What happened between Berry Gordy & Jackie Wilson - does anyone really know?

What would have happened to his singing career and what Motown releases would have been destined for him?

Quite interesting subject really I feel. What do you all think.

Cheers........... Becket of Banbury.

  On 12/10/2020 at 17:30, Chris Beachley said:

I closed the store in Charlotte after 45 years - many visits from UK guys.  Had many items in quantity such as Lenny Curtis (only to find out 40 years later that it was Wilbert Harrison's brother Jimmy who lives in Charlotte)

To answer second question, while college kids are getting into vinyl, the Record Day crap is what they are primarily interested in.  Beach Music is still popular - 45's usually go to people with juke boxes - LP's by local artists are on the rise.

I put out a list almost monthly - you can get it waxmuseum@mindspring.com

I still have a lot of stuff left, so if you come to Myrtle Beach area.... come see me

Beach's Music & Memories

 

  On 12/10/2020 at 09:58, Shinehead said:

I have read the book and it is a eye-opening .

As for Motown as stated earlier his body of music he created  was great and his voice blended with the great songwriting , great production and greats finished records I do not think his legacy music wise would have been any better at Motown.

It depends on your taste in music.  I hated the pop-style and operatic music and songs Jackie got from Brunswick from the time Gordy left Jackie's team all the way until "Whispers".  There were maybe 3-4 songs I liked that they gave Jackie during that period (which to me was wasted) - "Am I The Man" (and that was written by Al Hamilton, and given a Detroit arranged demo for Brunswick's New York Pop Orchestra to "copy"), and a few songs written by Detroit friends of Jackie's. Otherwise, for me, the whole period was wasted.  I'm not saying that his Brunswick production with Carl Davis was no good, I bought it all and love it.  Jackie may not have stayed with Motown past 1966 or so, anyway, and could have got together with Carl Davis, when he would have wanted to leave Motown anyway.  But, Jackie was a Detroiter and early Berry Gordy friend, so he would have been treated as one of the best there from the start.  

I'm just saying I'd have liked to see him go to Motown in 1961, when his Brunswick contract was up, and stayed there until 1966, and then joined Carl Davis' gang - outside of Brunswick, as Mary Wells, Barrett Strong, and Sonny Sanders did.  Jackie would have gotten good material all through 1961-65, and that era is more of my favourite sound than 1967-74.   And maybe with less stress, he might have lived several more, or many more years. 

I would have to agree completely. His Brunswick work pre "Whispers" doesn't do much for me at all. One of his strangest albums was "You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet" the track listing says it all - 

 

 

Bad grammar and spelling!  Side 1 #6 should read "Meine Jiddische Mama"-  מין יידישע מאמע

                            

Edited October 12, 20204 yr by Robbk