Motorcity Records
Encyclopedia
Motorcity Records is a British
record label formed by producer Ian Levine
in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists.
on his Hi-NRG
label Nightmare in 1987. The result Signal Your Intention topped the UK Hi-NRG charts and met with enthusiasm from Motown fans. Kim Weston brought other former Motown acts to the label, including Mary Wells
(of My Guy
fame), The Velvelettes
and Marv Johnson
. Mary Wilson
of The Supremes
followed next and during 1988, a full Motown reunion began to take shape. In April 1989, more than 60 artists gathered in front of the legendary Hitsville
studios in Detroit, receiving ample media coverage. Later in the year, Levine changed the label name to Motorcity Records.
Joined by former Motown writers like Sylvia Moy
, Johnny Bristol
and Ivy Jo Hunter
, Levine and his crew wrote and produced around the clock, getting the backing tapes recorded in London
while vocal sessions took place in both Detroit and Los Angeles
, but despite the media attention and prominent artists in the roster of the likes of Martha & The Vandellas, and former Supremes Jean Terrell
, Scherrie Payne
and Lynda Laurence
, it proved harder than expected to get the product released. In the U.S., the record companies were reluctant to invest in artists of yesteryear.
In the UK, Levine released several singles and albums, both studio album
s and various artists compilations, but ran into a string of bad luck with shifting distributors (PRT, Pacific and Charly) early on. Furthermore the records, although heavily supported by UK magazine Blues & Soul, were often criticized for having the music recorded with Fairlight
synthesizers rather than using real musicians, a fact that Levine himself regretted years later. "The sound of these records often didn't sit well with old Motown fans that wanted to hear a live rhythm section as much as they did the outstanding unimpaired vocals of many veteran soul singers", former Motorcity employee Ralph Tee said. "At the time it meant that much of the music didn't unfortunately reach its potential". (Quote from The Strange World of Northern Soul
box set, 2003.)
Levine relentlessly continued during 1990-91 with the number of artists growing to 108 former Motown acts signed while sinking deeper into financial problems. In 1991, however, Motorcity had a hit single with Footsteps Following Me - performed, ironically, by one of the least known artists, Frances Nero
, which made it to No. 17 in the national charts. Her dream was short-lived: after recording constantly and receiving no royalties from Ian Levine, she severed her relationship and pursued other ventures. Still most releases continued to sell disappointingly: "Some of the Motorcity albums sold less than a thousand copies each", Levine revealed in an interview in Manifesto magazine in September 2007 as a response to later royalty disputes with some of the artists who claimed not to have been paid.
After a deal with Total/BMG, everything began to fall apart during 1992. After a final single "Darling Darling Baby" (MOTC 114) with Edwin Starr
, it was all over, Levine close to being declared bankrupt. By that time, a total of 770 songs had been recorded.
Levine managed to get a US deal with Miami-based Hot Productions which began releasing a Motorcity anthology plus Best of compilations by the artists and succeeded in getting much of the previously unreleased material out. 20 Best of Motorcity Records volumes were released over the years 1993-96 and 30 more had been planned to follow during 1997-98, including 80 new tracks Levine would record with Pat Lewis
and Brenda Holloway
during those years. Hot Productions, however, closed down towards the end of 1997 before all 50 volumes had been released.
Levine's Motorcity recordings continue to be released on various compilations, and Levine himself has recorded new backing tracks for more than 120 of the songs to create a more authentic sound. Songs like Ronnie McNeir
's "Lucky Number", Carolyn Crawford
's "Timeless" and The Elgins
' "Don't Wait Around" have since received more praise on the UK soul scene than the first time round. The fact remains that a lot of these artists were recorded for the very last time, many of them have since died - including Mary Wells, Herman Griffin, David Ruffin
, Hattie Littles, Saundra Edwards of The Elgins
, Edwin Starr and many more.
Ian Levine was also instrumental with the several successful multi-artist package tours, similar in style and format to the 1960s Motortown Revue
. A month long tour in November 1990 featured The Elgins, Kim Weston, Syreeta, Carolyn Crawford, Marv Johnson and was headlined by Jean
, Scherrie
& Lynda
of The Supremes
. The final night of the tour was videotaped and released the following year as The Legends of Motorcity USA on two videos.
A three-disc DVD box set with 100 videos from the Motorcity era titled Don't Forget the Motorcity, was released in November 2007.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
record label formed by producer Ian Levine
Ian Levine
Ian Levine is an English songwriter, producer, and DJ. He is also a well-known fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who.Levine attended Arnold School in Blackpool from 1963 to 1970...
in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists.
