Motown's Top 10 Tragedies

BUT TALENT ASSURES THE LEGACY

Just a few doors down from Motown Records on West Grand Boulevard stood the James H. Cole funeral home. One night, 50 summers ago, mourners queued around the block, reflecting and respecting. Within the space of four hours, an estimated 2,500 people had filed by a casket inside the home.

It was Paul Williams who drew the crowds that warm, melancholy night, just as he and his fellow Temptations had done many times before, on happier occasions. This one was his funeral, following the singer’s shocking death on August 17, 1973.

***Paul Williams: ‘our pillar of strength’***

Such anniversaries of Hitsville’s famous (and near-forgotten) citizens seem to fall due almost every day. This past Wednesday, July 26, marked 31 years since the passing of Mary Wells, aged 49. Two days earlier, it was the 58th anniversary of the death of Loucye Wakefield, the sibling of Berry Gordy who played such a vital role in the company’s early development; she was 40.

So this edition of West Grand Blog is devoted to those who left too soon, from Tammi Terrell to Shorty Long, from Florence Ballard to James Jamerson. In some ways, premature passing in the music world can put tragedy above talent – but these individuals had no shortage of the latter. It is, for example, What’s Going On which is assuring the long-term legacy of Marvin Gaye, not his murder by his father.

That said, the tragedy rating is more difficult to avoid when a death is self-inflicted, whether by actual suicide (as in Paul Williams’ case) or the result of an addiction, as with the alcohol and/or drug abuse which felled Jamerson, fellow Funk Brother Benny Benjamin, and David Ruffin. Then there’s the psychological damage incurred when, as with Ballard, a star is removed from the circle of fame, leading to physical decline.

“I began to go into a complete depression,” Ballard told author Peter Benjaminson about her professional and personal woes in the early 1970s, “where I would just withdraw from people completely, just stay locked inside, wouldn’t come out. I just didn’t want to be seen or anything…I guess I was drinking because I wanted to feel happy. But that only made it worse.”

(Benjaminson’s 2008 book, The Lost Supreme, remains the definitive, sadly illuminating account of the singer’s life and career. He originally interviewed her for the Detroit Free Press in 1975, less than a year before she died.)

Below is a tabulation of tragedies, arguably the ten most-recognisable of Motown lives lost prematurely. That’s a subjective measure, of course, and perhaps even disingenuous. Anyway, the names are shown in order of age at the time of death – that is, the youngest first. Dates have been double-checked, but there are conflicting sources of these in some cases, or little reliable information. (If you see errors, please let me know.)

Naturally, the list could run longer, extending to the likes of, say, Yvonne Fair (who died at 51), Marv Johnson (54), Teena Marie (54), Rick James (56) and Syreeta (58). The most obvious omission is that of Michael Jackson (50), but he’s been on enough lists, post-Motown.

There are less-familiar singers from Hitsville whose deaths were premature, among them, Hubert Johnson (40) of the Contours, Sandra Tilley (38) of the Vandellas, and Georgeanna Tillman (35) of the Marvelettes. Also, songwriters Tom Baird (31) and Rodger Penzabene (reputedly 23). Both Johnson and Penzabene were suicides, while Baird lost his life in a boating accident, like Shorty Long. Another early departure was that of Eddie McFarland, killed in a car accident between dates of 1962’s first “Motor Town Special,” which also almost took the life of the tour’s manager, Thomas “Beans” Bowles.

The ten tragedies tabulated here do not include career details, surely unnecessary with such exalted individuals. Instead, there’s a quote relevant to each, mostly from those at Motown who knew these stars – these kings and queens – at first-hand, professionally and personally. And so, resting in peace, are…

TAMMI TERRELL (24): born April 29, 1945 in Philadelphia, died March 16, 1970. Cause of death: brain tumour. “Tammi was the victim of the violent side of love – at least that’s how it felt. I have no first-hand knowledge of what really killed her, but it was a deep vibe, as though she was dying for everyone who couldn’t find love. My heart was broken.” Marvin Gaye, Divided Soul (with David Ritz), 1985

SHORTY LONG (29): born May 20, 1940 in Birmingham, AL, died June 29, 1969. Cause of death: drowning. “That was my man! A real fun guy. Very talented. He was always singing and playing. When we went into the hotel, I’ll never forget it, he would ask ’em, do they have a piano anywhere around? And if they did, if I ever wanted to see him anymore, he would be up there playing and writing and doing songs.” Weldon McDougal III, interviewed by Bill Dahl, Motown: The Golden Years, 2001

