"Motown Deep Cuts: Motown EPs" "The Velvelettes Ain't No Place Like Motown" and 3 others"
""Back in the day, you could purchase an EP, or "Extended Play," which usually gave you on average four songs on a record the size of a 45 (the small records with the big hole in the middle!) There were plenty of Motown EPs to chose from, many with artwork that looked like you were buying a miniature album. This is not one of the official Motown EPs of the day, but in the same spirit of the medium, here are four songs by The Velvelettes for your listening pleasure. (R.I.P. Bertha Barbee)
1. "Everybody Needs Love" (Norman Whitfield-Edward Holland Jr)
The Velvelettes; recorded Hitsville, completed 05-Apr-66 ; produced by Norman Whitfield. In classic Motown fashion, this song was covered several times- the Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Mary Wells. Norman took yet another go at the song, recording it with the Velvelettes. Then, about three weeks later, new-to-Motown Gladys Knight & The Pips recorded the song using the same backing track the Velvelettes used. Motown's Quality Control gave the nod to Gladys's version for release as a single.
2. 3:20 "He's The One" (Ivy Jo Hunter-Curtis Colbert-William Stevenson) published Jobete 01-Nov-67 alt title: When I Hear His Name
The Velvelettes; recorded Hitsville, completed 31-Mar-66 ; produced by Ivy Jo Hunter. What a great, but totally wasted effort. Makes you wonder how the writers felt about songs this good not getting released. Someone once posed the Alternate Universe scenario of Motown splitting off some of their artists and writers who weren't getting a lot of attention and starting up a completely separate record company to focus exclusively on them. I know a LOT of record companies would have given everything for records even half as good as this one.
3. 6:16 "Something's Happening" (William Robinson-Warren Moore) published Jobete 15-Jun-67. The Velvelettes; recorded Hitsville, completed 10-May-66 ; produced by Smokey Robinson, Warren Moore. This is a rare Smokey Robinson creation that doesn't feature a lot of his signature word play. It's pretty straightforward yet possesses a rather uniquely quiet charm. The song is a perfect fit for lead singer Cal Street, anchored by a bouncy, One/Two Cha-Cha-Cha beat. This is why Motown was successful- Berry Gordy encouraged his writers to experiment, creating progressive music.
4. 8:42 "Ain't No Place Like Motown" (Rick Witte) published Jobete 01-Mar-66
The Velvelettes; recorded Hitsville, completed 28-Dec-65 ; produced by Rick Witte. LOTS of interesting stuff here. Rick Witte was a Motown artist, writer and producer who was the "RIck" of Motown's folk group, Rick, Robin & Him. Witte did quite a few things at Motown, but not much was released. He has a couple of songs on the digital-only release Motown Unreleased 1967. I really doubt this song was ever meant for public consumption, and yet, it would be great to learn the story of why "Ain't No Place Like Motown" exists. Was it used as a company motivational tool? If so, EVERY company needs a song this good.
all info from the site "Don't Forget The Motor City" http://www.dftmc.info/""
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