Lots of talk on the show last night about who was the first white artist to record for Motown.
Consensus among our texters was that it was R.Dean Taylor who it seems was the first white artist to get a number one for Motown.
This topic has been the basis of a much asked pub trivia quiz question over the years. In a way it seems a shame to be discussing the achievements of white artists on Motown when Berry Gordy’s great achievement was to bring black music to the mainstream during an era of great racial tension.
I looked up a couple different sources on the internet and it turns out the first white group signed were Nick and the Jaguars, an instrumental trio from Pontiac, Michigan in 1959. They were followed by The Valadiers, a vocal group who were recommended to Gordy by his friend jackie Wilson.
Chris Clark, whose song we played tonight may have been the first white female to score a big hit for the label when Love’s Gone Bad hit the charts in 1966.
A guy called Johnny Powers claims to have been the first white male to sign for Motown. He was previously at Sun Records and is the only artist in history to have recorded for both of those legendary labels.
I always thought that the first number one from a white Motown artist in this country was the much travelled woman who’d ‘been to Nice and the isle of Greece’, Charlene. I may be mistaken on this one though.
I've Never Been To Me was a flop first time around, but after repeated radio plays they were forced to re-release it. Ron Miller, the guy who wrote it died recently and his makes for interesting reading.
Final bit of trivia:The first white UK artist to sign to Motown was Kiki Dee. So there.
Whilst it does make for an entertaining trivia question, the real music of Motown was made by a unique hit factory of some of the most amazing black performers, songwriters and producers ever. The wonderful music you chose last night was proof of that.