Weekend Breakthrough Music

 

Released a week apart in July 1962 (July 17 and 23, respectively),  Mary Wells' "You Beat Me To The Punch" and Marvin Gaye's "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" became breakthrough hits for both Motown legends.  The former was the first number 1 hit on the R&B charts for Wells (born May 13, 1943), while Gaye had his first top 10 R&B hit with the latter.  Both songs featured The Funk Brothers, who backed up nearly every Motown recording for more than a decade.  Smokey Robinson and fellow Miracle Ronald White wrote "You Beat Me To The Punch," while Gaye co- wrote "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow."  Also, Gaye played both drums and piano and had vocal backup from members of Martha and the Vandellas on the recording.  Lots of talent in those recording studios!  Hope you enjoy.

Weekend Often Forgotten Music Twofer

We're getting very high winds here in the mid- Atlantic, so we thought we'd get these up just in case power goes out.

We lost Barbara Alston, one of the original members of The Crystals, on February 16 at the age of 74. She was the lead singer on most of the earliest Crystals songs, including this often- forgotten gem from 1961 that was the group's first hit:



The late, great Mary Wells was the early "Queen of Motown," helping that label and songwriters like Smoky Robinson make a mark in the music world in the early '60's.  One of her often- forgotten gems was 1963's "Laughing Boy," a song written and produced by Robinson: