SECTION D Reflections By Steve Holsey


Is the best yet to come? (not likely)


One of my longtime friends who now lives


in Brooklyn, Greg Hendricks, sent me an e-mail that made me so some pondering. He said so much of what is identified today as “talent” escapes him.


Greg has always been harsher than yours


truly when it comes to such assessments. But I could still understand where he was coming from.


At the time of the e-mail, he was preparing


to go to a concert starring Maxwell and Jill Scott, each of whom he described as “a real talent.” (I could never argue with that.)


There is a lot of music being made cur-


rently that just bores me. Take Rihanna, for example. I’m happy for her success, but her voice grates on my nerves and, hence, boredom sets in quickly.


Listening to Lady


Gaga seldom holds my interest.


Interchangeable


rock bands like Nick- leback, Stone Temple Pilots and Coldplay all suffer from lack of originality, unlike, say, the Beatles, the Who and the Rolling Stones.


There are few male


R&B vocalists right now who are even in the same league as Luther Vandross, Ron Isley or Jeffrey Os- borne.


Ron Isley


(We’re glad Isley is back out there and working again.) No female on the charts can touch Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan or Patti LaBelle.


When you’ve en-


joyed the best, like Prince and Jackie Wilson, it is difficult to get into, or in many cases even tolerate, mediocrity.


Gladys Knight The finalists on “American Idol” this


season were so boring that I couldn’t even watch. This is a far cry from outstanding singers from previous seasons like Melinda Doolittle, Bo Bice, Fantasia, Adam Lambert, David Archuleta, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood.


The problem, as is the case in society in


general, is that excellence and originality are not emphasized, or often even sought after. Which means the better acts — who have talent, creativity and originality — have a tougher time getting through.


Earth, Wind & Fire said if they were just


starting out today, they probably would not make it because they are unique, not a bland, cookie-cutter act.


A sad assessment, but a true one. ALICIA


Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys


KEYS, as you probably know, is expecting her first child and plans to tie the knot later this year. The father/future husband is music pro- ducer Swizz Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean.


He’s Iranian-American, but as they say, “he looks like he’s got some Black in him.”


Hope this is not a rebound thing for Swizz


because he was recently divorced. (His ex-wife is Black.)


Sorry to hear that


Walter Williams, the original member of the O’Jays who still shares the stage with fellow original Eddie Levert, has been fighting multiple sclerosis for a long time now.


“I am a living ex-


ample that you can live with MS with a great attitude, eating prop- erly, exercising, and talking to a health care professional to find out what is best for you regarding treatment.”


Walter Williams Williams, who has a solo album titled “Ex-


posed” available via digital retailers, is to be commended for his tenacity.


QUEEN LATIFAH sure is a fan of the


Black Eyed Peas. (So am I.) She said, “Every time you see them at an awards show, or this or that event, they are just always cool. They’re consistent too. There’s something about ‘I Gotta Feeling’ that just gets me ex- cited.”


Steve Cropper, guitarist from Booker T. & See Reflections Page D-2


THE MOTORTOWN REVUE at the Fox Theater in December of 1963. The lines were long, night and day.


THE TEMPTATIONS, from an early photo session, before Elbridge Bryant (top left) was replaced by David Ruffin.


Smokey Robinson & the Miracles


The Supremes Little Stevie Wonder The Jackson 5


M TOWN Year By Year


THE HISTORY OF By Steve Holsey T


he Motown story has been told — and this is no exaggeration — thousands of times. It is such an important part of this country’s history, and means so much to so many people, that there is always interest in the story.


However, with so much time having elapsed and so much


having been documented, there is a need for different angles along with more detailed (or new) informa- tion. David Bianco, a hard- working researcher, came through with a book that provided just that.


It’s not a new one — far


from it — but its unique approach makes “Heat


Wave: The Motown Fact Book” a timeless volume, although finding it now is very difficult.


These are high-


lights, stopping in 1972 when Motown left — some say abandoned — De- troit.


tious Berry Gordy Jr. sees the Miracles for the first time, auditioning for the manager of Jackie Wilson. It is Gordy, not the manager, who is impressed.


1957: The ambi- Berry Gordy Jr. 1958: As an independent producer and song-


writer, Gordy begins recording the Miracles, but the releases are on other labels since he has no com- pany of his own at that point. He does the same for Marv Johnson.


1959: Berry Gordy Jr. borrows money from his family’s savings fund to start


Motown Record Corporation. That is also the year Smokey Robinson of the Mira- cles marries Claudette Rogers, cousin of another Miracle, Bobby Rogers.


1960: Motown signs the Marvelettes, five high school girls from Inkster. The See Motown Page D-2


June 9-15, 2010


Mary Wells


The Marvelettes


Martha & the Vandellas


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