the post #21 has a mention of her married name as willingham



i've been thru' so many sites with doris duke's biography and i cant find any mention of motown,berry gordy's secretary etc?

I saw that comment. But it doesn't answer my question regarding whether or not the Willingham comes from J.B.

I doubt that Doris Duke lived in Detroit. I doubt that Berry Gordy had a staff personal secretary in The NY Jobete office. IF Doris Duke was a secretary in the New York office of Jobete Music Corp., she was the general office secretary, or personal secretary to Miss Ray or to Eddie Singleton. Personally, I would guess that there was only one secretary in that office. She MAY have been the one. OR, MAYBE the quote was talking about a Detroiter [[rather than Doris), who was Berry's personal secretary for a little while. I think it is very possible that Doris was the secretary for Jobete Music's NY office for a while, and she also sang a little backup on a few demos they produced. They didn't have a tremendous load of female singers regularly available [[Parlettes, Tamala Lewis, Dolls, Norma Jenkins, Carol Moore). I'm sure all of them were only in and out sporadically. Does anyone know if Rose Marie McCoy ever sang demos of her songs, or helped sing back-up?

[davie gordon2]

Robb, CTI and Canyon are not connected. Canyon and its subsidiaries were owned by Wally Roker. CTI/Kudu was Creed Taylor's label.

John, I've never seen that Doris Willingham pic sleeve before - do you know where it's from ? Obviously European but I'd like to know which country.

[jsmith]

Davie,
... I'm afraid I can't remember, I seem to recall it was France or Germany [[but may have been Spain).
Not much help at all am I.

[davie gordon2]

Oh well, thanks anyway.