By Linda Di. (66.24.88.73) on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 08:27 pm:

Motown 25 was taped. I'm sitting here with friends watching the videotape and reliving our memories from "crashing" the taping and party (previous post).

When I saw SITSOM and learned that Mr. James Jamerson was in the audience and ignored, it broke my heart. As joyous as the night was, to know that so many were ignored is sad.

By sunnyla (65.238.140.61) on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 08:51 pm:

A lot of sad things happened that night....like Ms. Ross shoving Mary Wilson. She looked drunk, anyhow. Not Mary, Diana. Mary Wells and Martha Reeves were barely there. Not a "Vandella" in miles. Sadly, The Marvelettes were no where to be found.

By R&B (138.238.41.128) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 08:50 am:

AND CAN SOMEBODY TELL ME JUST WHAT IN THE BLAZES WAS ADAM ANT DOING THERE,TALK ABOUT REDICULOUS!

By Promises Kept (12.227.139.195) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 09:37 am:

This program had to appeal to many markets of audience, not just die-hard Motown fans.......so current popular artists were employed to gain those extra viewers. And the formula must have worked, as it was still one of the highest rated musical specials to date. Yes, frustrating to us Fans, but this practice still is used today. Did you check out last year's Motown's Christmas Special?.....several non-Motown artists, but big draw names. Sadly, even 20 years ago, to the general public....it was "Who-town"?

By R&B (138.238.41.128) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 09:45 am:

I'LL TELL YOU WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN FUN,AFTER THE MOTOWN STARS HAD DONE THIER MEDLEYS HAVE EACH ONE COME ON A DO ONE OF THIER CLASSIC SONGS JUST LIKE IN THE STUDIO,NOW THAT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN.

By phoenixson (67.24.157.83) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 10:18 am:

I thought Adam Ant was SOOO inappropiate! He looked really out of place. I think he'd look out of place anywhere, but that's just my opinion. I thought the Motown special was really dismal. The REAL stars got short shift, to say the least, except Michael Jackson. Diana's pettiness and jeaousy fueled with Mary's anger ruined The Supremes segment. Poor Cindy was way in the back of that bus. The Supremes segment SHOULD have been the crowning highlight. It turned out to be horribly disappointing. I had it on video, but, after one more viewing, I gave it away. Where were The Marvelettes, Funk Brothers, Andantes, Vandellas, James Jamerson????? Instead, we got the spectacularly talented Adam Ant!

By Michael/cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 10:21 am:

I was there and I remember the audience's shock when Diana wandered on the stage during Adam Ant's version of Where Did Our Love Go. It was clear he had no idea she was coming out! LOL!! It was a great evening outside of some of the famous gaffes (that will not be discussed further here). However, the show was missing the great Gladys Knight and her absence made a lot of noise.

By stephanie (64.63.221.175) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 11:36 am:

Oh well I wish we had the FULL version of that show so we could have seen Ashford and Simpson and some other people. I say we write to Motown and MAKE them build a shrine for the Funk Brothers and we will have robes and crowns and chairs for all of them.....and then for the Philly Side we have a robe and a chair for Bobby Eli and Company..
Steph

By kenjones (205.188.209.38) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 11:44 am:

20 years ago I was living in New York, and was thrilled with the special. However, as I pointed out to non-Detroiters, that "cross-over" shmuck could never match the real magic during the legendary Motown Revues at the Fox! kenjones

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 11:51 am:

Hey Gang:
My memories of watching "Motown 25" were very good - it was one of the few times my family actually sat down and watched the same TV show without one of us wanting to change the channel.

In hindsight, I guess things could've been done to make sure EVERYBODY involved in Motown were honored. Yet, as Promises Kept said, the producers (Suzanne De Passe & company) felt they had to book "non-Motowners" with big names (at that time) to help pull in a large viewership (remember Linda Ronstadt was there, too!). That's funny - Berry Gordy busted his a-- to make Motown & his artists a household name with mainstream clout and the Motown 25 folks still felt that booking Adam Ant was a clever move to get a large audience (I personally would've booked Culture Club or Eurythmics - at least these Brits had some soul in them!).

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By TonyRussi (68.18.49.228) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 11:53 am:

The reason for Adam Ant being on was because he was the "Flavor of the Month" and had a version of "WDOLG" on the airwaves (& the charts -I think).I was disappointed because "Classic Motown" was kinda shoved under the carpet-Mary Wells & Martha Reeves at the very least should have gotten a complete song.The Marvelettes were not even invited!!I don't remember the Contours being there either.Suzanne DePasse & the television people did not have a clue of the importance of the original artists.