History
Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to record Kim WestonKim Weston
Kim Weston is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms ".-Career:...
on his Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
label Nightmare in 1987. The result Signal Your Intention topped the UK Hi-NRG charts and met with enthusiasm from Motown fans. Kim Weston brought other former Motown acts to the label, including Mary Wells
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...
(of My Guy
My Guy
"My Guy" is a 1964 number-one hit single recorded by Mary Wells for the Motown label. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles, the song is a woman's dedication to the goodness of her man .The single became the biggest hit ever for Wells, Motown's first female star, and reached the...
fame), The Velvelettes
The Velvelettes
The Velvelettes was an American singing girl group, signed to Motown in the 1960s.-Early years and establishment:The group was founded in 1961 by Bertha Barbee McNeal and Mildred Gill Arbor, students at Western Michigan University. Mildred recruited her younger sister Carolyn , who was in 9th...
and Marv Johnson
Marv Johnson
Marv Johnson was an American R&B and soul singer, most notable for performing on the first record to be issued from what became Motown.-Biography:...
. Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson is an American singer, formerlymember of the Motown female singing group The Supremes during the 1960s and 1970s. Wilson was the only singer to be a consistent member of the group in its eighteen-year tenure...
of The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
followed next and during 1988, a full Motown reunion began to take shape. In April 1989, more than 60 artists gathered in front of the legendary Hitsville
Hitsville U.S.A.
"Hitsville U.S.A." is the nickname given to Motown's first headquarters. A former photographers' studio located at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, it was purchased by Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1959 and converted into both the record label's administrative building and recording...
studios in Detroit, receiving ample media coverage. Later in the year, Levine changed the label name to Motorcity Records.
Sylvia Moy
Sylvia Moy is a songwriter and record producer, formerly associated with the Motown Records group. The first woman at the Detroit-based music label to write and produce for Motown acts, she is probably best known for her songs written for Stevie Wonder....
, Johnny Bristol
Johnny Bristol
Johnny Bristol , was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
and Ivy Jo Hunter
Ivy Jo Hunter
Ivy Jo Hunter, born George Ivy Hunter and sometimes credited as Ivy Hunter, is a former R&B songwriter, record producer and singer, most associated with his work for the Motown label in the 1960s....
, Levine and his crew wrote and produced around the clock, getting the backing tapes recorded in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
while vocal sessions took place in both Detroit and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, but despite the media attention and prominent artists in the roster of the likes of Martha & The Vandellas, and former Supremes Jean Terrell
Jean Terrell
Jean Terrell is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970.-Early life and career:...
, Scherrie Payne
Scherrie Payne
Scherrie Payne is an American singer. The younger sister of singer/actress Freda Payne, Scherrie Payne was the co-lead singer of The Supremes from 1973 to 1977, after Jean Terrell left the group in the fall of 1973...
and Lynda Laurence
Lynda Laurence
Lynda Laurence is an American singer. She is best known for being a part of two Motown acts: Stevie Wonder's backup group Wonderlove, and one of the post-Diana Ross versions of The Supremes...
, it proved harder than expected to get the product released. In the U.S., the record companies were reluctant to invest in artists of yesteryear.
In the UK, Levine released several singles and albums, both studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
s and various artists compilations, but ran into a string of bad luck with shifting distributors (PRT, Pacific and Charly) early on. Furthermore the records, although heavily supported by UK magazine Blues & Soul, were often criticized for having the music recorded with Fairlight
Fairlight
Fairlight is a digital audio company based in Sydney, Australia. In 1979 they created the Fairlight CMI, the first digital audio sampler, quickly used by artists such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Jean Michel Jarre. They are now a manufacturer of media solutions tools such as digital audio...
synthesizers rather than using real musicians, a fact that Levine himself regretted years later. "The sound of these records often didn't sit well with old Motown fans that wanted to hear a live rhythm section as much as they did the outstanding unimpaired vocals of many veteran soul singers", former Motorcity employee Ralph Tee said. "At the time it meant that much of the music didn't unfortunately reach its potential". (Quote from The Strange World of Northern Soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
box set, 2003.)
Levine relentlessly continued during 1990-91 with the number of artists growing to 108 former Motown acts signed while sinking deeper into financial problems. In 1991, however, Motorcity had a hit single with Footsteps Following Me - performed, ironically, by one of the least known artists, Frances Nero
Frances Nero
Frances Nero, at the age of 22, became the first live performance contest winner in Motown Records's history. Topping out 5,000 contestants, she emerged victor in June 1965. She was awarded $500, a dozen long stemmed red roses, a recording contract for one year and the honor of being the first...
