By FransBigSister (151.199.238.201 - 151.199.238.201) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 05:42 am:

--I was reading a CapeMayCo. NJ, newspaper this
week and saw a large add for The Motown
Allstar Reunion being held Aug. 17th. in Wildwood
New Jersey.
Ticket prices seem to be very reasonable.
The add says The Wildwoods Convention Center
presents D.Benjamen Brown & Barry Singers
It also says "back together
again the legendary lead singers of the
Temptations," plus the Marvelettes & the Motor
City Trailblazers.
Tickets are $26 for floor and $21 for bleachers.
Anyone interested can call ticketmaster at
1-800-736-1420. I don't know how good of a show
it's is, but thought some East coast members
of the Forum might be interested. The convention
center is brand new and just opened this summer.
Marilyn

By Sue (64.12.102.178 - 64.12.102.178) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 12:46 pm:

Marilyn,
Don't get too excited. There's only one living Temptations lead singer left -- Dennis Edwards, and he tours with the Temptations Revue.

The Marvelettes have not been "authentic" for some years; Gladys Horton, the original lead singer ("Please Mr. Postman") lives in Los Angeles caring for an adult son with disabilities. Wanda Young is in Detroit and too unwell to perform. The group "lost" the rights to their name to a not very nice guy on the East Coast who sends out "Marvelettes" all over the place -- including,the guy has balls, to Detroit. You'll notice that these Marvelettes are much younger than they should be.

What's worse, they've scared Gladys, told her she couldn't even bill herself as "Gladys Horton OF the Marvelettes." She's just trying to support herself and her son.

Katherine Schafner of the Marvelettes lives here in suburban Detroit and she gave me the whole lowdown, then I got it from Gladys too.

Don't give those promoters a dime.

By Sue (64.12.102.178 - 64.12.102.178) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 12:49 pm:

p.s. I can only imagine who the "Motor City Trailblazers" are. They've probably never been out of the state of New Jersey.

By Ritchie (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 02:02 pm:

Legendary leads of the Temptations..? The mind boggles with disbelief!

Maybe "reunion" means it's the first time these fakers have all returned to Wildwood.

By Greg (192.147.58.6 - 192.147.58.6) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 02:33 pm:

Sue: "Never been out of the state of New Jersey"?! That's not necessarily a bad thing. Lots of great music has been made here. And lots of great musicians and producers still live here.
Of course, calling themselves the "Motor City Trailblazers" might be a misnomer... :-) And of course, no offense taken by the comment.

Greg
[Proud to be living in Hoboken, NJ]

By Sue (63.85.105.9 - 63.85.105.9) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 02:54 pm:

Hey Greg,
My ancestral relations are from New Jersey and I couldn't be higher on the state. I think you know what my point is. If someone called themselves the Asbury Park All-Stars but hadn't been out of Michigan I'd say it.

Knowing who these "Marvelettes" are and seeing that they're having a "reunion" of Temptations lead singers -- that's going to be a feat, isn't it -- I wouldn't have high hopes for the Motor City Trailblazers.

By Greg (192.147.58.6 - 192.147.58.6) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 02:59 pm:

As I said, no offense taken. I guess the smiley :-) doesn't show up too well on the forum.

Now where were the Amboy Dukes from.... Is there an Amboy in Michigan? There's one in NJ!

By Ralph (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 03:02 pm:

Or the Bay City Rockers....

By Ritchie (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 03:07 pm:

Rollers

This admirable seventies phenomenon hailed from Edinburgh, which I believe is some distance from the San Francisco Bay.

By Ralph (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 03:17 pm:

Rollers...right Ritchie. Seems I read that that a dart thrown at a map decided the name for them.

By Ralph (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 03:19 pm:

Ritchie,
the Bay City they hit on the map was Bay City Michigan

By Ritchie (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 03:26 pm:

According to the boys themselves, they took the name from the Bay City Packers, but I never ascertained where "Bay City" was. Yes, I had the pleasure of working with them at the height of their fame - and the nadir of their skill as musicians. Although, I understand they played on some of their later records! (Oops - strike that!)

