The Early Days of Motown in the 1960 Music Scene

Wonder.

Motown's most successful male group started out as street-corner doo-wop. In 1957, a teenage Otis Williams began singing with a few friends, including Elbridge Bryant. Two years later (1959), Melvin Franklin was invited to join. The group then went through several name changes, first as the Elegants, then the Questions,(?) and then the Distants.

Later in 1959, on the advice of local Detroit promoter Milton Jenkins, the group added Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams and renamed themselves The Primes. In 1960, while performing at a local club, Williams met Gordy between sets. Gordy liked the group and signed them to Motown by Dec. 1960. Now renamed The Temptations, the group began recording from 1960 to 1964, but had no breakout or major hits (just like their former "sister" group, the Primettes, now Supremes!) Their best of their early clunkers was "I Want A Love I Can Feel".

Later, David Ruffin replaced Elbridge Bryant and Gordy reshaped the group's image and sound. The classic lineup was now in place; the classic Temptation sound was set to "get ready".

The Four Tops also started as a doo-wop group. Levi Stubbs(Jr.), Renaldo Benson, Lawrence Payton, and Abdul Fakir grew up together in Detroit. In 1954, they also banded together as The Four Aims, recording on various labels with no success. Gordy signed the group in 1963, paired them with Holland-Dozier-Holland (the legendary songwriting team who joined forces, and Motown, in 1962), and the results were sheer magic.

And of course, there was the in-house band, particularly the rhythm section, known as The Funk Brothers, which consisted of pianist Earl Van Dyke, drummer Benny Benjamin, and bassist James Jamerson.

Marvin Gaye was signed to Motown in 1961. The former Moonglows member (remember or ever heard the original version of "Sincerely"? Harvey Fuqua was the lead singer, but if you listen carefully, you can hear Gaye's voice in the background. Fuqua later joined Motown's administrative staff.  He also co-wrote a few songs and married a Gordy sister.) became known as the "Prince Of Motown" for his great voice and good looks.

But Gaye was so much more. He was musically gifted, playing several instruments, including piano and drums, and co-wrote "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow", "Hitch Hike", and "Pride And Joy." Unfortunately,

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