By HW (68.37.216.164) on Thursday, April 24, 2003 - 10:14 pm: |
This is posted at boards.motown.com:
About four years ago I was in a Atlantic City with Duke Fakir and Stu Hackel, going over the tracks for what became 'Breaking Through' on CD. Another gentleman came in the room, elderly, very kind and courteous. Duke was warm to him. Turns out he was Kelly Swaggerty, the group's old road manager at Motown in the heyday. He only stayed a short while, then left his contact information on the table. My eyes lit up when I saw that this person lived in my town.
We later got together and he reminisced extensively about his days on the road with the Four Tops. Several of this photographs eventually appeared in 'Fourever,' the Four Tops box set.
Recently, in 2003, our local paper ran a story on the 'Standing In The Shadows Of Motown' film, album, awards and subsequent DVD. The article's writer, Angela King, is from Detroit. A few weeks after that, Mr. Swaggerty showed up at the newspaper's office wanting Ms. King to know there was more to Motown, and that part of the 'more' story lived nearby.
The wonderful result is that Mr. Swaggerty wrote an article himself, prominently displayed on the front of the paper's Arts section with a sweet color photo. The text of the piece is pasted below. [The article was completed before Cholly Atkins' death.]
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http://www.montclairtimes.com/page.php?page=5172
On the road to Motown: A Memoir
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
By KELLICE SWAGGERTY
Not too long ago The Montclair Times highlighted a group of musicians who had helped to turn out the enormously popular Motown sound decades ago, but remained largely unknown until now. No one who's familiar with the Funk Brothers can deny their contribution to Motown. Take Richard 'Pistol' Allen, who played with The Four Tops when I worked with the group.
Pistol was not only a gifted drummer, but reliable when it came to showing up for a gig - and showing up on time. Other artists constantly sought him out, saying, "You want somebody to keep good time, get Pistol." But there were a lot of other folks who were just as instrumental in making Motown the hit it was, yet who still languish in relative obscurity. I'm fortunate enough to know about them because I was a road manager in the '50s, '60s and '70s for The Four Tops and other Motown stars like Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Temptations and Gladys Knight & The Pips.
During those 30 years I got to know the likes of Brian Holland, who, together with his older brother Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier, were an important cog in Motown?s beginning. Known as Holland, Dozier, Holland, this team penned such memorable hits as "Baby, I Need Your Loving," "How Sweet It Is" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On."
Thomas 'Beans' Bowles not only played the baritone saxophone on numerous Motown hits, but at times was the bandleader when Motown artists would per-form at places like the Apollo Theater in New York.
Motown changed a lot of the who, what, where, how and, yes, earnings in the music business. Before it cropped up during the '50s as this country's first black-owned record company, RCA, Capital and Columbia dominated the industry. Smaller record companies like Decca, Verve, Bluebird and Okeh also had a presence.
But it was Berry Gordy Jr.'s Motown that gave many blacks a toehold in various areas of the music industry.
Ronnie Wakefield, a saxophonist, was in management at Motown by the time I got to know him. He was one of the nicest guys I met in the organization.
Harvey Fuqua, a former member of an R&B/doo-wop group called the Moonglows, worked in Motown's Artist & Development Department. He also happened to be married to Gordy's sister, Gwen.
Charles Atkins, known as Pops or Cholly, was the other half of the Coles & Atkins tap dancers before he taught steps to many of the artists who came through Motown. Maurice King, who had been musical director for an all-black girls swing band called The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, worked in Artist & Development at Motown. He also arranged music, was one of the company's best copyists, and even conducted orchestras when needed.
Gil Askey had a knack for making the best of bad situations. He had played trumpet with a number of well-known orchestras before becoming Motown?s musical director for The Supremes and Four Tops. When things got out of hand once during a concert in Antwerp, Belgium, that starred The Four Tops, Askey leaped on stage and played trumpet magnificently until the audience quieted down.
Pete Nugent, formerly a third of the dance trio Pete, Peaches & Duke, became a mentor to me while I was with Motown. Also a road manager with the company, he was one of those characters that, after you got to know more about the man, you discovered he knew about a lot of things besides entertainment.
My relationship with Motown came about while I was a saxophone player with composer, arranger and friend, Gene Kee, during the '50s. Kee was leader of the Savoy Dictators, a popular band here in Montclair at the time. One afternoon I got a phone call at home from a guy who was looking for Kee. It turned out to be William 'Mickey' Stevenson, a songwriter and childhood chum of Berry Gordy Jr.'s who became Motown's first A&R director. Stevenson was at the New York Hilton and looking to recruit fresh talent for Motown. I went to New York the next day to get together with Stevenson and the next thing I knew, I was headed to Detroit. It was there where I got a taste of the record label that's still the stuff of legends.
On the first day that I arrived in Detroit, I walked from the Carlton Plaza Hotel on West Grand Boulevard to the office of Ralph Seltzer, the Motown vice president who hired me as a road manager. Seltzer worked five very long blocks away from the Carlton Plaza in one of several houses along both sides of the boulevard that made up Motown.
There was an assortment of Motown divisions on West Grand Boulevard. The finance building housed the office of Ben Pollack, Motown's chief executive officer. Across the street were numerous rehearsal spaces, and the Artist & Development Department that Taylor Cox headed. Under Cox's helm, Phil Woolridge, Ardenna Johnston and Evelyn Johnson oversaw the tours and overall careers of various artists.
I would be remiss if I neglected to mention people like John Oden, Rebecca Giles, Don Foster, Barney Ales, Clarice Maxwell, Evelyn Johnson and Gene McDaniel. Janie Bradford, Mike Roshkin, Maxine Powell, Doris Postal, Jimmy Johnson, Johnny Bristol and Ewart Abner were also on the Motown roster. These are just a few of the secretaries, travel coordinators, drivers, gofers, consultants, agents, musicians, copyists, songwriters and whatnot who were Motown's backbone.
Unfortunately, time and news space won't permit me to go on about all the remarkable experiences, and individuals, I encountered during my years with Motown. Their contributions to this company may still go largely unheralded, but I'll never forget them.
/Swaggerty, 80, lives in Montclair with his wife and son.
By Jonel (172.151.67.175) on Thursday, April 24, 2003 - 10:22 pm: |
Thank you for posting this. What wonderful detailed memories this gentleman must have. I wish he would consider expanding the article and tell more about his experiences.
By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, April 24, 2003 - 10:24 pm: |
HW:
I do believe this man has a book he should be writing. Hell, SOMEBODY needs to sit with this man and a tape recorder so he could tell everything about his years with Motown. We can't afford to have these folks who are up in age leave this earth without documenting their histories. Harry, if you or someone doesn't have the time, I'll come to Montclair myself to meet Mr. Swaggerty.
Kevin Goins - KevGo
By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Thursday, April 24, 2003 - 10:39 pm: |
HW - Thank you.
KevGo - The information and photos Mike put on the Forum was a book in itself. Has Mike had it published yet?
All of these giants sitting quietly chatting about their experiences. OK, who will take the first step and volunteer to start the ball rolling? I want to see another "true" film during my last life.
By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, April 24, 2003 - 11:05 pm: |
Sis:
I've been in talks with a colleague of mine here in the Big Apple about doing a documentary about a famous funky orchestra from some city in Pennsylvania....I'll let you & the rest know the details later....
Kevin Goins - KevGo
(PS - Bobby Eli...can you hear me?....)