Harvey and Marvin Gaye packed up and descended on the
Motor City, hooking up with Gwen Gordy. It wasn't long before two new
labels appeared on the scene, Tri-Phi, followed by Harvey. The city
was a hot-bed of talent, and Harvey soon signed his first acts.
The debut Tri-Phi release gave the upstart new label an
instant hit, and introduced a famous name to the world of R&B. That's
What Girls Are Made For put the fabulous Spinners on the map, and created
a masterpiece of Doo-Wop into the bargain.
The next single, Tri-Phi 1002 didn't exactly set the charts
on fire but brought another new name into the Harvey Fuqua story. Carry
Your Own Load by Johnny & Jackey featured two names with a future in
Detroit R&B. 'Johnny' was none other than Johnny Bristol, while Jackey
(Beavers) became a collectable name to devotees of Motor City R&B. The
title of the duo's next release will be instantly familiar to any Motown
fan - Someday We'll Be Together. Johnny & Jackey's second 45 was the
original recording of the song later revived for Diana Ross' farewell
single with the Supremes.
Harvey had a nose for talent, but one of his best-known
acts literally introduced himself. "He just walked into the office one
day with five guys," Harvey recalled. "He said 'hey, look! I want a
record!' just like that. So I said, 'so show me what you can do.' So
they just got out their music and their instruments on the spot and
started playing - and I flipped." The musicians were Junior Walker and
the All Stars, whose first single Twist Lackawanna appeared on Harvey's
second label, modestly named Harvey!
By this time, Harvey's relationship with Gwen Gordy had
progressed from a simple business partnership to something more intimate.
She was now Mrs Gwen Fuqua, which meant that his rival Berry Gordy was
also his brother-in-law! Despite some successes with his records, Harvey
was finding the going tough as a label owner. He explains, "we got hurt
on our first really big one and that was the Spinners. We must have
done close on half a million and we really experienced problems getting
our money. If you have a hit record then the guy's gonna pay you the
money he owes you. If not... well, you're in trouble because you still
have to pay your own bills." At this point, it was obvious that Gwen's
husband competing against Gwen's brother was not the best plan for the
future.
Berry was on one side of the city and I was on the other.
But he hadn't had any really big hits at that point. That's What Girls
Are Made For came before he had anything really that big. Then the following
year he had two or three in a row. By then I was owing a lot of money
- I'd sold two or three million records but couldn't get paid, which
was a ridiculous situation... So Berry said, why don't we go in together?
He'd pay all my debts for me and I'd come in to work for his company.
It was a deal I couldn't resist. He had that machinery, and my machinery
couldn't compare to his. It was all good for me.''
The Tri-Phi and Harvey labels quietly slipped into the
pages of history, and Harvey himself quickly slipped into the Motown
fold. Of course, Jr. Walker, The Spinners and Marvin Gaye came along
too, both men still hopeful that the move might finally bring some success
for the young Marvin. |
