By Vandelron (68.198.48.201) on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 11:19 pm:

Sorry if this has been covered-article states Tyra Banks to play Cal Gil in upcoming episode with"Vevettes"--thats how they spelled it!!

By Ju (205.188.209.9) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 01:16 am:

Wow, that's cool! John, I know you will be recording the show if you get it in the UK!

By John Lester (81.129.162.137) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 06:45 am:

I was not happy to be be honest and I told Cal Street too.

Cal said to me that she was really proud that they were portraying her and she was gonna send a thank you to Dick Clark and Tyra Banks.

Me, well I still ain't happy...I'd rather have the real thing and no, we dont get it in the UK.

Sorry to be so ungrateful about it...I can't help the way I feel!

By Vandelron (68.198.48.201) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 07:47 pm:

Correction the article called them the Velvettes.

By Sue (152.163.253.70) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 08:01 pm:

Actually this will make people curious about the real Velvelettes, so it's a good thing, John ...Tyra Banks is a real femme fatale.

By Vandelron (68.198.48.201) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 08:03 pm:

I agree Sue. The article expressed suprise about them calling them "a rather obscure Motown act." It shows the producers know talent--they also had Brenda Holloway.

By Sue (152.163.253.70) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 08:17 pm:

I saw a brief clip and the girls have beehive hairdos, and are slinking around onstage. We'll see how it turns out!

I'm glad too they've been showcasing the less obvious Motown acts ...

Bertha just called to tell me about the show Sunday. Alas, I didn't know in advance and didn't put a teaser in the paper though ...

By Vandelron (68.198.48.201) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 08:20 pm:

The show is tomorrow?

By Sue (152.163.253.70) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 08:22 pm:

yeah -- I'm sorry .. I thought the info was "out there." The network is already showing preview clips.

By Greg C. (165.247.46.51) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 09:58 pm:

Looking forward to this.

Always thought the Velvelettes were one of the most underrated groups at Motown. "A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush" was my jam. Their stage show was/is serious! They used to turn the 20 Grand out in Detroit and I never missed them!

By Vandelron (68.198.48.201) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 11:32 pm:

I heard Bird In The Hand for first time recently-blown away--a lost #1. Clip for show looked hot with Cal/Tyra struttin her stuff-bold soul sister.

By glencro (205.188.209.13) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 09:46 am:

WOW....I was watcing that and I thought that was Tyra but I wasn't sure...she did a great job

By Tony Russi (216.78.186.191) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 09:58 am:

Oh crapola I missed it!I remember when Cal looked alot like Tyra.

By Nosey (66.153.113.238) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 10:27 am:

That's why we need for E to open up a Northern Soul Club here in Philly. I never heard "A Bird in the Hand". All we heard in Philly was "Needle In A Haystack" and one other whose name escapes me. The Velvelettes were not very big in Philly so when I hear about all their songs, I'm blown away.

By Mike Sku (64.9.11.62) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 10:57 am:

Nosey, the other song you might remember is "He Was Really Sayin' Something". I also remember Jerry Blavat playing "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You", which was another good song that received very little airplay on mainstream radio. I was glad I bought all the singles. We had great record stores here in Philly back in the day. Thank God we still have Pat's Music!

By stephanie (69.138.239.31) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 11:11 am:

Hey maybe a new generation will find Cal and the girls
stephanie

By Phil (213.36.129.45) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 12:00 pm:

Nosey, if you want to hear all the Velvelettes VIP sides, Motown has released a CD in 1999, "The very best of", with 15 songs, including 3 unreleased tracks.

By Nosey (66.153.113.238) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 12:04 pm:

Mike Sku: That's it!

Phil: Thanks for the FYI.

By Phil (212.129.41.239) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 03:18 pm:

Nosey, I went a little fast when saying "all the VIP sides + 3 unreleased", I just read the booklet, and there're 8 VIP sides,2 IPG (before VIP), 1 SOUL side, and 4 unreleased ! I don't buy a lot of CD's, but I'm happy to have this one !

By John Lester (81.132.202.67) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 05:00 pm:

It's not often they get a name check unless I go on about them. So you guys are making me real happy today!

BTW, the British CD has 19 tracks....4 more than the US version.

By John Lester (81.132.202.67) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 05:43 pm:

and Cal posted on the Diana in Dublin thread....

By Mike Sku (64.9.11.62) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 08:41 am:

I am in my classroom right now at 7:45 AM listening to the Velvelettes' CD so I can prepare my students for American Dreams this weekend. I want the kids to hear the real group before Tyra's performance and know how great Cal and the girls really were!

By John Lester (62.49.61.57) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:09 am:

You are such a good man Mike. Why couldn't I have a teacher like you!!

You make sure you show a picture of Cal as well cos she was doing modelling too once upon a time!

That lady excels at a lot of things!

By Mike Sku (64.9.11.62) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:48 am:

John,
Done!
Thanks for the kind words, too.
I didn't realize that Cal had done some modeling, but it certainly makes sense that she did. She is such a stunning, statuesque woman.
I would've loved to have seen the Velvelettes in person.