FLORENCE BALLARD (32): born June 30, 1943 in Detroit, died February 22, 1976. Cause of death: cardiac arrest. “Everyone was in shock; it had all happened so suddenly, and just when Flo seemed to be getting herself back together. Maybe she never would have sung again, but at least she could have been happy. Only then did I realise that simply being happy in life was more than enough.” Mary Wilson, Dreamgirl: My Life As A Supreme (with Patricia Romanowski, Ahrgus Juilliard), 1986

PAUL WILLIAMS (34): born July 2, 1939 in Birmingham, AL, died August 17, 1973. Cause of death: suicide, gunshot. “He was a very complex man with many problems and conflicts. By the time he died, I guess he believed there was nothing left for him, and that’s the shame. Paul was our pillar of strength, and even today we try to approach things as he would have, with that confidence and sense of pride he instilled in each of us.” Otis Williams, Temptations (with Patricia Romanowski), 1988

BENNY BENJAMIN (43): born July 15, 1925 in Mobile, AL, died April 20, 1969. Cause of death: stroke. “His deft brushwork, Latin-influenced beats and explosive drum fills are heard on thousands of sessions that define the Motown Sound. With a big band and jazz background honed in the fertile Detroit club scene of the Fifties, Benny swung much harder than the R&B and blues drummers who rode other record labels’ hits. The effortlessness of his playing made Motown’s grooves irresistible, and Benny’s time was impeccable.” Allan “Dr. Licks” Slutsky, for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum, 2003

MARVIN GAYE (44): born April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C., died April 1, 1984. Cause of death: gunshot. “You see, my brother Marvin was in trouble. All the so-called friends, the parties, sex and drugs were only a temporary solution, a quick fix, as we say. As I sat looking at him, I could still see how vulnerable he was. I guess it comes with the territory, you know what I mean? Being creative and being vulnerable go together like a hand in glove, and that’s a fact!” William “Mickey” Stevenson, The A&R Man, 2015

JAMES JAMERSON (45): born January 29, 1936 on Edisto Island, SC, died August 2, 1983. Cause of death: pneumonia, heart failure. “Oh, man, [Benny] was my favourite. When he died, I couldn’t eat for two weeks, it hurt me so bad. He and I were really the ones who tightened up the sound, the drums and the bass. We didn’t need sheet music. I started to play and he started the beat and we’d look at each other and know whether we needed a triplet, quarter triplet, or double time or whatever. We could feel the groove together.” James Jamerson, interviewed by Nelson George, Musician, 1984.

MARY WELLS (49): born May 13, 1943 in Detroit, died July 26, 1992. Cause of death: cancer. “I think my mother helped build that label, Motown, and I think she deserves her props. I think that everyone is here for a purpose. My mother’s purpose was to be an inspiration and to show that you can live out your dreams, you can come from the bottom up.” Noel Wells, interviewed by Lee Bailey, EURweb, 2011

DAVID RUFFIN (50): born January 18, 1941 in Whynot, MS, died June 1, 1991. Cause of death: drug overdose. “While it was beautiful to have been the lead singer of the Temps for four years, it may have been the most important thing that happened to me when I decided to leave them. I wanted to be identified with the Temptations in a way, but I also wanted to be known as myself. And you really can’t change your voice.” David Ruffin, interviewed by Bob Kirsch, Billboard, 1974

EDDIE KENDRICKS (52): born December 17, 1939 in Union Springs, AL, died October 5, 1992. Cause of death: lung cancer. “Going out on your own means making lots of sacrifices. You sacrifice everything, really. It means being humiliated a great deal. People don’t want you to be a success. Everyone just keeps telling you that you’ve made a mistake.” Eddie Kendricks, interviewed by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 1973

Music notes: to remember and honour those departed, here’s a WGB playlist. Tracks are in order of the artists cited above. The selections for Benny Benjamin underscore his skill and understanding of the appropriate groove, of course. The simplicity of both “Pride And Joy” and “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart” weaved their magic on me upon first release, all the more so because I was drummer in a soul band. Then again, listening to Benny at the time often made me want to give up.