Harvey Fuqua - "Mr. Quaz"
I met Harvey at a Smokey concert in 2003. I recognized him coming from backstage to the sound board (where he sang bass for Smokey that night). I introduced myself to him and after the concert he escorted my family backstage to meet Smokey in his dressing room. We spent about 5 minutes talking and taking pictures with these two hall of fame inductees. During our friendship I communicated with him by email and worked on a website for him. He was amazed that I would want to do something like this for him and gave me permission to create this tribute page from my research. I remained friends with Harvey until he passed. My friend, Harvey Fuqua "got on up outta here"....... in Detroit on Tuesday, July 6, 2010 from coronary problems after a brief illness. - Tommy Mitchell (NMMitch)
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Harvey
&
The Crazy Sounds
1952
Chicago-born Harvey Fuqua (born July 27, 1929), nephew of Ink Spots guitarist Charlie Fuqua, grew up in Louisville, KY, where he learned the piano and also began singing with his high school classmate Bobby Lester (born January 13, 1930; died October 15, 1980).
In 1949, after both finished brief periods of serving in the military, they formed a professional duo in Louisville. Soon they were working with sax-man and bandleader Ed Wiley, and it was in his group that they started singing jump and blues. Eventually a lack of earnings led them to split up, with Fuqua moving to Cleveland, where he crossed paths with an army buddy, Danny Coggins, and a neighbor of his, Prentiss Barnes (born April 12, 1925). Fuqua brought Lester into the group, which was known as the Crazy Sounds, and they started to get work in the area around Cleveland. They were an improvisational singing group that specialized in a technique called vocalize using their voices to replace instruments, basically in a jazz context. While performing at the Chesterfield Lounge they were heard by Al Fats Thomas. He was so knocked out that he called his friend, a local disc jockey at WJW, and had him listen to the group over the phone while they were performing. The disc jockey was none other than Alan Freed, and he liked what he heard enough to bring the group right into the studio.
The Moonglows first break came in 1952 when they came to the attention of local disc jockey Alan Freed, who was already making a name for himself playing R&B records. They auditioned and did well enough to earn a chance to record on Freed's own Champagne Records label, changing their name from the Crazy Sounds to the Moonglows. The group enjoyed a modest local hit with a Lester composition, "I Just Can't Tell No Lie." They began performing in venues throughout the industrial Midwest and underwent their first membership change when Coggins quit for a more stable life as a gas station owner. He was replaced by Alex Walton and Alexander Graves.
Lester and Fuqua shared the lead vocal spot, sometimes even on the same song, and both of them had a keen interest in songwriting as well. The group was special not only for their mix of subtle polish and visceral excitement, but also the sheer attractiveness of the singing and the way in which their arrangements locked it all together -- Lester and Fuqua were the leads and the most visible talents, but there were no weak links anywhere in the Moonglows' sound; from bass to the occasional falsetto, all of the singing was dazzling, animated, and bracing, whether on the jump numbers or the ballads; each of their finished records was the total package, distinctly voiced, gorgeously textured, and exciting. In the early fall of 1953 the Moonglows auditioned for Ewart Abner, general manager of the Chance Records label. and landed a contract. Chance Records, a small Chicago outfit that was making a serious noise in blues and R&B, and already had the Flamingos and the Spaniels under contract. For a year, they tried to chart with ballads -- including a killer version of "Secret Love" with Lester singing lead -- and jump numbers but saw little success at Chance, before they left the label.
In October of 1954, the group moved to Chess Records, and their first session was one of the most productive in the history of the label, yielding 13 songs including one of the biggest hits in Chess' history, "Sincerely" -- authored by Fuqua (with Freed taking half the royalties as "co-author," a common arrangement at the time for Freed and other managers), the Moonglows' recording charted in December of that year and bumped "Earth Angel" by the Penguins out of the number one R&B spot the following month. It later climbed to number 20 on the Hot 100 pop chart. The single rode the R&B listings for 20 weeks and sold over a quarter of a million copies, an extraordinary number for Chess in those days and all of it happening before R&B had fully crossed over to white listeners.
