By stephanie (64.63.221.243) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 06:33 pm:

I have an interesting question which Motown book is your favorite and why? I realize this may be a sensitive issue for some but lets go for it...
The ones I like the most are
Mary Wilson - Dreamgirl because I never saw a story on the Supremes and Mary started a precedent for all of the other books to come out and she mentioned the Funk Brothers..good read and I dont think she was insulting at all.

Raynoma - Berry Gordy Motown and Me..forget the dirt she tells its a great inner working of the inside of Motown and how things go on in the record industry.

Weldon McDougal - The Motown Story- I like Don Wallers Book but Weldon's was even better because he talked about the lesser known artists and gave them their props and had beautiful pics. I must say he left out the dirt and it was still a good read.

Martha Reeves _ Confessions of a Motown Diva!!! She told on herself and again she talked about the records charting and the importance of the songs and reasons for the personnel changes


Ones I didnt care for
Otis Williams - Dont get me wrong it was nice seeing a book on the Temptations but I thought he would talk more about the recording sessions and Smokey...

Smokey -Boring read but I have the utmost respect for him I was hoping to hear more from him on the production side

Diana - Secrets of a Sparrow-=IM not into the New Age thing and I can see her family photos in other books.. Wanted more of her side of the story on the Supremes..yes looking for more dirt I am ashamed.

Berry Gordy - To Be Loved..good read but he could have left out his first sexual experience with Diana. I wanted to hear more on the Funk Brothers and the inner workings of Motown. This book should have been a Motown addicts dream and sadly it wasnt that honor goes to MOTOWN by Sharon Davis and Randy T - Motown -Hot City Wax and Cool

HONORABLE MENTION - Call Her Miss Ross by Randy T
This book tells the dirt but it also talks about Miss Ross as a human and more into the inner workings of Florence Ballard he is to be commended

Supreme Faith - Mary Wilson if you are into the70s Supremes this is the best book to get.

The James Jamerson book - recommended for Motown fanatics and musicians only.

Where Did Our Love Go - Nelson George deserves a mention because his book is the first one to mention the Funk Brothers in detail and I read it over and over and over again. I have heard there are some innaccuracies in it but I dont notice them,,
Stephanie

By Handsome (170.118.157.134) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 07:01 pm:

My favorite(s) were both of Mary Wilson's Books. No reason in particular, & the Women of Motown, which gave you an inside look to the popular ladies, and those I "thought" were not so popular, but equally contributed (if not more) to the Motown Legacy. That's what I liked about the book.

By Soul Sister (65.43.150.250) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 07:34 pm:

If I had to pick one Í'd say Raynoma's book cause it tells the story from the beginning of Motown.

By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 08:14 pm:

Well per Martha's book I thought it was BORING and self-serving. She even subsequently said she held back and planned to write another, more honest one.

By Vickie (198.81.26.231) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 08:29 pm:

I'd have to say..

"Women Of Motown" by our own Sue was very enlightening..

I did like "Divided Soul" and "Trouble Man"
and the other Marvin Bios, I loved "Dream Girl"..
I actually like "To Be Loved/Berry Gordy" and "Secrets of a Sparrow"

the books I look forward to..

Jimmy Ruffin
Jack Ashford
Claudette Robinson
Deke Richards
Mike Mclean
Russ Terrana
and Diana's next one

By Linda Di. (66.67.194.109) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 08:41 pm:

"Divided Soul" was a book I couldn't put down until finished. So was Mary Wilson's "Dreamgirl."

J. Randy Taraborrelli's Motown book and "Call Her Miss Ross" were great. I also enjoyed Sharon Davis' "Motown - The History."

Several other books I've come across -- "A Touch of Classic Soul of the Early 70s" and "Soul Music Who's Who" with an entry for Mr. Bobby Eli!

By Marv (152.163.252.68) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 08:44 pm:

I liked "Dreamgirl, My Life As A Supreme" hands down.

Also enjoyed "To Be Loved" By Berry Gordy

Berry,Me and Motown" by Raynoma Singleton because she didn't pull punches.

Motown: "Hot Wax, City Cool and Solid Gold" I like the timeline aspect and the pictures were excellent.

"Where Did Our Love Go?" by Nelson George was also a favorite.

By the count (65.60.201.174) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 08:58 pm:

GUITARS,BARS,AND MOTOWN SUPERSTARS,BY----------
"DENNIS COFFEY"

By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 09:20 pm:

Dreamgirl,Where Did Our Love Go and my favorite,Nowhere To Run which profiled/interivewed Wells,Reeves,the Supremes,and also Cissy,Aretha...

By Soul Sister (65.43.150.250) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 10:54 pm:

Divided Soul by David Ritz was deeply insightful into Marvin's true self, David was not just a writer but was extremely close to Marvin, as he became to Jimmy when he wrote his book, he is truly a genius at getting inside one's soul and reading people right on, thats one book thats genuinely honest. What else is there but that because without sincerity we have nothing. So I deeply respect David for his effot to seek the truth and tell it like it is. I think that says it all. Thats why I rate that book A#1.

By DJ (130.156.140.2) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 11:44 pm:

Weldon McDougal's "Motown: The Golden Years

By John Lester (213.123.157.36) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 02:49 am:

Russ Terrana!!

This needs to be a joint venture between the Terrana Twins!!

And Ralph...please do a chapitre on Ms de Passe!!! LOL

By RJ Spangler (152.163.252.68) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 03:01 am:

None of you guys read Motown: the Golden Years by Bill Dahl? It has great bio's on every Motown artist and the Funks...all with great acuracy, the hallmark of Bill Dahl's writing. -RJ

By Jo B. (204.42.12.2) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 04:30 am:

Dreamgirl
Divided Soul
I also couldn't put those two down until I finished'm.

"Where did our Love Go?" was also pretty good...

You guys have mentioned quite a few that I didn't even know about...Are all still available? If so, where? Any help will be appreciated...

By BankHouseDave (195.93.50.10) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 05:11 am:

Ben Edmunds' 'What's Going On' book should be on the list. It gives great insight into the recording of that brilliant album and talks to many of the people involved.

I also liked Berry's book - and Smokey's.

Wait till you read Jack's!

By Uptight (24.55.6.144) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 05:33 am:

Dave, you beat me to the punch. Ben Edmunds' book was pretty cool. I enjoyed listening to the Deluxe version of the CD between chapters of the book.

Also, the only book Motown had published: "The Motown Album" (with the gold dustjacket). It had great pictures from Motown's, Gordy's, et al archives!

In the mid-80s I enjoyed Sharon Davis' book on Motown. It seemed to contain the most info available on the artists at the time her book was published.

I found David Ritz' biography on MG difficult and depressing to read. I never finished it; you know what happens in the end...

"To Be Loved" was fascinating. I thought it was well edited, attempting to cover so many decades and artists fairly. The details about the sexual experiences were probably "the dirt" the publisher wanted for readers.

By R&B (138.238.41.215) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 10:35 am:

THREE COME TO MIND..THE MOTOWN STORY..TEMPTATIONS..DREAMGIRLS!

By Reese (12.15.169.254) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 11:19 am:

My favorites are:

a) THE STORY OF MOTOWN by Peter Benjaminson

b) MOTOWN: Hot Wax and City Cool
by J. Randy Tarraborrelli

c) MOTOWN: THE GOLDEN YEARS by Bill Dahl

d) DREAMGIRL by Mary Wilson

e) DANCING IN THE STREET by Martha Reeves

f) CALL HER MISS ROSS by J. Randy Tarraborrelli

I would have included BERRY, ME AND MOTOWN by Raynoma Gordy on my list because it was very well-written and informative. However, I thought she crossed the line when she stated for publication that Diana's oldest daughter was Berry's child. Sure, most of us knew this already. But I still think its a rather low blow to reveal a minor's personal business in such a public way.

