The Originals (group)
The Originals | |
|---|---|
| Clockwise from left: C. P. Spencer, Hank Dixon, Walter Gaines and Freddie Gorman (c. 1968) Clockwise from left: C. P. Spencer, Hank Dixon, Walter Gaines and Freddie Gorman (c. 1968) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | R&B, soul, disco |
| Years active | 1966–1982, 1989–present |
| Labels | Soul (Motown) |
| Members | Hank Dixon Dillon Gorman Terrie Dixon Defrantz Forrest |
| Past members | Freddie Gorman Walter Gaines Ty Hunter C. P. Spencer Joe Stubbs |
The Originals, often called "Motown's best-kept secret",[1] were a successful Motown R&B and soul group during the late 1960s and the 1970s, most notable for the hits "Baby, I'm For Real", "The Bells" and the disco classic "Down To Love Town". Formed in 1966, the group originally consisted of bass singer Freddie Gorman, baritone (and the group's founder) Walter Gaines, and tenors C. P. Spencer and Hank Dixon (and briefly Joe Stubbs). Ty Hunter replaced Spencer when he left to go solo in the early 1970s. They had all previously sung in other Detroit groups, Spencer having been an original member of the (Detroit) Spinners and Hunter having sung with the Supremes member Scherrie Payne in the group Glass House. Spencer, Gaines, Hunter, and Dixon (at one time or another) were also members of the Voice Masters. As a member of the Holland–Dozier–Gorman writing-production team (before Holland–Dozier–Holland), Gorman (as a mailman) was one of the co-writers of Motown's first number 1 pop hit "Please Mr. Postman", recorded by the Marvelettes. In 1964, the Beatles released their version. In 1975, the Carpenters took it to number 1 again. This was the second time in pop history that a song had reached number 1 twice. "The Twist" by Chubby Checker, reached number 1 in 1960 and 1961. In 2006, "Please Mr. Postman" was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
History
The group found modest success in the latter half of the 1960s, often working as background singers for recordings by artists such as Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", Stevie Wonder' "For Once in My Life" and "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday", David Ruffin's "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)", Marvin Gaye's "Chained" and "Just to Keep You Satisfied", Edwin Starr's "War" and "25 Miles", and many more.
The Originals recorded lots of their own material for Motown but saw only one single release before 1969. "Goodnight Irene" was released in 1966, backed with "Need Your Lovin'", but failed to chart. They recorded the song "Suspicion" in 1965 but it was never released as a single. It has, despite this, become a Northern Soul classic. The track has since been featured on many of their compilation albums, and many Northern Soul compilations. The group saw the release of two more singles, "We've Got A Way Out Of Love" and "Green Grow The Lilacs" that failed to chart in 1969.
The Originals found their biggest commercial success under the guidance of Marvin Gaye, who co-wrote and produced two of the group's biggest singles, "Baby, I'm For Real" (1969) and "The Bells" (1970). This latter disc sold more than one million copies and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A..[2]Both songs became seminal soul music recordings, and both songs have since been covered: 1990s R&B group After 7 re-recorded "Baby, I'm For Real" and made it a hit again in 1992, while another 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd re-recorded "The Bells" for one of their albums.
The release of Originals singles remained constant throughout the early 1970s, also chartings proved lower and more sporadic. 1970 saw two album releases, and four singles, all of which were Top 20 R&B Hits. Chartings then became less frequent, with only two appearances on the US charts between 1971 and 1975. The group nevertheless recorded enough material for several album releases, and a total of 8 albums were released during their tenure at Motown.
The group went on to have more modest success in both the soul and disco fields near the end of the decade, including "Down To Love Town", a number 1 dance chart hit. Nevertheless, the songs they made with Marvin Gaye are arguably their most memorable and notable. Spencer returned briefly in the late 1970s but after the death of Ty Hunter, on February 24, 1981, the group ceased recording and broke up about a year later. The group had left Motown in 1977, releasing two albums for Columbia and their last ever album for the independent label Phase II. They later recorded for Ian Levine's Motorcity Records and released one single, "Take The Only Way Out".
Joe Stubbs, brother of Four Tops lead Levi Stubbs, died on February 5, 1998. He had been with the group for about six months in the mid-1960s, as well as been a member of the Falcons, the Contours and 100 Proof (Aged In Soul). C. P. Spencer died on October 20, 2004, and group's spokesman Freddie Gorman followed on June 13, 2006.[3] Walter Gaines died January 17, 2012, after a long illness.[4] Dixon is now the only surviving, and active, founding member of the original group.