By FransBigSister (151.199.238.157 - 151.199.238.157) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 06:40 pm:

--I guess the "lead" singers may be the lead
singers that tour with the groups that are singing now, as the Temps.
Last time I saw the Temps & the Tops was about
15 years ago at the Valley Forge Music Fair,
Valley Forge Pennsylvania.
There were still some of the originals singing then,
especially with the Tops. The Music Fair was torn
down a few years ago, but the advantage to seeing
shows there was it was "In the Round" and practically every seat was close to the stage.
That was the last time I saw the great Levi
Stubbs sing live. Anyhow, I love how the forum
group can give input on not just what happened
back in the good old days, but what's happening
now with the impersonators.
Hummm, the Trail
Blazers, wasn't that the singing group with
Roy Rogers, the famous cowboy actor????
No wonder the tickets are so cheap.
Marilyn

By Sue (64.244.93.44 - 64.244.93.44) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 08:57 pm:

Marilyn,
No, those aren't Otis Williams' Temptations playing in Wildwood -- Otis' group is simply known as The Temptations, and they don't bill themselves as a reunion of the lead singers. Otis never sang lead and never would advertise that deceptively, but he's an original Temptation and has the right to use the name.

The Tops are all original except for the singer filling in for Levi Stubbs since he's been ill.

By Sue (64.244.93.44 - 64.244.93.44) on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 09:01 pm:

p.s. If this Wildwood gig includes Damon Harris, he was a lead singer for the Tempts, but another guy out there touring as a "Tempts lead singer" actually only sang backup to Dennis Edwards.

At any rate, if this is Damon's group, shame on him for performing with the faux Marvelettes.

By TD (205.188.197.168 - 205.188.197.168) on Saturday, August 10, 2002 - 02:40 am:

Fyi
Madonna was born in Bay City Michigan.

TD

By Ritchie (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Saturday, August 10, 2002 - 05:46 pm:

...and she certainly knows how to roll!

By SisDetroit (67.25.205.31 - 67.25.205.31) on Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 03:08 pm:

Ritchie - Thnnks for making me laugh twice in one day. :o)

Sis

By SisDetroit (67.25.205.31 - 67.25.205.31) on Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 03:09 pm:

I mean Thanks! (LOL)

By Tyrone (192.128.134.68 - 192.128.134.68) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 03:52 am:

I recall seeing the fake Marvelettes several years ago at the Carter Baron in Washington DC. I booed, hissed, yelled out "these aren't the (original) Marvelettes" throughtout their performance. I embarassed my friend that she vowed she would never go anywhere else with me. To this day, she has not and the odd thing about the situation, she claimed to be a Marvelette fan from back in the 60's, when Gladys, Wanda, Katherine, Georgia and Juanita were touring. You know if there aren't any original members of a group, especially Motown group, I would not and still do not patronize.

By XXXClub (152.163.194.209 - 152.163.194.209) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 01:06 pm:

I think Damon Harris is playing at Wildwood. Who ever said that the other guy is from Dennis' group is right also. Damon use to sing with Dennis also ...for a moment. The fake Marvellettes are just that ...FAKES! I just found the Fake Motown Group website on the internet. Boy does it have good information on the fakes. Apparently it's developed by the Motown Alumni Association. Does anyone know much about them? I'm sort of new to the internet.Don't know who's who or what's what yet.

xxxClub

By Sue (205.188.192.37 - 205.188.192.37) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 01:08 pm:

Well Tyrone,
Maybe if your friend knew the way the REAL Marvelettes have to live, because of the East Coast guy who manages the fakes, she might have a different attitude.

By Ritchie (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 04:40 pm:

XXX

I'd be a little bit careful - Damon Harris was a genuine Temptation alongside Dennis Edwards for rather more than a minute. He's also been a contributor here occasionally. I hope he is not on the bill with the fake Marvelettes - maybe someone can find out?

