Hitsville USA
|
Please click on
|
Knowing my obsession with Soul literature my brother sent me this little offering as a present. He picked it up at a car boot sale and paid pennies for it. It is an unusual book on many counts, first of all its shape. It stands at 28 cm high, but is only 14 cm wide making it one of those awkward books which tend to stick up on your bookshelf. The second unusual thing about it is the fact it has no title nor does it acknowledge any author on the front cover. In fact the cover is just a montage of Motown record sleeves. I have assumed the title is "Hitsville USA" because that is the banner at the top of each left sided page. The banner on the top of each right sided page is "Motown 1959 - 1971" The booklet does not have an ISBN number and was published by the Motown Corporation itself. Judging from its style it looks like an old publication, mainly because it is full of black and white photographs. My first assumption was that it was a programme from the 60's Motown Revue when it visited England, but this theory was smashed when I found it had been copyrighted in 1992. Conclusive evidence against this theory is the fact that it contains information about a number of artists that spanned several decades. 1959 to 1971 if the banner is to be believed. Whatever its origins I still think that it is a modern reproduction of an earlier publication, purely based on the style in which it is written and presented. It may well have been a publicity brochure from the early 70's. The numerous photos of record sleeves bearing the American Motown Motifs as opposed to the duller black "Tamla Motown" British label would suggest it is an American publication. The booklet is a mere 65 pages long and is lavishly illustrated with photographs. This means that textual content is at a premium. It begins with a rather sentimental introduction by Elvis Mitchell which takes up two pages. The bulk of the booklet is taken up by artist profiles which range between double page spreads for the big stars, to one third page profiles of the lesser lights. Irrespective of status every artist has a photograph included. The artists, in order of appearance are, Barrett Strong, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Marvelettes, Eddie Holland, Mary Wells, The Contours,Marvin Gaye plus his duet partners Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Shorty Long, Brenda Holloway, The Four Tops, Carolyn Crawford, The Velvelettes, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Jnr Walker & the All Stars, Kim Weston, The Elgins, The Isley Brothers, The Monitors, Jimmy Ruffin, Chris Clark, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Rita Wright, Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, Edwin Starr, David Ruffin, The Originals, The Jackson five, Rare Earth, The Spinners, Diana Ross (solo) and Undisputed Truth. One page is given over to acknowledge the contributors and this is followed by three pages devoted to the session musicians. The first is for photographs with the following two identifying the different session musicians across three different eras 1959-1962, 1963-1967, and 1968-1972. The text concludes with a 9 page discography of Motown's main releases. The book closes with a couple of pages of memorabilia, a few acknowledgements and a photo of Berry Gordy. From page three onwards there is a 'timeline' of key events in the history of Motown with a new one printed at the bottom of each page. Whatever its origins this brochure/booklet is well constructed and very reader friendly. It is like a précis of all the heavier tomes written about Motown. I can only commend the efficiency of this work as so much has been crammed into such limited space. It is easy to read and logically constructed and I am delighted to have it in my collection. If anyone can shed any light on the origin and purpose of this document I would be delighted to hear from them.
|
|
Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
|
the category you wish to choose from the options
below
