We were walking down the street when we heard the beat
Man, I can't go anywhere without hearing Motown. The Four Tops' Sugar Pie Honey Bunch was coming in loud and clear and I looked up at the stage and there was a man with a guitar singing my hometown blues, but he was white. Next to him two female singers, backed by the usual rock and roll instruments. They call themselves HEATWAVE, the name of which of course comes from a song by Martha and the Vandellas, a Motown group! They were good so V and I stuck around. The blonde singer introduced the next song by Aretha Franklin, "Think." Aretha was not with Motown but she was from Detroit! I was getting whoozy.
By this point I was so homesick, I just wanted to sit down on the curb and cry. The funny thing is I haven't lived in Detroit since 1981, but here in New Zealand any Detroit reference makes me homesick like crazy.
That's the thing with good music, if you grew up with it, you were lucky because it lives forever. The blonde, who looked to be in her 20's belted out the Motown sound as if she was Cris Clark, the only white chick signed with Motown. She had the hit, "Love's Gone Bad" in the 60's. She was also Barry Gordy's girlfriend; tall blonde, beautiful and she had soul. I guess the Motown sound will never die, people keep performing and recording the songs over and over. I do a mean Love's Gone Bad myself.
1 comment:
Diane,
I think we met "back in the day". Jim Pallas just sent me this link to your blog. He told me it reminded him of me. The reason for this is because I go through "I MISS DETROIT" waves of emotion. I will never go back there. In fact, I really don't think I miss Detroit, the place at all. I miss the FEELINGS and SPIRIT I had back then. Don't get me wrong.
DEE-troit is my birthplace. I moved away in 1991. I do miss the art "community" we had there. I have never experienced anything like that since leaving. New Zealand is beautiful from what I have seen in pictures. You are very lucky to be down there. :-)
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