Rob Moss

The sad news that Mike (Andrew Alexander) Terry has passed on was posted up in the forums A tribute from Rob Moss has been added to the updated article below. The forum thread can be read here http://www.soul-sour...showtopic=85454 Sad news indeed. Mike Terry tribute I first met Mike in 1993. I had spoken to him by phone at his home in New Jersey but visited him in Detroit, when he moved back the same year. From the outset, he was friendly, warm, kind and helpful. With his late wife Liz, we spent many hours reminiscing about the old days at Motown and all the other Detroit studios he had worked at. It was only later that I began to realise how extensive his session work actually was. He spoke about Philly sessions with Jimmy Bishop and Jesse James, flying to New York to record, Chicago recordings on a variety of mainly Chess/Checker label artists, his sessions as a top-flight arranger throughout the country, the Pied Piper production company and the scores of songs had written. As time went on it transpired that he had played on records like ‘Ain’t nothing but a house party’, ‘The horse’, ‘Here I go again’, ‘Mr. Big Shot’, ‘Girl across the street’ and scores of others. In his quietly spoken manner, he never ever had a bad word to say about anyone he had worked with or knew— a practice that was reciprocated by everyone I met who knew him or had worked with him. The mention of his name elicited happy memories and sincere compliments. And he was the most modest man I ever met. Considering the gargantuan contribution he made to music through the thousands of songs he played on, arranged, produced or wrote he was amazingly reticent and reserved to acknowledge his genius. The most he would ever say was ‘You like that tune huh?’ He never got angry if anyone or anything went against him choosing, instead, to treat such tribulations with resigned calmness. I once asked him how he felt about not being included in the Funk Brothers movie. “Oh I’m sure they’ve got their reasons.” was all he would say. I was fortunate enough to spend several weeks with him in the summer, researching his autobiography, and saw him, quite recently, at Popcorn’s funeral (photo below). He had been very ill prior to this and had lost a lot of weight. The death of his wife in the summer had knocked his resolve but with the help of old friends Fred Bridges and Richard Knight, he became involved with the forthcoming Willie Jones album, which gave him a lot of satisfaction. Many other friends assisted his recovery and tried to keep him involved in everyday life. He will be sorely missed not only by the people and relatives who knew him, but also by the legions of fans around the world that continue to revere and enjoy his music. note from the soul source team - sorry but all Robs non-current articles are now clipped due to a future book release - watch out for news of that!

In the days before computerized information flow, most Detroit performers’ awareness of any interest in their musical output from the 1960s or 1970s, anywhere in the world, was almost non-existent. Most had given up the dream of stardom or notoriety, and had selected alternative forms of employment. To be suddenly informed by a white man with a funny accent decades later, that a song, or songs, they had recorded in their teens or early twenties and completely forgotten about, were now popular with people from a different culture, several thousand miles away, for many, was a totally confusing revelation. The conversation was almost always the same. “You say my record is a hit in the UK?” “No, but it is popular on a certain scene over there.” “Oh, so everyone has bought my record?” “No, because not many people have got it. It’s not available and difficult to find. Lots of people want it though, and will pay large amounts of money to buy it.” “So, if it’s that popular, it must be a hit right?” “No…” and so it continues until a stalemate of confusion dissolves into mutual misunderstanding. Over the years many of these same entertainers have actually visited Britain, or countries in mainland Europe, to perform, without ever really understanding the nether world of rare soul appreciation that they have entered. Many find it almost incomprehensible that people would want them to perform songs that didn’t achieve any significant sales figures or popular appeal at the time of release. By insisting on this practice however, the few truly informed and inspired promoters in UK, who have any sense or understanding, ensure that real devotees get what they want, and that we are all spared the inevitable and inferior versions of ‘Stand by me’, ‘Up on the roof ‘, ‘A change is gonna come’ and ... note from the soul source team - sorry but all Robs non-current articles are now clipped due to a future book release - watch out for news of that!