Originally Posted by
kenneth
I've always wondered about that too, for the same reason. Were the girl groups' backgrounds considered to be more "interchangeable" perhaps? Also, it's not as if Mary and Cindy or Lois and Sandra or Katherine and Anne could tour without Diane, Martha or Wanda.
In the age-old debate, I still prefer the original groups in the background, even when they might not have been in great harmony. I just love the innocent, unvarnished sound of the original singers.
Of course, the Tempts and the Tops had voices that were easily recognizable, such as, Melvin, Eddie, Paul, David, Obie, and Duke. There was no generic male backup group, although I have read the Spinners often contributed background vocals prior to their breakout hits, which really didn't happen till after they left Motown. The early male backup, the Love Tones, seemed to be limited to Mary Wells' recordings, at least that is when they were mentioned by name on albums [[and I think on her live album they are mentioned by name by the announcer).
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