Originally Posted by
nabob
Both received considerable airplay in NYC. I'll Keep Holding On apparently received airplay in LA since my college roommate was just as hot on the song as I was seven years after release. I never warmed to the Marvelettes' Danger, Heartbreak until years later when someone else recorded it for a film's soundtrack. This track is musically outstanding with so much going on in the mix.
One thing to keep in mind is that "second tier" acts weren't receiving promotion from the company due to its limited resources which were successfully banked on the Supremes and to a lesser extent the Four Tops & Temptations.
Hi Nabob. I love reading your memories about "I'll Keep Holding On." I think this song is why I have some hearing loss in one ear- and I'm not joking! I heard this on the Anthology album and I remember I'd lay on the floor with my ear pressed against the speaker on this one and "Danger" because there was so much going on in the mix that I just HAD to hear everything! [[The things we do when we are young and think we are invincible!)
So nice to hear that "I'll Keep Holding On" and "Danger" got radio play. I remember thinking these songs were such radical departures from everything the Marvelettes had done before this one. I also remember thinking THIS was what I wanted: to hear the group fully backed by the full Motown Sound and these songs delivered. "I'll Keep Holding On" in particular was about the blackest, moodiest, spookiest thing I'd ever heard and it still grips me. Nice to hear that others were feeling these songs too.
PS. Your comments about the second-tier groups not getting as large a share of the promotional dollars are appreciated. The more I've come to understand about how Motown worked, and that it was still a relatively small company, I see why things rolled as they did. In fact, I appreciated the Marvelettes all the more because apparently their fan base was strong enough that the group hung in pretty darn tough all those years despite not being as big a priority as in the earlier years.
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