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Alongside his fellow Funk Brothers, he helped weave the very fabric of Tamla Motown’s imposing and infectious sound.
A Bob Dylan cover landed the folk heroes on TV and in the UK singles chart.
We celebrate the iconic recording studios – Sun, Motown, Abbey Road – that have become almost as famous as the musicians who have recorded there.
You’ll find answer records in all walks of music. Some are aggressive, some motivated by a sense of injustice, and others show contempt through wit.
Being ahead of their time, too offbeat for mass consumption, or through plain old bad luck – some artists became wildly influential without becoming household names.
Released on 16 March 1976, Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You’ was a deeply personal album that laid the blueprint for the R&B and neo soul stars of the 90s and 00s.
On 27 February 1965, Martha & the Vandellas added their entry to Motown's list of greats that year, as they entered the Hot 100 with 'Nowhere To Run.'
On Smokey Robinson’s 18th birthday, 19 February 1958, his first single with the Miracles was released, and a great career began with an answer record.
‘Shop Around’ by the Miracles was a vital part of the early development of Motown, and on 12 February 1961, it became their first million-seller.
If you’re a key member of a successful band, the solo bug will bite. Here we salute some of the most notable artists who found life after the band.
When Isaac Hayes and David Porter wrote 'You Don't Know What I Know,' Sam & Dave made it into soul dynamite, entering the R&B chart on 1 January 1966.
‘I’ve Passed This Way Before,’ the follow-up to ‘What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted,’ entered Billboard’s R&B chart of Christmas Eve 1966 for Jimmy Ruffin.
After Motown UK's issue of 'Tears Of A Clown' led it to No. 1, the US release took Smokey Robinson & the Miracles to the Hot 100 summit on 12 December 1970.
On 11 December 1965, the Temptations scored the second in an incredible sequence of ten consecutive No. 1 R&B albums with Temptin' Temptations.
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles topped the US R&B album chart only twice, the second time on 7 December 1968 with Special Occasion.