Founder's Day at Hitsville, USA

I just wanted to share with the forum what a great time was had at the Motown Museum's Founder's Day yesterday. It was sunny and hot, but it was well worth attending. When I heard Claudette Robinson was going to be at this year's event, I knew I had to be there as I don't believe she visits Detroit very frequently. We were talking with fellow SDF member Nsoule when I turned around and lovely Claudette had just arrived and was standing a few feet away from us. I welcomed her with a hug and relayed how wonderful it was to have her present at the day's event. I said I had a photo that I hoped she could sign and she said she was planning to be there all day and we'd meet up later. The alumni were mostly inside the 2654 building due to the heat. When Claudette gave a short speech on the stage she mentioned many alumni were present, including Miller London, Pat Cosby, Martha Reeves and Sandra Fagin of the Monitors. I was able to reconnect with Claudette to have my photo signed, and a spicy Miss Reeves also signed a photo for me. Maybe it was the heat! Many of Claudette's extended family were at the event, it was certainly a Rogers family reunion. There was a lady who looked a lot like Tamla and I asked her if she was related and she was Claudette's niece. I said I could see the family resemblance! It was nice to see the current Motown Museum exhibit on Claudette and to hang out with the alumni. Here a few photos. Did any other forum members attend?
Darin

Claudette and I

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Miss Martha Reeves dancing away when they played "Dancing In The Street"!

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The Hitsville window highlighting the current exhibit with beautiful photos of Claudette and the Miracles

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Fellow forum member Nsoule and myself in Studio A

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And lastly, my mementos of the day!

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In the late 60s and early 70s Motown signed several well established acts but then sort of took their eye off the ball resulting in frustration. True that a lot was happening at once with the move to LA and entering the film industry with "Lady Sings The Blues". Nevertheless there were some fantastic tracks from artists such as Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Bobby Darin and to a lesser extent Sammy Davis Jr and Lesley Gore.

Thankfully, in the case of Bobby Darin, material that had long been vaulted has been made available over the years - mainly thanks to Joe Marchesse & co [[e.g. Andy Skurrow) who've made it possible for these tracks to see release on CD. The Real Gone CDs have wonderful liner notes as well and are well worth looking up. In particular, "Another Song On My Mind" includes a great resume of Darin's Motown career - much of this can still be seen on the Real Gone website -

https://theseconddisc.com/2011/02/16...-motown-years/

You can see the full CD artwork here -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...57668721459480

And here are the covers for Darin's Motown albums / CDs

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...in/dateposted/

Please advise of any errors

BOBBY DARIN MOTOWN DISCOGRAPHY

Recorded - 6 February 1971 Live at The Desert Inn [[Renamed “Finally” but still unreleased at the time)

M1183 – 17 April 1971
A Melodie
B Someday We'll Be Together

M1193 – November 1971
A Simple Song Of Freedom
B I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

M1203 – 2 June 1972
A Sail Away
B Hard Headed Woman

M753 ALBUM AUGUST 1972 – Bobby Darin

M1212 – Promo 3 November 1972 [[withdrawn)
A Average People [[mono)
B Average People [[stereo)

M1212 – 3 November 1972 [[probably a bootleg)
A Average People
B Something In Her Love

M1217 – 20 November 1972
A Happy [[Love Theme From "Lady Sings The Blues")
B Something In Her Love

Bobby Darin died 20 December 1973

M813 ALBUM February 1974 – Darin 1936-1973

PR4 [[PROMO EP) - 1974
A1 If I Were A Carpenter
A2 Moritat [[Mack The Knife)
B1 Blue Monday
B2 Happy [[Love Theme From "Lady Sings The Blues")

MW3014 – 1974 [[UK & EU)
A Blue Monday
B Moritat [[Mack The Knife)

M5185 ALBUM July 1981 – Darin 1936–1973 re-issued with 5 tracks having different mixes.

MCD09070MD CD 1987 – Live At The Desert Inn [[first ever issue)

MOTD -5185 CD 1989 – Darin 1936–1973 first issue on CD.

3746351852 CD 1991 – Darin 1936-1973 CD re-issue

NTD-6509-2 CD 2005 – Live At The Desert Inn [[re-issue / remaster / 2 extra tracks “Work Song” and “Beyond The Sea”.

RGM-0440 2xCD 6 May 2016 – Another Song On My Mind [[Real Gone Music)

RGM-0714 CD 13 July 2018 – Go Ahead And Back Up [[Real one Music)

A repeat of last summer's BBC NORTHERN SOUL PROM ... Attachment 21293

I came across this Paul Simon track for the first time today and was struck by how much its style and lyrics sound like a certain Motown artist….!!!



But the question is, which one!!? ;)

Info fromBestClassicBands.com:

David Sanborn, the alto saxophonist who crossed over from jazz to pop, R&B and other genres, has died. A statement on his social media pages read, “It is with sad and heavy hearts that we convey to you the loss of internationally renowned, 6-time Grammy Award-winning, saxophonist, David Sanborn. Mr. Sanborn passed Sunday afternoon, May 12th, after an extended battle with prostate cancer with complications.” Sanborn, who amassed several gold and platinum albums over a career that began during the 1960s, was 78.
Sanborn had reportedly been diagnosed with cancer in 2018 but continued to perform until recently. He was booked to play a residency at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club this August.

An obituary published on CNN’s website stated that Sanborn’s publicist confirmed his death.
David William Sanborn was born July 30, 1945, in Tampa, Fla., and grew up in Missouri. He began playing saxophone during his youth and was working with blues musicians Albert King and Little Milton by age 14. Sanborn joined the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1967 when that outfit added a horn section, and performed with them at the Woodstock festival in 1969.

He found work as a session musician and beginning in the ’70s, contributed to recordings by Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, David Bowie , James Brown, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Toto, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, and many others in the early ’70s, then joined the popular Brecker Brothers band in the mid-’70s. Sanborn also collaborated with Eric Clapton on film soundtracks such as Lethal Weapon [and its sequels] and Scrooged. In 1994, Sanborn performed on a two-night celebration of the music of Pete Townshend at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Sanborn launched his solo career with the album Taking Off on the Warner Bros. label in 1975 , but it wasn’t until the ’80s that he found commercial success with his hybrid approach. His albums Hideaway, Voyeur, Backstreet, Straight to the Heart [which won a Jazz Fusion Grammy], Double Vision [a duets set with Bob James, which took home a Grammy], A Change of Heart, Close-Up [Grammy for Pop Instrumental Album] and Upfront were all certified gold or platinum. Although Sanborn’s music was usually slotted into the smooth jazz category, he occasionally ventured into more “out” subgenres of jazz.
Beginning in 1980, Sanborn was a member of the Saturday Night Live band, then moved over to Late Night With David Letterman. From 1988 to 1989, he co-hosted the late-night music program Night Music, performing with a wide variety of artists ranging from Santana to Miles Davis to Todd Rundgren and Leonard Cohen. He also hosted a syndicated radio program, The Jazz Show with David Sanborn.

I posted this before thought it was removed from YouTube