In the case of "Sincerely," it was such an attractive song that it begged to be covered by other artists in other styles -- thus, the Moonglows became one of the earliest R&B groups to see an original of theirs picked up by a pop act, when the white sibling vocal trio the McGuire Sisters covered "Sincerely" in a pop style and got a number one pop hit and a million-selling single out of it. The success of the Moonglows' original version was the break they'd been waiting for, and they began playing some of the best gigs of their history, as part of Alan Freed's huge package shows alongside acts like Joe Turner, the Clovers, and Lowell Fulson. In early 1955, the group's ranks expanded with the addition of guitarist Billy Johnson.
The group then recorder "Most of All" (number five R&B), "Foolish Me," "Starlite," and "In My Diary." Then, in the middle and latter half of 1956, they succeeded anew with the ballad "We Go Together," which reached number nine on the R&B charts and attracted considerable interest from young white listeners. Their next recording "See Saw," reached number nine on the R&B charts and got to number 25 on the pop charts. During this period, Chess also briefly attempted to double-up on the group's approach to the airwaves and radio play lists by taking some of the sides featuring Lester and Fuqua together on lead and issuing those under the name "the Moonlighters."
The group's status in the hierarchy of rock & roll was confirmed when the Moonglows were included in the jukebox movie Rock, Rock, Rock, working alongside Chuck Berry, the Flamingos LaVern Baker, the Johnny Burnette Trio, and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. Later that same year, they also began work on what was to have been their debut LP, and early in 1957 they made another screen appearance, in Mr. Rock and Roll, a second jukebox feature, sandwiched in between many of the same acts as the prior movie -- this was to mark the last screen appearance of the original group.
During 1957, in the wake of their unfinished debut album, there was some friction within the group. Harvey, who already dominated the group as a producer, songwriter, and their de-facto vocal arranger sang lead on "Please Send Me Someone to Love". The friction between the group continued through most of the year. Changes in public taste that had taken place since 1955. The group couldn't decide who ought to be leading them, or agree on who should sing lead, but also on which direction their music should go in, toward the more pop-oriented sound of the Platters, who were selling large numbers of records to white audiences, or toward the harder sound that seemed to be coming out of some quarters of the black community, and seemed to be where black listeners were moving.
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Harvey
&
The Moonglows
1953-1957
Alexander Graves, Bobby Lester, Prentiss Barns, Harvey Fuqua
Billy Johnson
In October of 1954, the group moved to Chess Records, and their first session was one of the most productive in the history of the label, yielding 13 songs including one of the biggest hits in Chess' history, "Sincerely" -- authored by Fuqua (with Freed taking half the royalties as "co-author," a common arrangement at the time for Freed and other managers), the Moonglows' recording charted in December of that year and bumped "Earth Angel" by the Penguins out of the number one R&B spot the following month. It later climbed to number 20 on the Hot 100 pop chart. The single rode the R&B listings for 20 weeks and sold over a quarter of a million copies, an extraordinary number for Chess in those days and all of it happening before R&B had fully crossed over to white listeners.
In the case of "Sincerely," it was such an attractive song that it begged to be covered by other artists in other styles -- thus, the Moonglows became one of the earliest R&B groups to see an original of theirs picked up by a pop act, when the white sibling vocal trio the McGuire Sisters covered "Sincerely" in a pop style and got a number one pop hit and a million-selling single out of it. The success of the Moonglows' original version was the break they'd been waiting for, and they began playing some of the best gigs of their history, as part of Alan Freed's huge package shows alongside acts like Joe Turner, the Clovers, and Lowell Fulson. In early 1955, the group's ranks expanded with the addition of guitarist Billy Johnson.
The group then recorder "Most of All" (number five R&B), "Foolish Me," "Starlite," and "In My Diary." Then, in the middle and latter half of 1956, they succeeded anew with the ballad "We Go Together," which reached number nine on the R&B charts and attracted considerable interest from young white listeners. Their next recording "See Saw," reached number nine on the R&B charts and got to number 25 on the pop charts. During this period, Chess also briefly attempted to double-up on the group's approach to the airwaves and radio play lists by taking some of the sides featuring Lester and Fuqua together on lead and issuing those under the name "the Moonlighters."
The group's status in the hierarchy of rock & roll was confirmed when the Moonglows were included in the jukebox movie Rock, Rock, Rock, working alongside Chuck Berry, the Flamingos LaVern Baker, the Johnny Burnette Trio, and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. Later that same year, they also began work on what was to have been their debut LP, and early in 1957 they made another screen appearance, in Mr. Rock and Roll, a second jukebox feature, sandwiched in between many of the same acts as the prior movie -- this was to mark the last screen appearance of the original group.
During 1957, in the wake of their unfinished debut album, there was some friction within the group. Harvey, who already dominated the group as a producer, songwriter, and their de-facto vocal arranger sang lead on "Please Send Me Someone to Love". The friction between the group continued through most of the year. Changes in public taste that had taken place since 1955. The group couldn't decide who ought to be leading them, or agree on who should sing lead, but also on which direction their music should go in, toward the more pop-oriented sound of the Platters, who were selling large numbers of records to white audiences, or toward the harder sound that seemed to be coming out of some quarters of the black community, and seemed to be where black listeners were moving.
Artist - Moonglows
A Side - I JUST CAN'T TELL NO LIE
B Side - I'VE BEEN YOUR DOG (EVER SINCE I'VE BEEN YOUR MAN
Label/Cat No. Champange 7500
Date : 04/52
The record read "Al Lance" as writer which was Alan Freed's pen name but in reality it was a Harvey and Bobby Lester composition. It was recorded at WJW in Cleveland where Alan Freed was a disc jockey. This record sold almost 10,000 copies and Alan Freed never followed up with another.
The Chance Label
1953 - 1954
For Christmas, Chance issued two Moonglows originals, the rockin' "Hey Santa Claus" and another soulful blues ballad, "Just a Lonely Christmas".In February 1954 their third Chance release was the only non-original, a cover of the Fain-Webster song "Secret Love", done in a beautiful Moonglows setting. Though B-Side rockers were mandatory, "Real Gone Mama" was a first class jazz-tinged jump side.
There biggest Chance single was their next 45. "I Was Wrong" in June 1954, a rhythm ballad with a bluesy melody, a great bass part, and a jumpin' bridge that was another solid example of the Moonglows carving their own vocal niche.
NOTE: There were two other songs recorded on the Chance label "Fine Fine Girl" and "My Love" but they were never released on 45s. It wasn't until 1964 that they were finally released on a Collectors Showcase LP on the Constellation label.
After two years and in the fall of 1954 the quartet signed with Chess for records and the Shaw agency for bookings. "Sincerely", penned by Harvey was issued in November 1954, and in March 1955 made the top 20. It reached number 1 R&B in early 1955. It also went to number 1 on the POP charts - covered by the McGuire Sisters. Chess also release a Lester/Fuqua duet, "Shoo Doo Be Doo", as the Moonlighters on Checker. The Moonlighters lasted for one year on Checker, and released one more single "Hug and a Kiss".
The Chess / Checker Label
1954-1960
In February 1955, "Most Of All" was released, one of the Moonglows masterpieces. Most of all reached number 5 R&B but failed to reach the POP charts. During this time the Moonglows continued to tour and on April 18th, 1955 spent a week in Alan Freed's "Rock & Roll Easter Jubilee" at the Brooklyn Paramount. Due to no promotion "Foolish Me" released in June 1955, and "Starlite", released in September could not chart. The last Moonglow's single of 1955, "In My Diary" was heard only in scattered locations throughout the country.
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Harvey
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Harvey and The Moonglows
1957
Chuck Barksdale, Marvin Gaye, James Nolan, Reese Palmer, Chester Simmons
Harvey Fuqua
In late 1957, a pair of sides were recorded featuring Fuqua and possibly Johnson, and in early 1958, a new single appeared entitled "Ten Commandments of Love," featuring Fuqua as a speaker. It reached number nine as an R&B hit and number 22 as a pop single, the group's best pop performance in two years and one of their biggest sellers, except that it wasn't credited to the Moonglows -- rather, it was also credited to Harvey & the Moonglows, and precisely who was singing on it behind Fuqua is still a matter of conjecture; some sources attribute the back-up to the original Moonglows, whereas others say with assurance that it was Fuqua's "new" Moonglows, actually formerly known as the Marquees, a Washington, D.C., outfit consisting of Marvin Gaye, Reese Palmer, James Kolan, and Chester Simmons. What is clear is that they accompanied Fuqua over the next year or so, credited as Harvey & the Moonglows. The group's ranks changed quickly -- though he kept Gaye, who had sung lead on the group's recording of "Mama Loocie," with him -- and eventually included a young Chuck Barksdale, from the Dells.