By Russ Terrana (198.178.8.81) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 04:06 pm:

Motown 25 was a real treat for me. I recoreded all the music and did the post mix. (many many hours) But what was really fun was the party after the show was shot. It was held in a shopping mall across the street from the shoot, It was a great seeing old friends who had left Motown like Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, the Jacksons, etc. It was alot of work, but well worth it!

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 05:08 pm:

Tony,
It is my humble opinion that Suzanne DePasse doesn't have a clue about anything. Just my opinion though.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 05:32 pm:

Russ:
Thanks for the insight from the man who was there! I'm sure there are many moments that didn't make the final cut (I would love to hear what was left on the editing room floor).

Ralph:
You know better than many about Ms. De Passe. Even Berry Gordy pointed out in his autobiography that at one point (probably the early 1970s) she needed to cooperate with Ewart Abner in regards to getting releases ready and on time. This is straight from his book.
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 10:08 pm:

I apologize for the Suzanne DePasse crack. It was inappropriate.

By STUBASS (205.188.209.38) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 10:23 pm:

ADAM ANT UNDOUBTABLY HAD A SUPER AGENT WITH STRONG CONNECTIONS AT THE PRODUCTION OR NETWORK LEVEL...AND GOT HIS BOY SOME GREAT EXPOSURE...DID HIS JOB LIKE AN AGENT IS SUPPOSED TO DO!!!...STU

By MaryEllenRodgers (67.24.157.251) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 10:50 pm:

I don't know anything about Suzanne DePasse. All I know is Adam Ant was a joke and looked absurb on a Motown show. Why wasn't more time spent on Martha and the Vandellas, The Contours, Gladys Knight and the Pips, James Jameserson, The Andantes, The Funk Brothers Brothers, The Marvelettes, etc. These people really were Motown....not some idiot given way too much time. I don't care whether he was the flavor of the month or whatever.....he stunk and took up way too much time.

By TonyRussi (68.18.49.228) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 11:45 am:

Look at that "Motown at the Apollo" TV special....acts that had no connection to the label EVER got more exposure then the real artists.I think this fuels this "modern"mentality that if an artist is Black and from the 60's that they are Motown.

By STUBASS (64.12.97.7) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 11:51 am:

IF I CAN DIRECT MY BROTHER TO THIS THREAD...HE MAY HAVE A COMMENT ON TONY'S LAST REMARKS!!!...BRUCE WAS BROUGHT IN TO WORK ON THE MOTOWN AT THE APOLLO SPECIAL...AND WORKED WITH WILSON PICKETT AND OTHERS...I BELIEVE THAT HE ALSO MAY HAVE DONE SOME WORK ON THE OTHER MOTOWN SPECIALS...BRUCE???...

By Reese (204.152.12.159) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 11:52 am:

I loved the MOTOWN RETURNS TO THE APOLLO special. It wasn't as good as MOTOWN 25, but it was much better than MOTOWN 30 (which aired in 1990).

The Apollo special was a bit long, and cramming so many performers into one show meant many performances were edited but on the whole, I thought it was very well produced. It gave camera time to many artists who hadn't been seen on TV in years, like Chuck Jackson and the Cadillacs. And if nothing else, this special was the vehicle that shot Patti LaBelle into superstardom after too long a wait.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 11:56 am:

Tony:
I remember that Motown At The Apollo special all too well. I was in college during that time & while my friends & I were watching it, my girlfriend said, "Gee - I didn't know Boy George was on Motown Records!"

***sigh!***

But I must admit, when George Michael & Smokey Robinson were singing George's hit "Careless Whisper", seeing & hearing Smokey "take George to school" on his own hit song was a priceless moment in the special!

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Reese (204.152.12.159) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 12:02 pm:

KevGo,

I thought the real "take to school" moment was when Boy George and Luther Vandross sang WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKENHEARTED. Don't get me wrong. I love Boy George, but Luther literally walked all over him in that song. There was no rapport between them at all. Unlike the Stevie Wonder/George Michael duet on LOVES IN NEED OF LOVE TODAY where they really listened and sang with each other.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 12:31 pm:

Reese:
That's right! Luther & Boy George needed Jimmy Ruffin to mediate!
But go back the special, when Smokey so effortlessly sang the second verse to "Careless Whisper" the audience went nuts and George Michael KNEW he was getting his tail kicked - which is why he sang the bridge with more gusto than he ever did on the record (or any performance of the song since then - I've seen George Michael live in the late 1980s).
Kevin Goins - KevGo