, which made it to No. 17 in the national charts. Her dream was short-lived: after recording constantly and receiving no royalties from Ian Levine, she severed her relationship and pursued other ventures. Still most releases continued to sell disappointingly: "Some of the Motorcity albums sold less than a thousand copies each", Levine revealed in an interview in Manifesto magazine in September 2007 as a response to later royalty disputes with some of the artists who claimed not to have been paid.
After a deal with Total/BMG, everything began to fall apart during 1992. After a final single "Darling Darling Baby" (MOTC 114) with Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr was an American soul music singer. Starr is most famous for his Norman Whitfield produced singles of the 1970s, most notably the number one hit "War".-Biography:...
, it was all over, Levine close to being declared bankrupt. By that time, a total of 770 songs had been recorded.
Levine managed to get a US deal with Miami-based Hot Productions which began releasing a Motorcity anthology plus Best of compilations by the artists and succeeded in getting much of the previously unreleased material out. 20 Best of Motorcity Records volumes were released over the years 1993-96 and 30 more had been planned to follow during 1997-98, including 80 new tracks Levine would record with Pat Lewis
Pat Lewis
-Biography:Pat Lewis was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1951. In the early 60s, Pat, her sister Dianne, and two friends formed the group, The Adorables, who recorded a record and began singing backing vocals for Golden World Records...
and Brenda Holloway
Brenda Holloway
Brenda Holloway is an American singer and songwriter, a recording artist for the Motown label during the 1960s...
during those years. Hot Productions, however, closed down towards the end of 1997 before all 50 volumes had been released.
Levine's Motorcity recordings continue to be released on various compilations, and Levine himself has recorded new backing tracks for more than 120 of the songs to create a more authentic sound. Songs like Ronnie McNeir
Ronnie McNeir
Ronnie McNeir is an American singer and songwriter born Lewis Ronald McNeir on December 14, 1951 in Camden, Alabama. As a solo artist, he recorded for the De-to, RCA, Prodigal, Motown, Capitol, Expansion and Motor City labels, recording his first song when he was seventeen...
's "Lucky Number", Carolyn Crawford
Carolyn Crawford
Caroline Crawford is an American rhythm and blues and disco singer and actress, who recorded as Carolyn Crawford for Motown Records in the early 1960s, and for other labels later in her career.-Career:...
's "Timeless" and The Elgins
The Elgins
The Elgins were an American vocal group on the Motown label, active from the late 1950s to 1967. Their most successful record was "Heaven Must Have Sent You", written and produced by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, which was a hit in the US in 1966, and in the UK when reissued in...
' "Don't Wait Around" have since received more praise on the UK soul scene than the first time round. The fact remains that a lot of these artists were recorded for the very last time, many of them have since died - including Mary Wells, Herman Griffin, David Ruffin
David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...
, Hattie Littles, Saundra Edwards of The Elgins
The Elgins
The Elgins were an American vocal group on the Motown label, active from the late 1950s to 1967. Their most successful record was "Heaven Must Have Sent You", written and produced by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, which was a hit in the US in 1966, and in the UK when reissued in...
, Edwin Starr and many more.
Ian Levine was also instrumental with the several successful multi-artist package tours, similar in style and format to the 1960s Motortown Revue
Motortown Revue
The Motortown Revue was the name given to the package concert tours of Motown artists in the 1960s. Early tours featured Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Mary Wells, The Marvelettes, Barrett Strong, and The Contours as headlining acts, and gave then-second-tier acts such as Marvin Gaye, Martha & The...
. A month long tour in November 1990 featured The Elgins, Kim Weston, Syreeta, Carolyn Crawford, Marv Johnson and was headlined by Jean
Jean Terrell
Jean Terrell is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970.-Early life and career:...
, Scherrie
Scherrie Payne
Scherrie Payne is an American singer. The younger sister of singer/actress Freda Payne, Scherrie Payne was the co-lead singer of The Supremes from 1973 to 1977, after Jean Terrell left the group in the fall of 1973...
& Lynda
Lynda Laurence
Lynda Laurence is an American singer. She is best known for being a part of two Motown acts: Stevie Wonder's backup group Wonderlove, and one of the post-Diana Ross versions of The Supremes...
of The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
. The final night of the tour was videotaped and released the following year as The Legends of Motorcity USA on two videos.
A three-disc DVD box set with 100 videos from the Motorcity era titled Don't Forget the Motorcity, was released in November 2007.
External links
- 2-part interview by Bill Brewster.
- Motorcity Records at Rateyourmusic.com
- Ian Levine's MySpace Page
- http://www.myspace.com/motorcityrecordings
- http://www.discogs.com/label/Motorcity+Records
Sources
- Voices From the Shadows (UK Magazine, Issue No. 11, 1989)
- 2-part interview in Manifesto (UK Magazine, Issue No. 86-87, August-September 2007)