In addition to his work with the new group, Fuqua was featured on solo singles throughout 1958, including "Don't Be Afraid of Love," which he co-authored with Berry Gordy Jr. and Billy Davis, and he also turned up in the last (and best) of the Freed showcase films, Go Johnny Go.
Harvey Fuqua's professional association with Berry Gordy had begun when they met, on the Berry's visit to Chess Records to license the early sides of the Miracles.
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Harvey
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The Spinners
1957
In the mid-fifties, Pervis Jackson, Billy Henderson and Henry Fambrough - three Detroit school friends - formed a vocal group they named after their idols, the Flamingos and the Dominoes. The Domingoes performed their first professional engagement at the Idlewild Resort alongside an already-established local quartet called the Four Aims. The teenage hopefuls were impressed by the singing and dancing of the elder group and decided to add some similar routines to their own rough-and-ready act.
Bobby Smith, George Dixon, Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough and Pervis Jackson
By 1964 Harvey Fuqua had quite literally joined the Motown family. He married Gwen Gordy, and his artists transferred to Berry's labels. The Spinners, alongside Junior Walker, Johnny Bristol and Shorty Long, now found themselves part of the Motortown Revue, along with the Supremes, the Temptations and Little Stevie Wonder. Also signed to the company were a quartet of old acquaintances, the group who had inspired the Domingoes nearly a decade earlier. These days, however, the guys were better known as the Four Tops.
While continuing to work steadily, the Spinners found the going tough at Motown. When not out on the grueling coast-to-coast package tours, the group often hung around the Motown Artist Development Department, waiting to grab rehearsal time when other artists cancelled. In charge of the department was someone they knew well - Harvey Fuqua. I doubt he was averse to letting his boys have a few extra hours' rehearsal time! The Spinners also did shifts packing up records for dispatch If nothing else, they were dedicated, and remembered as among the company's hardest-working employees. When they were occasionally allowed into the studio, they created magic, but the record-buying public were more sold on the Temptations and Tops. Sweet Thing, the Spinners' debut Motown release in October 1964 was an excellent record, but did little business. Its B-side How Can I is an exquisite vocal performance - no throwaway flips with the Spinners! (It's no major surprise to spot the writing credit for the song - only a certain H. Fuqua!)
Six months later came the next Spinners offering, recognized today as a true Motown classic. I'll Always Love You hit the US top forty in August 1965, but only scored a number 35 position. Nevertheless, the group carried on working, and working, and working. Motown obviously saw no need for an immediate follow-up, and Ivy Hunter's gorgeous Truly Yours eventually staggered out in April of 1966, to expire quietly and unnoticed. According to Andrew Hamilton again,
Eventually, somebody must have decided the Spinners' hard work deserved a reward, and a year later, their first Motown album was finally released. (I would hazard a guess that the 'somebody' at Motown was Berry Gordy's brother-in-Law, and their erstwhile mentor - yes, Mr Fuqua again!)
On the face of it, The Original Spinners is a fairly typical mid-sixties Motown album, made up from singles and filler. All the group's previously-released Motown singles are included, along with their respective B-sides. Their previous 45, For All We Know was in there, plus B-side of course. Even the 1961 That's What Girls Are Made For was thrown in for good measure. It's fairly obvious that there was not a great deal of material to compile an album from, which in turn suggests that the Spinners were not frequent visitors to the studio. Having said all of that, it is truly a vintage album, and quite possibly one of the great Soul vocal group recordings of all time. What the Spinners lacked in quantity of output, is more than compensated for by the quality of the performances. The Tops and the Temps may have had the hits, but the Spinners had the class!
Meanwhile, back in the States... One of the problems that face vocal groups is line-up changes - the number of singers who have briefly shone with the Drifters would constitute a male voice choir. The Spinners have always been Bobbie Smith, Henry Fambrough, Billy Henderson and Purvis Jackson. While this four-man nucleus remained constant, they too had to survive the changes of lead vocalist. Detroit stalwart C. P. Spencer was replaced by Chico Edwards. Then came George W. Dixon, followed by G.C. Cameron, but as The Spinners were not exactly a "personality" group, they weathered the changes. Billy Henderson explains: "there were always problems with replacing a guy, but that's why we've been together for so long, 'cause we've always thought 'Spinners'."
Late 1968 saw another flop Motown single, Bad Bad Weather (Till You Come Home). It's a good performance of a fairly nondescript song, so it's no great surprise that the record buyers treated it with indifference. The next release was scheduled for September 1969, but Motown 1155 never hit the shops. However, on October 21st there was a new Spinners single - In My Diary - on Motown's V.I.P. subsidiary. The song seems to have been an odd choice of material for a single in 1969 - a vintage Doo-wop ballad, originally recorded in the mid-fifties by Harvey Fuqua's Moonglows. Despite the quality of the harmonies, the record again sank without a trace. The psychedelic Black Power anthem Message From A Black Man also failed to score, and it must have looked as if the Spinners were never to achieve another hit. The closest they had achieved in recent times was as backing vocalists on ex- Tri-Phi label mate Junior Walker's What Does It Take. Then, someone without a shortage of hit songs decided to offer them one. Enter Stevie Wonder.
Exactly how the Spinners came to record It's A Shame in mid-1970 is not clear, but the record changed the group's fortunes. At the time, Stevie was just beginning to break away from the Motown hit-machine formula. His self-penned-and-produced Signed Sealed Delivered was just around the corner, and he probably felt like trying out his production skills on another artist. As the Spinners weren't exactly on a winning streak, Motown probably let Stevie "have a go". After all, if the record bombed, it would be no major loss. As it turned out, Stevie produced a hit! It's A Shame reached number 14 in the US chart, and 20 in Britain.
Motown hastily assembled an album to capitalize on the single's success. Second Time Around, released on V.I.P. in September 1970, and in the UK a few months later, was a rag-bag collection of failed singles plus a few un-issued titles. As almost no-one in the UK had even heard those singles, it was hailed as a great new album, from a great new group. Few realized that the Spinners (re-named yet again for the UK market as "the Motown Spinners") had been together for fifteen years. Stevie's follow-up single We'll Have It Made sadly did not have It's A Shame's commercial magic, and became yet another Spinners stiff.
This could have been the end of the story, but some people thankfully refuse to give in. Instead of giving up the ghost, the Spinners appear to have sat out the rest of their Motown contract, and then departed for pastures new. After all, for them the streets of the Motor City had not been paved with gold, and seven years is a long enough time to stay in one place. The Spinners moved on, leaving Motown behind. This really could have been the end of the story. Not only were they leaving Motown, but lead tenor G.C. Cameron had elected to stay. He was, it was said, 'romantically involved' with Gwen Gordy and knew which side his bread was buttered on. It's interesting to note that Gwen Gordy was actually the ex-Mrs Fuqua, estranged wife of Harvey, who left Motown in 1970. The story of the Spinners and Harvey Fuqua are so closely entwined as to be almost two sides of the same story.
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Harvey
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Marvin Gaye
1957
L-R, Gaye, Anna, Gwen, and Fuqua.
Harvey was an early mentor of Marvin Gaye (co-producing "Sexual Healing" and Gaye's hit duets with Tammi Terrell)
Harvey was an early mentor of Marvin Gaye (co-producing "Sexual Healing" and Gaye's hit duets with Tammi Terrell)
In 1982 a desperate phone call made him drop everything and grab a Transatlantic flight to - of all places - Belgium. The caller was a troubled man, his longtime friend Marvin Gaye, exiled in Europe and struggling to complete his first album for Columbia. Midnight Love was duly completed, and Marvin Gaye, written off by much of the music industry as a spent force, was again a major contender in the R&B field. In the liner notes of the album, Harvey's name appears 3 times - as Production Adviser, background vocal, and finally under "A Special Thank You". This is typical for a man who has contributed so much to the world of music in so many different ways - artist, producer, talent scout, songwriter, and all-round gentleman. Sadly, Marvin is no longer with us, but his memory will remain as long as we humans have ears for fine music.
Fuqua reunited with Marvin Gaye in the summer of 1982, collaborating on the singer's Midnight Love LP, which hit number seven pop in late 1982, sold two million copies, and included the gold single "Sexual Healing" (number one R&B for ten weeks, number three pop, fall 1982). The single "Sanctified Lady," from Gaye's posthumously released 1985 LP Dream of a Lifetime, parked at number two R&B for three weeks in the spring of 1985.
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Harvey
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Junior Walker and The All Stars
1960
Junior Walker was born Autry DeWalt Jr. in Blytheville, Arkansas in 1942. He grew up in South Bend, Indiana where he became a proficient saxophone player. He studied the methods of some of the prominent sax players of his youth, including Illinois Jacquet and Earl Bostic.
DeWalt joined a group called the Jumping Jacks and began to perform in local clubs while in high school. He later played with a group known as Stix Nix. DeWalt moved to Battle Creek, Michigan and in the early 60's he formed the All Stars. This group had DeWalt (now known as Junior Walker) on sax and vocals, his old friend Willie Woods on guitar, Vic Thomas on organ and James Graves on drums. The group played the club circuit in southern Michigan and northern Indiana, most notably at El Grotto in Battle Creek. They were soon noticed by Johnny Bristol, who recommended them to Harvey Fuqua. The latter had sang with Harvey and the Moonglows and by this time was running his own fledgling label, called simply Harvey. Fuqua liked what he saw and signed them. Junior Walker and the All Stars made their first recordings on the Harvey label in 1962.
Harvey was soon bought out by Motown Records, and the group found itself recording with Soul Records. Soul was a subsidiary of Motown and all of the group's subsequent hits in the US came out on the Soul label; they had some Tamla/Motown hits on the charts in the UK, as well as a number of hits on the R&B charts. The first of these was recorded early in 1965 and titled Shotgun. It went to number four on the pop chart, and signaled the arrival of Junior Walker and the All Stars. DeWalt played sax and did some vocals. Many of the group's hits in the mid-60's were instrumentals and/or party songs. Do The Boomerang, (I'm A) Road Runner, How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), These Eyes and others were played on radio stations across America from 1965 onward. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) in 1969 matched the success of the group's initial hit, Shotgun, going to number four on the pop chart. The group toured and played their good time music to filled venues, and at times were reminiscent to some of the jump bands of the 40's. As the group progressed they occasionally added strings, and recorded some ballads.
Musical tastes changed in the 70's and the last top forty hit for Junior Walker and the All Stars was Do You See My Love (For You Growing) in 1970. They continued to perform in the 80's and 90's, often with Junior Walker's son Autry DeWalt III on drums.
Junior Walker contracted cancer in 1993. His health deteriorated and he had difficulty walking. He died on November 23, 1995 in Battle Creek, Michigan at age 53.
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Harvey
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Etta James
1960
James' solo career was a slow starter, and she spent several years cutting low-selling singles for Modern and touring small clubs until 1960, when Leonard Chess signed her to a new record deal. James would record for Chess Records and its subsidiary labels Argo and Checker into the late '70s and, working with producers Ralph Bass and Harvey Fuqua, she embraced a style that fused the passion of R&B with the polish of jazz, and scored a number of hits for the label, including "All I Could Do Was Cry," "My Dearest Darling," and "Trust in Me."
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Harvey
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Tri-Phi Record Label
1961
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 collectible 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.
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.
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Harvey
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Harvey Record Label
1961
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Harvey
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Motown
&
Motown
1960-1970
Harvey moved from Chicago to Detroit, and took Marvin Gaye with him. It was Leonard [Chess] who originally sent Harvey to Detroit. You see, Leonard loaned Gwen Gordy, Berry's sister, $15,000 to start her own label, Anna Records. Wanting to protect his investment, Leonard asked Harvey to check out the operation. Harvey did more than that--he joined the operation, jumping ship and signing on with Gwen. They became partners in business. In turn, Gwen helped Harvey start Harvey Records. It was a cozy arrangement that got even cozier when Harvey married Gwen, and his new brother-in-law, Berry, merged both Anna and Harvey Records into his new Motown label. Meanwhile, Marvin signed a solo deal with Motown and, keeping it all in the family, married Anna Gordy.
Fuqua didn't come to Motown empty-handed. Along with Gaye, he also had The Spinners and Jr. Walker and the All-Stars in his camp. And he was responsible for teaming Gaye with Tammi Terrell, producing (along with Johnny Bristol) two of their greatest duets, "Aint' No Mountain High Enough" and "If This World Were Mine."
