TAMLA RECORDS
45 Record Label Designs: Marvin Gaye was almost exclusively on the Tamla label but low and behold look at this. Ironically the year is 1968 and this was during Marvin’s hit-making tenure with the late Tammi Terrell.
I have never heard this song but I’m sure it’s incredible. Part of Berry’s genius was to keep things interesting by switching things up every now and then, that included recording the same single with several groups before he decided who would release the song (You can find some AMAZING MOTOWN history on YouTube with original versions of songs and other MOTOWN acts performing their versions of songs before they were released.
I was on there one day and actually found a version of “I Want You Back” by David Ruffin. With all DUE respect to the late David Ruffin, he sang it but Michael Jackson KILLED it. Berry certainly made the right call on that one.
I also managed to come across a much more gospel-tinged version of the 70s Supremes smash “Up the Ladder to the Roof” which I thought was better than the release. Why Berry switched labels on certain artists baffles me a bit, perhaps he was testing out his ability to brand but you just got used to seeing certain names on certain records and I preferred it that way.
45 Record Label Designs: I was not too crazy about this label, it lacks creativity and it’s not as spectacular as the other Gordy labels. What do you think? Were you one of those people who used to write your name on records?
SOUL RECORDS
I remember Gladys Knight and the Pips were on this label when they were on Motown as well as The Originals with their smash hit “Baby, I’m For Real.” Why did people do that? Did people take 45s back then? I never had that problem. I loved the way Berry let several acts on the label record songs to see who did it best. You can find a lot of these songs on Youtube. The only reason I can surmise Smokey Robinson released “Who’s Loving You” was because Michael Jackson wasn’t born yet. While it’s rare that the second version is better than the first this one is a no brainer. Jackson at the time was a child and he killed it leaving Smoke’s version gathering dust.
GORDY RECORDS
45 Record Label Designs: You know, I did not know The Contours recorded for Motown. I remember this interesting label the most from the parties I DJd because The Temptations “Beauty’s Only Skin Deep” was on this label. That was one of my favorite songs. If I’m not mistaken Berry wrapped this label in the early 70s. I don’t recall any other groups on it… do you? Feel free to comment. A lot of this stuff was actually before my time.
PEOPLE RECORDS
James Brown was not only a spectacular entertainer, but he was also a brilliant and savvy businessman who wanted to own as much of his work as possible. Ironically his death on Christmas Day in 2006 is almost identical to rapper Heavy D’s recent death. Brown had returned from a trip to Europe and had contacted Pneumonia while there and he died of congestive heart failure in Atlanta on Christmas Day.
The People label was an imprint that Brown took to Polydor as part of the deal and the label had some of his biggest hits with Fred Wesley and the JBs, Lynn Collins and others. The label was very interesting because of the “People” on the label. That was very rare for a label to see actual people on it and the purple background was also interesting.
BRUNSWICK RECORDS
45 Record Label Designs: When I was a kid DJ’ing parties I remember Barbara Acklin’s “Love Makes a Woman” was on this label and the floor would get packed really quickly. That was a great song especially the horns. Someone once told me that Brunswick later turned into MCA which was one of the LEAST attractive label designs. This design had great color coordination against a black background. If I’m not mistaken the Chi Lites were also on this label.
CAPITOL RECORDS
45 Record Label Designs: The label with the most famous building in the world Capitol Records (now Capitol Music Group) repeatedly redesigned the label but I have to say this one was the most eye-catching. It didn’t last long but. I keep hearing the famous Capitol building in Hollywood is supposed to be converted to condos. What a waste. I’ll have a part two coming at the end of the week with more labels, stay tuned…
The GORDY label lasted up until the early 90’s I believe, but definitely throughout the 80’s as Rick James, Teena Marie, Switch, Debarge, and many other lesser known artists continued to release products on the GORDY label during their tenure on Motown.