By captain (66.3.112.5) on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 07:36 pm:

Do you now where Nathaniel Jennings, Steve Smith or Lawrence Miles are? Motown mixers

By M.McLeanTech (64.236.243.31) on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 08:20 pm:

I have never heard of Steve Smith.

I have no idea what happened to Larry Miles.

Nate Jennings was, about two years ago, working in the automotive sound system testing laboratory at the General Motors Technical Center, in Warren, Michigan. (I think it's Warren: The Tech Center is somewhere North of Detroit.)

Nate's boss was, at that time, Ralph Pinson, who worked for me in the Motown Technical Engineer Department as a draftsman during the late 1960's.

Two years ago, I visited the Tech Center with Dave Clark, who was the Technical Engineer under Lawrence T. Horn at HDH Studios in the Tower Theatre on Grand River Avenue. Nate and Ralph were there, and we all went to lunch. We had a grand time, and I had them choking up with my antics. The laboratory is very elegant with a lot of high end test equipment. They go far after graduating from "Mike McLean High School!"

Even if Nate has moved on, I am sure that Ralph could tell you how to contact him, because they are old buddies. Further, I have Ralph's home address, in case you get desperate.

Nate Jennings is a very nice person, with a mellow, laid back manner: The sort of person that you would trust baby sitting your kids. Ralph Pinson is an eager, helpful, jolly guy who is easy to approach.

General Motors is a company that should build an Oldsmoble that will put Toyota out of business, instead of shutting Oldsmoble down because of weak sales.

Mike McLean

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 09:28 pm:

Mike,
Steve Smith was on the recording engineering staff. A very capable engineer and a very nice guy.I always got the impression that Steve was looking at the world through unusal eyes and tended to see the humor in it. I liked Steve very much.

By Bob Olhsson (68.32.101.228) on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 12:08 am:

Steve is living in Detroit, we had a wonderful conversation about a month ago, first time since 1972. After leaving Motown he went on to become one of the top mixers at A&M Records.

We've lost track of Larry Miles. The last I heard from him around ten years ago he was working in computer networking.

Art Stewart is retired from NBC Television and living in Las Vegas. I've been bugging him to get involved here.

Cal Harris is still working as an engineer in L.A.

Joe Atkinson is about to retire from CBS Television.

By M.McLeanTech (66.218.40.130) on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 01:30 am:

I had lunch with Cal Harris about four months ago, and he told me that he had retired.

What about Tom Nixon? He was a brilliant fellow. Not to mention James Green. I will never forget his words, during the first run period: "See Bullit, Mike. It's a great film!"

Joe Atkinson and I got drunk on Chevas Regal about the time that the Beatles "Hay Jude" was at the top of the charts. We ended up rolling around in the snow on my front lawn. Joe had just joined Motown, and I was trying to communicate with him about all my frustrations with Motown.

Joe was totally in love with his fantasy about his new job, and tried to deal with my stories about reality by "smoothing things over," and "shining me on." I finally got so frustrated, and drunk, that I got violent. Poor Joe.

There is nothing I hate more then a person who tries to make a point on the basis of "don't confuse me with the facts."

I never liked Art Stewart. When Horn hired him, he seemed to me to be totally unqualified. He knew nothing at all about sound recording. I told him so. He shined me on as well. However, we never got drunk together, so less damage was done.

Art Stewart had a very relaxed manner, and it is clear that he somehow managed to make a success of his career, dispite the fact that more then likely, to this day, he has no idea about how to calibrate the sensitivity of a microphone to sound pressure.

Sort of like a fine cab driver who uses his automatic transmission all day long, but has no idea about how it works.

Another story from the naked city.

Mike McLean

By John Lester (217.40.232.210) on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 05:20 am:

I clearly had my 15 minutes of fame when I, yes this old cockney from London, met Steve Smith.

A few of us, including Harry Weinger and Ben Edmonds met Steve in a restaurant in Detroit. Steve, as you may know, was part of the "What's Going On" team.

Besides learning alot about Steve's input in the making of the album (get Ben's book to find out more), I have to say that Steve had a sense of humour which was second to none - he was a bundle of fun. I was privileged to be there.

