As part of the Holland/Dozier/Holland production and songwriting axis, Brian Holland helped pioneer the classic Motown sound of the 1960s, scoring hit after hit at the helm of artists including the Supremes, the Four Tops and Martha & the Vandellas. Born in Detroit on February 15, 1941, he first attracted attention as the lead vocalist of the... [+] Read More

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Best known for the stuttering number three single "Give Me Just a Little More Time," the Chairmen of the Board were one of the smoothest and most popular soul acts to emerge from Detroit in the early '70s. Although their time at the top of the R&B charts was brief -- their first Top Ten arrived in 1970, their last in 1973 -- they recorded a... [+] Read More

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One-third of an amazing songwriting and production trio, Eddie Holland hasn't been as successful on his own as when teamed with brother Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. The trio wrote numerous hits for Motown acts through the '60s before departing in 1968. They formed their own label in 1970, Hot Wax/Invictus, and had success for a while with... [+] Read More

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Edna Wright, Carolyn Willis, and Shellie Clark comprised the vocal trio Honey Cone, which only stayed together for four years but was still one of the best female soul groups of the early '70s. Although Honey Cone (which lead singer Wright formed in 1969) was based in Los Angeles, their recordings were Northern-style soul -- specifically,... [+] Read More

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A tough '60s soul singer with a salty sense of humor (aimed mostly at the men in her life), Laura Lee recorded at Rick Hall's FAME studio in Muscle Shoals for the Chess label, and later for Hot Wax. In songs like "Wanted: Lover, No Experience Necessary," "A Man with Some Backbone," and the anthemic "Women's Love Rights," the female experience... [+] Read More

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One of the most gifted, visionary, and enduring talents ever launched into orbit by the Motown hit machine, Marvin Gaye blazed the trail for the continued evolution of popular black music. Moving from lean, powerful R&B to stylish, sophisticated soul to finally arrive at an intensely political and personal form of artistic self-expression, his... [+] Read More

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Time and legions of other soul superstars have obscured the fact that for a brief moment, Mary Wells was Motown's biggest star. She came to the attention of Berry Gordy as a 17-year-old, hawking a song she'd written for Jackie Wilson; that song, "Bye Bye Baby," became her first Motown hit in 1961. The full-throated approach of that single was... [+] Read More

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Of all the groups calling themselves the Elgins -- there was an L.A.-based doo wop group and another group of Elgins who recorded for Congress, while Ritha Mae and the Temptations even used the name for awhile -- this Detroit-based quartet proved to be the most memorable, scoring two minor R&B hits in 1966 with their Motown debut "Darling Baby"... [+] Read More

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The Four Tops' story is one of longevity and togetherness: these Motown legends teamed up in high school and spent over four decades without a single personnel change. In between, they became one of the top-tier acts on a label with no shortage of talent, ranking with the Temptations and the Supremes as Motown's most consistent hitmakers. Where... [+] Read More

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The most successful black performers of the 1960s, the Supremes for a time rivaled even the Beatles in terms of red-hot commercial appeal, reeling off five number-one singles in a row at one point. Critical revisionism has tended to undervalue the Supremes' accomplishments, categorizing their work as more lightweight than the best soul stars'... [+] Read More

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