Reformation
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Following the death of Freddie Gorman in 2006, longtime member Hank Dixon and Hank's daughter Terrie Dixon reformed The Originals as a live touring act, with Freddie's son songwriter and producer Dillon F. Gorman, plus the son of Gene Chandler, Defrantz Forrest, to complete the line-up.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] |
US R&B [5] | |||||
| 1969 | Green Grow the Lilacs [A] | 174 | 18 | Soul | ||
| 1970 | Portrait of the Originals | 198 | 47 | |||
| Naturally Together | — | 44 | ||||
| 1972 | Def·i·ni·tions | — | — | |||
| 1974 | Game Called Love | — | — | |||
| 1975 | California Sunset | — | 51 | Motown | ||
| 1976 | Communique | — | — | Soul | ||
| 1977 | Down to Love Town | — | — | |||
| 1978 | Another Time, Another Place | — | — | Fantasy | ||
| 1979 | Come Away with Me | — | — | |||
| 1981 | Yesterday and Today | — | — | Phase II | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
- A Album was later reissued as Baby, I'm for Real
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | USR&B | |||||
| 1990 | Baby, I'm for Real | — | — | Motown | ||
| 1999 | The Very Best of the Originals | — | — | |||
| 2002 | The Essential Collection | — | — | Spectrum | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] |
US R&B [6] |
US Dance [6] | |||||
| 1967 | "Good Night Irene" | — | — | — | |||
| 1969 | "We've Got a Way Out of Love" | — | — | — | |||
| "Green Grow the Lilacs" | — | — | — | ||||
| "Baby, I'm for Real" | 14 | 1 | — | ||||
| 1970 | "The Bells" | 12 | 4 | — | |||
| "We Can Make It Baby" (A-side) | 74 | 20 | — | ||||
| "I Like Your Style" (B-side) | — | 20 | — | ||||
| "God Bless Whoever Sent You" | 53 | 14 | — | ||||
| 1971 | "Keep Me" | — | — | — | |||
| 1972 | "I'm Someone Who Cares" | 113 | — | — | |||
| 1973 | "Be My Love" | — | — | — | |||
| "There's a Chance When You Love You'll Lose" | — | — | — | ||||
| 1974 | "Supernatural Voodoo Woman (Part 1)" | — | — | — | |||
| "Game Called Love" | — | — | — | ||||
| "You're My Only World" | — | — | — | ||||
| 1975 | "Good Lovin' Is Just a Dime Away" | — | 53 | — | |||
| "Fifty Years" | — | — | — | ||||
| "Everybody's Got to Do Something" | — | — | — | ||||
| 1976 | "Touch" | — | — | — | |||
| "Down to Love Town" | 47 | 93 | 1 | ||||
| 1977 | "Call on Your Six-Million Dollar Man" | — | — | 6 | |||
| 1978 | "Temporarily Out of Order" | — | — | — | |||
| 1979 | "Blue Moon" | — | — | — | |||
| "J-E-A-L-O-U-S (Means I Love You)" | — | — | — | ||||
| 1981 | "Waitin' on a Letter"/"Mr. Postman" (medley) | — | 74 | — | |||
| 1982 | "Baby, I'm for Real - '82" (feat. Hank Dixon) | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | |||||||
As background vocalists
- 1966: "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" (Jimmy Ruffin; Soul)
- 1968: "Twenty-Five Miles" (Edwin Starr; Gordy)
- 1968: "Does Your Mama Know About Me" (Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers; Gordy)
- 1968: "Malinda" (Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers; Gordy)
- 1968: "For Once in My Life" (Stevie Wonder; Tamla)
- 1968: "Chained" (Marvin Gaye; Tamla)
- 1969: "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" (Stevie Wonder; Tamla)
- 1969: "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" (David Ruffin; Motown)
- 1969: "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" (Jr. Walker; Soul)
- 1970: "War" (Edwin Star; Gordy)
- 1973: "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (from the album "Let's Get It On"; Marvin Gaye; Tamla)
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
References
- ^ "THE ORIGINALS - ESSENTIAL COLLECTION". www.modculture.com. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 284. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "The Originals". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ a b "The Originals US albums chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "The Originals US singles chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
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External links
- The Originals on Discogs
- The Originals on SoulExpress
- The Originals at SoulTracks
- The Originals at Yahoo! Music
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