By STUBASS (152.163.252.68) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 11:27 am:

THE OTIS WILLIAMS BOOK ON THE TEMPTATIONS WAS INTERESTING AND ENTERTAINING...AND ALSO BECAME A MOVIE...HOWEVER...IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND...AND IF YOU MUST...YOU'LL BE SURE TO FIND IT IN THE *FICTION* DEPARTMENT AT YOUR FAVORITE BOOK STORE OR LIBRARY!!!...

By mc5rules (148.61.97.30) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 11:27 am:

The Ben Edmonds and David Ritz books are the two best, but then again, Marvin's story is a pretty gripping one. Those guys are both great writers, and each handled their parts of the story in an amazing way.

As far as all the other ones go, I'm still trying to find a copy of Sue's book!

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 11:30 am:

John,
Regarding any chapter on Ms. DePasse: There really isn't much more that I could add except for one incident that I prefer to keep to myself. I have always said that Suzanne is a very bright, ambitious woman.I believe in giving credit where credit is due. However, when it came to running Motown, I have always known that she was the wrong person for a very difficult job.

By Michael/cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 11:48 am:

I like DreamGirls: My life as a Supreme by Mary Wilson (so did a lot of other people since it has sold more books than all the other Motown books combined, now nearing 500,000 copies). I think she told her story without being vitriolic or nasty and the book is just as important for what it didn't say. Mary cleaned up some of the stories that she told but all in all it is a good read and you get a feeling for Motown and her life as a Supreme.

By Scratcher (65.238.127.195) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 11:49 am:

The Motown Story by Don Waller is the best book about Motown ever published. It has, for then, a complete discography of all the labels--singles and albums. Complete sections are devoted to musicians, artists, writers and producers. Nelson George's book doesn't rate on the same level as Waller's book. There's a whole section on the Temptations and the Contours get well deserved props by Waller.

By Eugene Brown (64.7.167.66) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 12:23 pm:

My favorites are "The Story of Motown" by Peter Benjaminson and "Where Did Our Love Go" by Nelson George from 1985 and I must say that "Trouble Man" by Steve Turner wasn't bad either.

By Reese (12.15.169.254) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 12:26 pm:

Scratcher, Sharon Davis' book on Motown also has a discography, including both American and UK releases, as well as CDs, and the 80s reissue line.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 12:53 pm:

Favorite Motown Books:
Berry Gordy - "To Be Loved"
Raynoma Singleton - "Berry, Me & Motown"
The Motown Album (great pictures!)
David Ritz - "Divided Soul"
Don Waller - "The Motown Story" (a must for us compilation producers!)
Allen Slutsky - "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" (he helped introduce the world to James Jamerson & the Funks)
Mary Wilson's autobiographies
Weldon MacDougal - "The Motown Years" (more great photos!)
Dennis Coffey - "Guitars, Bars & Motown Superstars" (great read - Dennis focuses on the music & the music makers and stays away from the personal stuff).

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Funkyone D J Dollar BILL (216.221.81.98) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 01:11 pm:

Slutsky-Standing In The Shadows Of Motown anyone?

By mhc (172.159.181.81) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 01:27 pm:

My favorites are Ben Edmonds book (!!!!!), Raynoma's book, and "Standing In the Shadows of Motown". I also give props to Nelson George's, which I think was the first really good book about Motown. There's another one that moved me: "Dancing In the Street" by Dr. Susan Smith. It told the Motown story in a socio/political-history of Detroit context. It was written as a PhD thesis, I think, but it's a great read.

By John Barry Sheffield (195.92.168.166) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 01:43 pm:

England UK

This is such a hard task as difficult as picking my Top 3 FOUR TOPS TRACKS:

To Be Loved - By Berry must be near The Top

Otis Williams book I also enjoyed and Raynoma's book was also a good read.

I have just managed to order The Motown Story by Don Waller.

In fact I never realised how many Motown Books I do have!

But we do need THE FOUR TOPS BOOK!!!!! to be written and released for The 50th Anniversary is the ideal time! - it needs to be done NOW!

