By david, glasgow, scotland (62.252.128.4 - 62.252.128.4) on Wednesday, October 03, 2001 - 08:22 pm:

i would like to hear from anyone who frequented the fox theater motortown revues.

By Russ Terrana (198.178.8.81 - 198.178.8.81) on Wednesday, January 02, 2002 - 09:53 pm:

I worked on a live recording at the Fox in late 60's with Motown. Because it was so long ago, I can't remember what the line up was. But in 1986 I returned to Detroit to do a shoot for Showtime with Motown for a Temptations and 4 Tops special. One of the locations was the Fox. I hired a crew from Detroit to provide the remote recording equipment. While shooting at the Fox (with no audience) and with head sets on, we could hear someone speaking in lower tones and could not make out what he was saying. We stopped the take and told who ever was talking to please be quite. When putting on the headsets again, we could hear the same person again. Well, after doing a search of the theater, no one was there. We know it wasen't crosstalk in the system .. and never found out who or what was doing the talking. The Fox opened in 1927 and has a rich history .. so ... who knows what we really heard that day. Spooky!

By Davie Gordon (213.251.162.249 - 213.251.162.249) on Thursday, January 03, 2002 - 07:10 pm:

Hi Russ,

There's a 1969 vintage "Motortown Revue - Live!"
album which has tracks by Blinky, The Originals.
Bobby Taylor, Gladys and the Pips and "special
guests" The Temptations.

I don't know if this was an actual concert bill
or if the album is cobbled together from different dates.

Davie G.

By Marilyn (4.4.41.243 - 4.4.41.243) on Wednesday, January 09, 2002 - 05:25 pm:

Well,I didn't go to any Motown shows there,but went to MANY huge r&r shows during the 50s. Acts like the Coasters,the Drifters,Nitecaps,Bobby Lewis,Johnny Burnett Trio,Chuck Berry,JoAnn Campbell,& a go-zillion others,all backed by Maurice King's orchestra.

By david, glasgow, scotland (62.252.128.4 - 62.252.128.4) on Wednesday, January 09, 2002 - 05:56 pm:

marilyn, they definitely don't make them like that anymore!

maurice king...wow!

By phillysoulman (64.12.102.163 - 64.12.102.163) on Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 12:26 am:

Eli here,

In 1968, during the same week of the Mike Terry session and the gig at the 20 grand,I had a revelation.
I was doing as I always do and wanted to strollabout and go down on Woodward avenue and look for the Donovan Building, and the Detroit Fox. It was during the afternoon and there was a film playing that I wanted to see and kill some time as well. So I purchased two candy bars and I proceeded to take my seat. What I did not mention is that I had recently put some weight back on.
On the screen a short film came on about Sumo Wrestling, so just then a little voice inside my head asked "Now you sure don't want to wind up looking like that , do you mo******r?"
So I said to myself "No f***n way!!!!
So just then I tossed the two candy bars on the floor and I proceeded to drop over 100 pounds!!!
All because of my visit to the Fox!!!!!!

By detroit gal (152.163.195.206 - 152.163.195.206) on Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 01:35 am:

There was a latter day Motown Revue in the late '80s, at the Fox. Mary Wells, God bless her, was on the bill, and it was my first and last glimpse at her in concert; the Contours performed, as well as Martha Reeves and several other acts.

The Fox was in its post-kung fu, pre-Ilitch days at that point, still a wonderful place to be, but not yet the renovated Cathedral that it is now.

I also saw a great Pretenders show there in its pre-Ilitch days. The seats weren't in great shape, that was my major gripe.

By Ann Drogenous (152.163.207.207 - 152.163.207.207) on Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 03:56 pm:

Detroit gal, I have had the pleasure of witnessing several great Motown shows and it stirs up many great memories of the historic Fox Theater.

By Rich (162.33.234.97 - 162.33.234.97) on Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 09:23 pm:

I don't know if this is true, since it came out of the mouth of George Clinton anyhow, I remember reading that The Parliaments (whose first hit Testify broke in june of '67) were playing some shows in Newark NJ in the middle of July 1967 when the Newark Riots broke out, the group packed up and headed for Detroit where they were booked into a week-long engagement at the Fox theatre, when the riots broke out there a week later.

By detroit gal (64.12.102.184 - 64.12.102.184) on Thursday, February 21, 2002 - 04:50 am:

I have the single "I Just Wanna Testify" by the Parliaments somewhere. The beginning of that record is SO funky ..

By Rich (152.163.205.68 - 152.163.205.68) on Thursday, February 21, 2002 - 05:07 pm:

Maybe when Bob Babbitt checks back he can tell us who played the guitar intro. Very Funky indeed. Its's Babbit on bass.

By Davie G (213.251.162.249 - 213.251.162.249) on Thursday, February 21, 2002 - 07:29 pm:

I think Dennis Coffey said he played on "Testify"

By ErikT.O. (64.228.108.130 - 64.228.108.130) on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 08:00 am:

The story about the Parliaments having arrived in Detroit just before the riot is true. In John Hersey's harrowing book 'The Algiers Motel Incident' (a chronicle of the riot and of one horrid night when police stormed the motel and killed several unarmed black guys), he decribes an annual talent show at the 20 Grand Club- in fact, I'll look for it right now- found it- on page 65 he writes of a week long show called the 'Swinging Time Revue'. "The Dramatics got a spot, along with the Parliaments, JJ Barnes,and other more or less known artists, in the '67 revue, and they had been doing 2 shows a day and 3 on the week end days. They (the Dramatics who were staying at the Algiers when the 'incident' happened and therefore figure more prominantly in the book) sang 'Groovin', 'I Want A Love I Can See', 'Inky Dinky Wand Dang Do' and some numbers of their own, 'Bingo', 'Somewhere' and 'All Because Of You' which Supersonic had recorded 4 months before." The book digresses (and I chopped bits out of the passage I quoted, yeah I can be lazy) but then continues with "On that Sunday afternoon, just after the Dramatics had finished their second show, 'a man came out on stage, saying a riot had started, everyone should go home or to the nearest hotel... The Dramatics, all 6 of them were checked into room A5 in the building in the back..." One of those murdered in the motel that night was a friend of the band who had been helping them at the club- Fred Temple.

By david, glasgow, scotland (213.122.172.9 - 213.122.172.9) on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 08:44 am:

that book requires several reads but is absolutely enthralling.

i looked for the site of the algiers motel but it is now another garage/gas station.

it was sited on woodward (block 82?) and close to the saxy record corporation (for what it's worth).

there is not even a marker to record that heinous event. three black kids shot dead in cold blood by cops.