“In Detroit! We got on that bus at 2648 West Grand Boulevard and started riding. We were all discovered, put together, and united in Hitsville U.S.A.. Berry Gordy [Motown founder] – thank you.”
The answer we were looking for was the first date of the tour which was Washington DC, but technically, you’re CORRECT.
Parts of it sound terrifying. When touring the Deep South, the Motown Revue played to segregated audiences and sometimes were chased by racists wielding shotguns.
“We’d pick bullets out of the headboard of the bus, but there’s fear in everything you do. We went through dangers on our travels, but the Motown Sound was on a mission to spread love.”
Apparently the young Stevie Wonder was a prankster. Did he ever pull any tricks on you?
“All the time! At the Fox Theatre [in Detroit], he had wandered into the girls’ restroom. When I saw him at the door, I said, ‘Stevie, what are you doing here?’. He replied, ‘Don’t mind me, I’m just a little blind boy!’. He made a joke of it, but I caught him trying to get into the girls’ bathroom. He’d play intelligent pranks on you. He’d whisper to people, ‘Who’s coming?’ or ‘What is she wearing?’ and when you walked past him, he’d say, ‘Hey Martha, that’s a lovely red dress you’ve got on!’. You’d go, ‘What?! How did you do that?!’”
“On one occasion, a girl was smoking a cigarette and her afro caught fire. Stevie Wonder was the only one who knew how to take a coat and put her hair out. How did that happen? See, he’s a master. He’s a genius. He’s aware of things we aren’t. We don’t sense it. But I’ve seen him disagree with somebody and slap him right in the mouth! He knows where your mouth is! [Laughs]”
“When he came into the [Hitsville U.S.A., home of Motown] studio when I was the A&R secretary, he was under my care and authority. Whatever Stevie had to do, I would oversee it. I was the one to tell him ‘go over there’. But he knew where that candy machine was! People would leave money on top of it for him, and he knew what candy he wanted to choose in that vending machine. I had to stop him lots of times from eating too much of it! [Laughs]. Whenever he came after school, they would work Stevie and it was always fun to around him. I’d frequently drive him back home afterwards. We got good history.”
“I bragged that I could out-dance David BowIe and Mick Jagger! I know how to throw down!”
When the Motown Revue arrived in the UK in 1965, you famously recorded a Sound of Motown TV special hosted by your friend Dusty Springfield. What are your memories of her?
“I was introduced to her at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre, and she was there with her manager. She was upset because he’d left her there and she didn’t know anyone. At the time, she was rebelling. She went and bought some china from a second-hand shop in the neighbourhood. She said that when the British are upset, they’d throw dishes at the wall! I was pushed into the room to see what was wrong with her. I’m protesting, ‘What? I’m not a psychiatrist!’. But I went in and immediately threw something too. It looked like fun! We sorted out her problem and were friends forever.”
“She was one of the first people I played ‘Dancing In The Street’ to. I had a reel-to-reel tape recorder, and I showed her the demo in the dressing room.”