John

By LG Nilsson (213.89.29.129) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 02:45 pm:

The first book on Motown I found was "Motown" by English writer David Morse. The year was 1971. Before that it was only fanzines and magazines... The first really good one was Don Waller's. I also like Taraborrelli's books on Diana Ross & Michael Jackson. Great research. I just received a parcel from Amazone.com with some new books:

1 Motown: Money, Power, Sex, and Music
By: Gerald L. Posner

2 Dancing in the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit
By: Suzanne E. Smith

3 The Temptations (African-American Achievers)
By: Ted Cox

4 Motown : The Golden Years: The Stars and Music That Shaped a Generation
By: Bill Dahl, Weldon A. McDougal III

5 Marvin Gaye, My Brother
By: Frankie Gaye, Fred E. Basten

6 Marvin Gaye: What's Going On and the Last Days of the Motown Sound
By: Ben Edmonds

I hope they are worth reading. I�ve seen here that Posner�s book is a bit odd!

LG

By David Meikle (80.5.115.241) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 03:01 pm:

Weldon sends in this image from his extensive collection.

You must have some great memories Weldon!

By William B. (151.204.39.238) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 03:28 pm:

Weldon Mc Dougal's Motown The Golden Years Great read even better Photos.

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 04:18 pm:

I'd have to pick "Women of Motown" for documenting the under-documented ; little known figures of historical import (Mable John) , under-documented personal faves (Marvellettes, Velvelettes , Brenda Holloway ) and the Mary Wells stuff was a revelation, to me anyway.

Weldon Mcdougal's book is worth it for the pictures alone. I also LOVED Ben Edmonds book. It was worth it to me just to find out what that percussion instrument was that jack Ashford was playing that sounded like a wooden cowbell.

I enjoyed Nelson George's book too, but that was almost like a primer for novices - basic stuff, kind of the ' World Book Encyclopedia ' of Motown books. David Ritz' book on Marvin Gaye was good too, but there was something about it that bugged me ; I'm not articulate enough to name what it was ....maybe too much David Ritz...

I haven't had a chance to read a lot of the others yet - i did love "Standing in the Shadows", of course. As a rule of thumb, I'm just a little skeptical about autobiographies , whether written by the subject or "as told to". As entertaining and informative as they can be, they always tend to be a little too self-serving , even when they describe personal screw-ups.

SteveK

By stephanie (64.63.221.31) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 04:54 pm:

I feel like a heel for forgetting to list our own Sue her book was great and all of those oral histories especially on Tammi Terrell!!! I would have liked Berry's book better if he talked more about the recording sessions though..I think Weldon did a great job with the pictures and the telling of some of the forgotten artists..the reason I like Don Wallers is the fact that he had a whole chapter interviewing Billie Jean Brown and that amazed me...
Stephanie

By Scratcher (65.238.127.88) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 07:23 pm:

Reese, I read Sharon Davis' book. The UK releases didn't interest me. I liked Waller's discographies better cause they dealt with the era I was interested in. I did like Davis' book though, the next time I check it out at the library they'll probably never see it again.

By stephanie (64.63.221.158) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 07:42 pm:

Scratcher
Its people like YOU who give me a hard time!!! I was going to tell the library I lost it 15 years ago when I first saw it and pay for it but I didnt have the heart to!!! I have not seen that book in any libraries here anymore. Man it really should be rereleased if I see it on EBAY im getting it..
Stephanie

By Scratcher (65.238.127.88) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 09:14 pm:

Stephanie, hard to find out-of-print books like that are often checked out of libraries and not checked back in. When they inquire about the book I say the dog chewed it up and pay for it. I don't even have a dog. I would have paid for it anyway if it was still available for sale. I always figure the library can order another one...but if it's out-of-print...I guess they can't.

Most books I buy, it's only a few I have checked out of libraries, kept and paid for. One book by Robert Prueter was so dog eared the librarian didn't even have it logged on the system as not returned (by me). I wish I had kept it cause it was obvious she didn't want the book back because of its condition. When I checked it out pages were falling out and some missing. She never put the book back on the shelf--it was trashed.