By Sue (208.232.121.87 - 208.232.121.87) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 08:47 pm:

Damon absolutely was a genuine Temptation. Unfortunately he's not the first genuine Motown artist to play on a bill with a fake act. Martha Reeves admitted with regret that she had played on a bill with those 30something "Marvelettes."

A gig unfortunately is a gig for a lot of artists. So I'm not sure what you're saying, Ritchie. Look at detnews.com, do a search on Marvelettes and you'll find a story about that group come up.

By Ritchie (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 09:04 pm:

Sue

Yes, indeed. I simply meant that I would be sorry if Damon - a genuine former Motowner - was forced to work alongside a group of fakes. I know a gig's a gig - I work for a living too!

By Sue (208.232.121.87 - 208.232.121.87) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 09:17 pm:

Ritchie,
I'm not defending it actually, I think if all the geniuine Motown acts stood firm and didn't allow themselves to be booked with these folks, they would be relegated to non-Motown tours. This gives them legitimacy, unfortunately. Martha said she boycotted the non-Marvelettes for a long time, then gave up because other Motown acts were on tours with them and she was losing gigs.

By Ritchie (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 09:27 pm:

Sue

That's my point exactly - when the fakes appear alongside the genuine article, it lends them a kind of credibility that they don't deserve. Conversely, it also reflects badly on the real artists. I guess it's easy to say, take a stand and refuse the work - but principles don't pay the bills. At least the MAA are doing what they can to publicise the fakers, but I'm sure they will always be with us... Try typing "The Drifters" into a search engine and see how many namesake nonentities are revealed. Not Motown, I know - but I guess you get my point.

By Sue (208.232.121.87 - 208.232.121.87) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 09:52 pm:

Ritchie,
I don't have to type "Drifters" in (laugh) -- I wrote a two-part story on this, including the Drifters case ...

By Ritchie (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 09:55 pm:

Sue - wow! How did you keep it down to only a TWO part story? ;o)

By DEBORAH (63.77.247.13 - 63.77.247.13) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 10:10 pm:

Hi Sue,

My name is Deborah Stubbs and I'm Levi's daughter.
Just browsing the web. I just wanted to make a
correction to the statement that all of the Tops
are original except for the gentleman filling in
doing the leads for my Dad.
The only originals are Abdul Fakir (Duke) and
Renaldo Benson (Obie). Of course, Lawrence Payton
passed away in June 1997. He also was an original.
The gentleman filling in is Ronnie McNair, and
Theo Peoples was a replacement for Lawrence.
Theo joined the Tops shortly after Lawrence passed, but Ronnie McNair has been there since my
Dad became ill and unable to tour.

Deborah

By Sue (64.244.93.44 - 64.244.93.44) on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 10:36 pm:

Thanks Deborah,
I remember now when Theo was brought in after Lawrence passed. I hope your dad is able to join the Tops for the 50th anniversary tour.

By DEBORAH (63.77.247.13 - 63.77.247.13) on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 02:47 pm:

Hi Sue,

Thank you for responding. We (our family) are all
hoping that my Dad can join the Tops for the 50th
anniversary tour also!! He is looking forward to
it and as you know he loves singing and
performing, so we will just continue to pray that
the Lord will keep him, and make him strong enough
so that he will be able to do what he loves best!!

Deborah

By David Meikle (62.252.128.6 - 62.252.128.6) on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 08:30 pm:

If this doesn't make you head for the turntable, nothing will!
Thanks for keeping in touch, Deborah

By DEBORAH (63.77.247.13 - 63.77.247.13) on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 09:07 pm:

David,

Thank you so much for that picture!!! When I looked at it, I had to call my younger sister Kelly, and tell her to pull up the web site!!
That photo brings back so many GOOD memories!!!
Thanks again David for helping to make my day!!!

Deborah

P.S. And you were right...it does make you want to
run to the turntable!!!

By David Meikle (62.252.128.6 - 62.252.128.6) on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 09:13 pm:

It's a pleasure.