Post by Emerald City on Jun 5, 2006 19:12:20 GMT -5
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Motown star appreciates his second taste of success
July 28, 1989
BY NICHOLE CHRISTIAN
Free Press Staff Write
Sylvester Potts believes good things come to those who wait. It's been his credo for years.
Finally his patience is being rewarded.
Potts is one of two original members of the legendary Motown group the Contours. Joe Billingslea, the group's founder, also still performs with the group.
After nearly two decades out of the spotlight, Potts says, the trek back to stardom has been long and trying.
In the late '50s and the '60s the Contours held the charts with hits like "Do You Love Me," "Shake Sherry," and "First I Look at the Purse."
But when the '60s ushered in the the '70s, the Contours, like many Motown legends, lost their popularity.
The group, which now includes Darrel Nunlee, Charles Davis and Arthur Hinson, spent most of the '70s and the early part of the '80s playing weekend gigs in the Midwest and the South, wondering if the spotlight would ever shine their way again. They promised themselves that if they were granted a second taste of fame, they would savor it.
By the early '80s, "a lot of the older groups were coming back, Ben E. King, Little Richard," says Potts. "It was just a matter of time before we did, too. We wanted to let people know that the Contours were still around." The group was working toward new recordings. But their break came when the blockbuster film "Dirty Dancing," which featured "Do You Love Me?," reminded the world of the Contours.
The film's success at the box office led to the Dirty Dancing Concert Tour, which featured the Contours, as well as Bill Medley, Eric Carmen and Merry Clayton. (The tour played Detroit in June 1988.)
"A whole new generation is seeing us, while their parents are getting the chance to see us all over again," Potts says. " A lot of kids think we're a new group."
On July 20, the Contours were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Walk of Fame outside Royal Oak's Metropolitan Musicafe.
"Things are just happening for us," says Potts. "It's very gratifying and very touching to be recognized after all these years."
The group is also headed back into the studio with Ian Levine, the British record producer who's trying to recreate the Motown sound with Mary Wells, Martha Reeves and Rare Earth.
"We're cutting a brand new song, "This Old Heart of Mine," and a new version of 'First I Look at the Purse,' " says Potts.
Though Potts acknowledges the changes in music since the days when the Motown sound reigned, he says those changes won't stop the Contours from climbing back on top.
"Music is a lot different now. There is more technology to work with. We used real instruments, strings and horns. There was no computerized sound back then," says Potts. "We're not going to change our sound, but we are going to try and keep up with the times.
"Our sound will never die," says Potts.
Motown star appreciates his second taste of success
July 28, 1989
BY NICHOLE CHRISTIAN
Free Press Staff Write
Sylvester Potts believes good things come to those who wait. It's been his credo for years.
Finally his patience is being rewarded.
Potts is one of two original members of the legendary Motown group the Contours. Joe Billingslea, the group's founder, also still performs with the group.
After nearly two decades out of the spotlight, Potts says, the trek back to stardom has been long and trying.
In the late '50s and the '60s the Contours held the charts with hits like "Do You Love Me," "Shake Sherry," and "First I Look at the Purse."
But when the '60s ushered in the the '70s, the Contours, like many Motown legends, lost their popularity.
The group, which now includes Darrel Nunlee, Charles Davis and Arthur Hinson, spent most of the '70s and the early part of the '80s playing weekend gigs in the Midwest and the South, wondering if the spotlight would ever shine their way again. They promised themselves that if they were granted a second taste of fame, they would savor it.
By the early '80s, "a lot of the older groups were coming back, Ben E. King, Little Richard," says Potts. "It was just a matter of time before we did, too. We wanted to let people know that the Contours were still around." The group was working toward new recordings. But their break came when the blockbuster film "Dirty Dancing," which featured "Do You Love Me?," reminded the world of the Contours.
The film's success at the box office led to the Dirty Dancing Concert Tour, which featured the Contours, as well as Bill Medley, Eric Carmen and Merry Clayton. (The tour played Detroit in June 1988.)
"A whole new generation is seeing us, while their parents are getting the chance to see us all over again," Potts says. " A lot of kids think we're a new group."
On July 20, the Contours were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Walk of Fame outside Royal Oak's Metropolitan Musicafe.
"Things are just happening for us," says Potts. "It's very gratifying and very touching to be recognized after all these years."
The group is also headed back into the studio with Ian Levine, the British record producer who's trying to recreate the Motown sound with Mary Wells, Martha Reeves and Rare Earth.
"We're cutting a brand new song, "This Old Heart of Mine," and a new version of 'First I Look at the Purse,' " says Potts.
Though Potts acknowledges the changes in music since the days when the Motown sound reigned, he says those changes won't stop the Contours from climbing back on top.
"Music is a lot different now. There is more technology to work with. We used real instruments, strings and horns. There was no computerized sound back then," says Potts. "We're not going to change our sound, but we are going to try and keep up with the times.
"Our sound will never die," says Potts.