By Linda Di. (66.67.194.109) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 09:52 pm:

Almost forgot this one -- "Number One With A Bullet" by Elaine Jesmer. Any thoughts?

By J5Collector (66.188.87.80) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 10:00 pm:

Scratcher, so you're the one who checks out library books and keeps them! I'll growl in your general direction the next time I'm looking for a library book that's missing...

Seriously for anyone interested in acquiring out of print Motown books legally, there are several really fine online used book dealers such as bibliofind.com and abebooks.com and alibris.com I've had good luck at finding Motown books using these services.

They might charge a bit more than Scratcher's local library, but you'll sleep better.

J5C

By Larry (69.3.59.194) on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 11:59 pm:

Nothing has filled me with as much pride as this book:

"Before Motown", A History of Jazz in Detroit
by Lars Bjorn with Jim Gallert

It has all the Funk Brothers, who were Jazz cats first, Motown crew 2nd.

Amazon.com

By Eli (151.197.61.149) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 11:42 am:

Wow, all of those people definitely have that"Detroit Look"!!!!

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 11:58 am:

Lars & Jim's book is definetly a must if you want to read about the roots of the Detroit sound.

They are also two of the nicest guys I met in Detroit weeks ago (Lars' wife has a cool collection of Motown albums as well...I should've bought those LPs from her BEFORE I told her the dollar worth of each...oh well)

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By M.McLeanTech (66.218.40.121) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 03:29 pm:

Larry,

While I was in Detroit, we stopped by the Fisher Building. In the Northeast corner of the building, on the first floor (street level) is a store that sells all things about Detroit.

In the book department, they had several copies of your favorite book on sale, along with a whole lot of other books about Detroit.

It was easy to find a book there that mentioned my great grandfather, Mayor John Patton. I showed it to the owner, and explained who I was. He was not the store owner, but rather some flunky. He showed little interest. Perhaps if I had combed my hair....

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 04:12 pm:

That store in the Fisher Building is "Pure Detroit" and well worth a visit. The owner, Shawn Santo, is very sweet and if she'd been there, she would have been much more effusive than her employee.

There's also a Pure Detroit on Congress downtown, and their website is up and running, so homesick Detroiters living elsewhere can order Sanders fudge, Faygo pop, etc.

By stephanie (64.63.221.108) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 04:12 pm:

Mike McLean Tech
You are very important in the history of Detroit!!!
I think I would like to raid Lars house his knowledge is incredible!!!

A (stealing) STUBASS angel
Stephanie

By M.McLeanTech (66.218.60.161) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 07:39 pm:

Stephanie,

Thank you!

Who is this "Lars?" That one went right over my head. Doe he live in Norway?

My sweetheart Annie read your post on the "Bobby Eli....Matchmaker!" thread and for some reason it seemed to make her a little jealous. No problem, but it struck me as odd. I calmed her by pointing out that you were much too young for me. Anyone under 75 is a baby to me.

At any rate, you seem to have some kind of magnitism that she could sense.

By 65 memories (66.72.184.82) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 07:58 pm:

Just read much of "Dancing In the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit" by Suzanne Smith. From the standpoint of Motown and Berry and the effect on civil rights, this is an interesting read. Some well-known controversies are discussed, such as the debate over producing Marvin's "What's Going On?" but also touches on some lesser known conflicts. Has anyone else read this book?

By 65 memories (66.72.184.82) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 08:07 pm:

mhc and LG Nilsson...man, do I feel stupid! I just re-read the threads and see that you both mentioned the book...sorry! mhc..I agree with you...the book is really informative and well-written.

By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 11:31 pm:

Calling Out Around the World-a Motown Reader is also vg and has interivews which I always enjoy the most. One of the only one to one interiveiws with Cindy Birdsong I have ever read-and she talks about the Bluebelles too. I just dont understand how people liked Berry's book. I thought it was a superficial,white wash that said little that was new.

By Eli (151.197.61.149) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 11:35 pm:

Right on Brother Mike.. (Mr Lover Lover)My hat's off(literally) to you!!