By Bob Olhsson (68.32.101.228) on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 08:58 pm:

Tom Nixon moved to Memphis and I believe ended up as a VP at Stax before it went under.

By HW (68.37.217.106) on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 08:40 pm:

Nate Jennings got in touch with me after the deluxe of What's Going On had been issued - he wondered why his name wasn't in there. I was embarrassed but how would I know he'd been involved until I knew? Anyway, turns out he recorded a lot of the rhythm tracks. Nice guy. Steve Smith is a good guy, we talk often. Wish we could get him back in the mixing game somehow.

I have had the same non-luck with Larry Miles.

Art Stewart is also a good guy, it seems, who developed a nice rapport with Marvin Gaye during a time when Marvin didn't want to do shit, and Art got him in the studio when no one else could.

If anyone could let Tom Nixon know I would like to speak with him, please pass on my good wishes.

Let's not forget Brian Holland did a lot of his own mixes!

Mike - I await your return email, thanks for keeping in touch.

By M.McLeanTech (66.218.40.216) on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 03:35 am:

Thanks Harry,

Perhaps we should post all those emails on the forum, as a lesson about communication. If it is OK with you, just let me know, and I will post the lot.

Harry and I got to know each other in a strange way: I had been warned that he might not like loose acetates in the possesion of private parties.

When Harry reached out to me, just as I had mentioned on the forum that I had an acetate of the Choker Campbell session at the Graystone Ballroom, recorded in stunning pure intensity (coincident pair) stereo, using a NEUMANN SM-2 microphone; I got the creeps.

Eventually, as I played cat and mouse with Harry through a series of emails, I learned that Harry is a very fine and decent person.

Thank goodness that I am a hetrosexual! I really like Harry a lot!

I think Harry is deeply involved (if he didn't do it for a living, it would be called "obsessed") with finding out about all the Motown tapes in the library. It looks like he really wants to be my friend.

As I feed him answers to his questions, I am going to build up points that will permit me to ask him if he can find the master tape for the Choker Campbell Graystone Session, of which I have an acetate.

This session must be found, mastered, and released as a wonderful relic of Motown. I guarantee that it is entertaining! It must be in the library. If not, I can make a CD from the acetate that will utterly blow your mind, anyway.

Regarding Brian Holland doing his own mixes:

You can say that again! HDH was deadly serious about their work, and Brian assumed the responsibility for the mixing. The trio were obsessed, in my opinion, with outdoing Berry. Between the three of them, they were up the challange, musically, but they made the mistake of choosing Lawrence T. Horn for the manager of their recording operations.

Lawrence was underhanded in his ways. He hired away from me Dave Clark and Bob Dennis. This was some way to treat the fellow who had hired him in the first place. Clark and Dennis submitted their written resignations ten minutes apart.

I forgave both. However, I have, from time to time, had moments with both, in which case something would strike me as not right, and, if the other fellow is in a mood to argue, some rather hot discussion has ensued.

It is no surprise to me that Lawrence ended up where he is now. What a shame. He was very effective during the golden age of Motown.

Mike McLean

P.S. Harry, I thought you were going to call me tomorrow morning. What is this "I await your email" bit? If you want more emails, perhaps I can come up with some, but I thought that this was where we left it.

By John Lester (217.40.234.94) on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 09:32 am:

Mike

Can you tell me what tracks are on this Choker Campbell acetate and do you have a date and just as important, a producer? Are any of these titles included which I have under the late, and great, Clarence Paul?

Our Day Will Come
Days Of Wine And Roses
Shades of Blue
Somewhere In The Night

By M.McLeanTech (66.218.59.121) on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 01:52 pm:

John Lester,

Our Day Will Come
Days Of Wine And Roses
Shades of Blue

are definitly on the acetate. It is possible that Somewhere In The Night is also on there, but I don't recognize the title.

The acetate has no label listing the tunes, so I am only able to comment on the basis of recognizing the tunes by ear.

Mike McLean

By John Lester (213.123.120.160) on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 07:40 pm:

Azure Dolce (Sweet Blues)
Brother Elijah
Troubled Times

All from producer Clarence Paul in July 1963