While Motown's acts were riding high, Harvey's small roster soon found that a Motown contract did not automatically guarantee hits. However, their onstage performances frequently outshone their more successful labelmates. Using the experience he'd gained while grooming the Moonglows into an enviably-polished professional act, Harvey applied the same sheen to his own roster of talent. Simply playing the music was not enough in itself - the artists had to look and act the part - and learn how to entertain. It was not long before Berry Gordy became aware that Harvey's acts were running rings round his Motortown Revue onstage. This realisation was the beginning of Motown's Artist Development Department, and Harvey was given a free hand to gather the necessary personnel to make it a reality.
"I'm sure you'd agree," Harvey commented, "whenever a Motown act played... they were always well polished. That came from my department. We had a regular schedule... we would start at ten in the morning. We drilled the whole thing into any and every artist before they'd make any kind of appearance anywhere. "
His erstwhile protegé Marvin of course became one of Motown's major stars, though Harvey's personal involvement in his music was actually fairly minimal. The two remained very close friends throughout their years with the company, though Harvey actively supervised only a small percentage of Marvin's recordings during that time. In addition, the two men were "family" - Harvey's wife was Berry's sister, and Marvin married another Gordy sister, Anna! Their close relationship probably also explains how Marvin managed to avoid going through the Artist Development mill. As brother-in-law to both Harvey and Berry, who was going to argue if Marvin ducked out of his dancing lessons?
Quitting Motown, Harvey also left Detroit behind and returned to Louisville, Kentucky to plan his next project. Once again he had his sights on his own record label, though unlike his early sixties ventures, this time he would not be distributing the records himself, by hand! Fuqua III Productions soon came into being, with an exclusive deal via the major RCA label. He also called in an old friend from his early days in Detroit. Ann Bogan, famous in the sixties as a Marvelette, actually hailed right back to the Harvey/Tri-Phi labels, when she recorded a couple of duets as half of Harvey and Ann. His new roster of talent also included the Niteliters, New Birth and Love Peace and Happiness, and while not achieving the world-beating status of Motown's stellar names, they saw very respectable sales and favorable reviews. By any standards, eleven Top 40 R&B entries is not exactly a failure!
______________________________
Harvey
&
New Birth / Niteliters
&
New Birth / Niteliters
1970
The nucleus of the group, when signed, was working as house band at a local club backing the likes of Phillip Mitchell, the Originals and Chuck Jackson. Harvey handled most of the main duties with regard to the project, although Vernon did help out with production tasks. New Birth, beyond the original concept, was now an 8 member band (the Nite-Liters), the Now Sound (four men), The Mint Juleps (four women), and one additional lead singer, Allen Frey. Thus the ensemble was formed, a deal was signed with RCA Records and in 1971 the LP 'New Birth' (LSP-4450) was released.The original line-up proved too large to be economic and so the four female members were dispensed with. Apparently Harvey came to the realisation that the group needed something extra vocally and fortuitously just as he was about to start looking for the right singers, an old friend approached him. Cleveland born Ann Bogan, who had earlier sung with Harvey and had then gone on to join the Marvelettes, came to him with an idea for a new group. She brokered the idea of herself and two brothers, Melvin and Leslie Wilson, becoming a group. Melvin and Leslie, who had been born in Muskegon (Michigan), had gotten into gospel singing before they moved to Detroit. Harvey liked the idea and named the trio Love, Peace and Happiness. They were also signed to RCA, again with Harvey acting as producer. The three-some were almost immediately incorporated into the New Birth live revue with Ann soon becoming the show's featured vocalist. The outfit now consisted of 12 members, 9 of them ( the instrumentalists ) recording as the Nite-Liters and all 12, including Londee Loren and Bobby Downes recording as New Birth. In this form the whole group recorded their second album, 'Ain't No Big Thing But It's Growing' (4526) in 1972.
