Posts by El Somnambulo

Why this song? It entered my head yesterday, and refused to leave. Real life? Perhaps at one time...:

We end Underground Motown Week with a great underappreciated classic from 1967.  Written by Smokey Robinson, performed by the Marvelettes. Lead singer Wanda Young-Rogers was married to Miracles' member Bobby…

Today's Motown Underground Week Question: Who was Marvin Taplin? Well, kids, Taplin was a Motown rarity. A guitar player who was not a member of the Funk Brothers, he was…

Underground Motown Week today features Brenda Holloway. If this song doesn't sound like a typical Motown single, it's b/c she originally recorded it in 1962 for the Del-Fi label.  Motown…

Underground Motown Week brings you the very sad story of Rodger Penzabene. The Motown songwriter found out that his wife had cheated on him, became inconsolable, wrote the lyric for…

Underground Motown Week continues. Written by Ivy (not Ivory) Joe Hunter and a very young Stevie Wonder, this 4 Tops song was adopted by The Band, who I saw do…

Relegated to Motown's lowest priority imprint, the VIP label, this group consistently outperformed their second-class status.  Perhaps the fact that they were not from Detroit, but Kalamazoo, hindered their notoriety. …

We're gonna do a week of what I call 'Underground Motown'. I'll highlight songs that you may not have known were from Motown, and I will also feature under-rated gems. …

Yo, Mikey D: It is Sunday now.  For Richard Julian, it's Sunday Morning In Saturday's Shoes:

Lazy and languid: