Post by Motorcity on Oct 23, 2008 22:31:28 GMT -5
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Relatives, friends gather for tribute to Motown legend
Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
Today at 10 a.m. in Los Angeles friends, relatives and his Motown family will gather at a public memorial service for famed Motown Records producer Norman Whitfield at Angelus Funeral Home on Crenshaw Boulevard. Whitfield died Sept. 16 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. from complications of diabetes, at age 67.
During his tenure in Detroit at Motown, Whitfield was responsible for a string of hits for the Temptations and Edwin Starr, including "War" for Starr, and "Cloud Nine," "Ball of Confusion" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" for the Temptations. But he was more than a hit-making songwriter and producer.
Whitfield pioneered a whole new sound at Motown Records in the late '60s, the "psychedelic soul" that transformed Motown from an oasis of dreamy, romantic pop into a fresher, grittier sound that reflected the times.
That those songs still sound current 40 years later is a testament to Whitfield's gift. Dennis Edwards, who was brought in to sing lead for the Temptations when David Ruffin left the group, spoke to The Detroit News in 2003 about those songs.
"'Ball of Confusion,' and 'Stop the War,' if those songs don't go with the times (today), I don't know what does," Edwards said. "It is amazing and a tribute to Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong that those songs still sound new."
Whitfield started out writing in the Motown tradition of soulful but intensely romantic music, including, for the Temptations: "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Beauty's Only Skin Deep" and "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need," all co-written with Eddie Holland.
Motown's Studio B (formerly Golden World) on Davison was the site of a nightly, free-floating creative workshop run by bassist James Jamerson. That workshop was where young guitarist Dennis Coffey developed some of his signature riffs.
"One day, Norman showed up with this song called 'Cloud Nine,' " Coffey says. "I brought out my wah wah pedal to use on the song. When Norman heard it, he said, 'That's what I am looking for.' Within two weeks, I was at Hitsville recording 'Cloud Nine' for the Temptations.
"Norman was a hands-on producer. He would be in the studio on the floor of the 'Snakepit' counting off the songs and giving us breakdown cues. When I would come into the studio, Norman would say, 'What new toys do you have for me today?' He always wanted to try new things."
Between Coffey's ominous, opening wah wah guitar riff, Edwards' gritty voice and the Temptations' spot-on backing vocals -- "The childhood part of my life wasn't very pretty, see ... I was born and raised in the slums of the city ..." -- "Cloud Nine" hit big and won the Temptations their first Grammy.
Whitfield's creative drive was appreciated by performers, but he also drove them hard, making Marvin Gaye strain to sing at the top of his range in "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," achieving a plaintive quality but enraging Gaye.
The opening line of the Tempts' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," with its reference to "the third of September ... the day my daddy died," made singer Edwards steam; that was the day that his own father had died. But Whitfield got what he wanted, a seething, powerful vocal and a timeless classic.
You can reach Susan Whitall at (313) 222-2156 or swhitall@det news.com.
Find this article at:
www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/ENT04/809270392
Relatives, friends gather for tribute to Motown legend
Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
Today at 10 a.m. in Los Angeles friends, relatives and his Motown family will gather at a public memorial service for famed Motown Records producer Norman Whitfield at Angelus Funeral Home on Crenshaw Boulevard. Whitfield died Sept. 16 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. from complications of diabetes, at age 67.
During his tenure in Detroit at Motown, Whitfield was responsible for a string of hits for the Temptations and Edwin Starr, including "War" for Starr, and "Cloud Nine," "Ball of Confusion" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" for the Temptations. But he was more than a hit-making songwriter and producer.
Whitfield pioneered a whole new sound at Motown Records in the late '60s, the "psychedelic soul" that transformed Motown from an oasis of dreamy, romantic pop into a fresher, grittier sound that reflected the times.
That those songs still sound current 40 years later is a testament to Whitfield's gift. Dennis Edwards, who was brought in to sing lead for the Temptations when David Ruffin left the group, spoke to The Detroit News in 2003 about those songs.
"'Ball of Confusion,' and 'Stop the War,' if those songs don't go with the times (today), I don't know what does," Edwards said. "It is amazing and a tribute to Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong that those songs still sound new."
Whitfield started out writing in the Motown tradition of soulful but intensely romantic music, including, for the Temptations: "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Beauty's Only Skin Deep" and "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need," all co-written with Eddie Holland.
Motown's Studio B (formerly Golden World) on Davison was the site of a nightly, free-floating creative workshop run by bassist James Jamerson. That workshop was where young guitarist Dennis Coffey developed some of his signature riffs.
"One day, Norman showed up with this song called 'Cloud Nine,' " Coffey says. "I brought out my wah wah pedal to use on the song. When Norman heard it, he said, 'That's what I am looking for.' Within two weeks, I was at Hitsville recording 'Cloud Nine' for the Temptations.
"Norman was a hands-on producer. He would be in the studio on the floor of the 'Snakepit' counting off the songs and giving us breakdown cues. When I would come into the studio, Norman would say, 'What new toys do you have for me today?' He always wanted to try new things."
Between Coffey's ominous, opening wah wah guitar riff, Edwards' gritty voice and the Temptations' spot-on backing vocals -- "The childhood part of my life wasn't very pretty, see ... I was born and raised in the slums of the city ..." -- "Cloud Nine" hit big and won the Temptations their first Grammy.
Whitfield's creative drive was appreciated by performers, but he also drove them hard, making Marvin Gaye strain to sing at the top of his range in "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," achieving a plaintive quality but enraging Gaye.
The opening line of the Tempts' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," with its reference to "the third of September ... the day my daddy died," made singer Edwards steam; that was the day that his own father had died. But Whitfield got what he wanted, a seething, powerful vocal and a timeless classic.
You can reach Susan Whitall at (313) 222-2156 or swhitall@det news.com.
Find this article at:
www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/ENT04/809270392