They did provide Gladys Knight with “The Nitty Gritty,” which she performed with the emphasis on the gritty part. Yessir!įew of their songs were done by women. “War” was a paradox, an anti-war song that sounds like precise and martial, like a military drill at boot camp - Sergeant Edwin Starr, the drillmaster for peace. They were the cut from the same cloth, tough as nails, and not shy about proclaiming it, custom made for the stable of alpha dogs at Motown. Strong’s songs were as close to the Philly sound as Motown ever got. “Can’t Get Next To You,” “War,” and one I’m surprised to find out wasn’t by the O’Jays, “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” It was performed by a group called The Undisputed Truth. Much of their material gives virility a good name, no mean feat nowadays. It glides past like a fluffy cloud on a summer day. They were lucky to have Eddie Kendrick’s shimmering falsetto delivering it, of course, but the beauty had been gently folded into it before it was recorded by one of Motown’s primo bands in their prime. The cherry on that musical sundae has to be the heavenly “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me”) My God, what can you say about that one? Everytime I hear it I’m struck by how absolutely perfect it is. They did some of their best work with The Temptations, supplying them showstoppers like “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Ball Of Confusion,” two massive hits that were as inventive as they were popular. The Whitfield/Strong team must have written the book on how to do just that. Think of it as benign manipulation, a massage of the brain cells. In the pursuit of the unforgettable, songwriters use every trick in the book to create songs you recognize instantly and become a permanent part of your life. If I’d been a Rolling Stone staffer, I would’ve lobbied hard to have Gladys share the honors. The same song on the charts twice (thrice if you count Creedence Clearwater Revival’s swampy take), that’s quite an accomplishment. We all know there was another great version by Gladys Knight And The Pips, that came out before Gaye’s masterful interpretation. Rolling Stone (a magazine that doesn’t mind assigning numbers to songs), gave the duo’s creation “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” as performed by Marvin Gaye, the first spot on its list of 500 greatest songs. Barrett found he liked being a writer more than a performer and when he teamed up with Whitfield they stepped up to the plate and knocked quite a few out of the park. It was so big and successful his manager Berry Gordy used his share of the profits from it to launch Motown. Strong, was an instant smash, and went straight into every rock band’s set list. That got America listening, but it wasn’t necessary with “Money.” That song, in an unbeatable performance by Mr. Early on, they made a habit of sending the music of Black America back home with a slight British accent. Of course The Beatles covered it, they knew from good songs. It all starts with “Money,” a song so badass and funny everyone wanted to play it.
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