Love, Peace & Happiness were soon fully absorbed into the New Birth line-up and they were also included on the recording of New Birth's third album 'Coming Together' (another 1972 release). In addition to these albums, a couple of Nite-Liters albums, 'Instrumental Directions' plus 'Different Strokes' and the Love, Peace & Happiness album's 'Love Is Stronger' and 'Here Tis' (LSP-4721) were also released that year. Two self written songs were included on the later album, the Melvin Wilson composition 'You've Chosen Me' and 'You Can't Cheat The Cheater', the main basics of the song being arrived at by Melvin and Ann with Leslie & Harvey helping finish it off. Melvin states that his most memorable recording session was the one for the first Love, Peace & Happiness album as this was his first ever experience of recording. Most of the whole ensemble's recording work was undertaken in RCA's New York studios the exception being Love Peace and Happiness' first album which was cut in Chicago.
Numerous singles were also released under the outfit's respective names, the first to chart, in July 71, being the Nite-Liters 'K-Gee' (RCA 0461). This made a peak position of No.17 R&B and No.39 Pop and was followed in September by The New Birth's 'It's Impossible' (0520 - a pop hit for Perry Como). The first single to chart under the Love, Peace & Happiness name was 'I Don't Want To Do Wrong' (0740 - taken from the 'Here Tis' LP) in August 1972. By the end of 1972, under their various names, the ensemble had enjoyed six R&B singles chart entries. After the 'Coming Together' album, Ann Bogan quit the music business as she had two children that her mother had been taking care of. She made the decision to come off the road to be with her children. Alan Frey, the only vocalist, in the Nite-Liters took her place. The full group now recorded its fourth album 'Birth Day' (4797 - December 72). At this point, the group consisted of Melvin Wilson, Leslie Wilson, Londee Wiggins (Loren), Alan Frey, Tony Churchill, Austin Landers, Leroy Taylor, Robert Jackson, Butch McDaniel, Robyn Russell, Bobby Downes, James Baker & Charlie Hearndon. This album included their version of the popular Bobby Womack song 'I Can Understand It' which featured Leslie on lead vocals and the track was culled from the LP to be a single (0912). The 45 entered the chart in March 73 and rose to No.4 R&B as well as making the Pop Top 40. "I Can Understand It" was a song they had started to perform on stage and it was recorded live in the studio just as if the band were playing another show. The song was captured to every ones complete satisfaction on the first take and so no additional versions were even attempted. The success of the single, stimulated sales of the album and also prompted RCA to release both the single and album in the UK. Bobby Downes had contributed next to nothing to the album and he soon left the group for personal reasons. The ensuing 12 strong New Birth line-up remained unchanged for the next four years.
In addition to recording outside writers compositions, members of the group also wrote their own songs and in addition to love songs, they tried their hands at "message songs" ala Curtis Mayfield / Marvin Gaye, etc. One such song was 'Overlooked Generation', a song that Melvin, Leslie, and Ann wrote and recorded when they were Love, Peace and Happiness (actually Melvin and Anne wrote it, but because Leslie was his brother, Melvin saw to it that he received joint writers credit along with Harvey.) This track, along with the song 'Don't Blame The Young Folks For The Drug Society' was cut by Love, Peace & Happiness. 'Don't Blame The Young Folks (For The Drug Society)' was getting a lot of airplay until it was yanked off the radio for being too politically charged. The negative response to the song from some quarters changed Melvin's style of writing forever and he dropped the theme of social issues from his composition songbook. Coincidentally 'Overlooked Generation' has just been recorded by Harvey Fuqua himself and the track is included on his recent Resurging Artist label CD release 'T.V.O.X. ( The Voice Of Experience )'.
The fifth New Birth album, 'It's Been A long Time' (0285), was released in November 73 and the title track, an extremely classy ballad sung by Leslie Wilson, became the groups next US single (0185). By January 74 the single was climbing the R&B chart where it eventually reached the Top 10, selling almost as many copies as 'I Can Understand It' and remaining on the chart for 17 weeks. The follow up single ( also from the LP ) was 'Wildflower' (0265), an earlier pop hit for Skylark. This again enjoyed great commercial success and although it only (!) made the Top 20 of the R&B chart, it performed better than it's predecessor on the pop chart. The LP was again released in the UK and has, with the passage of time, come to be regarded as the group's strongest ever RCA released album. Regarding the theme of the James Baker / Melvin Wilson written track, 'Pains Of Love', included on the LP, Melvin states it was written from personal experience... 'We had lovers and wives that we lost because of our love for music. We were struggling to stay in the music business because we didn't have the backing / support that lots of other artists had (from their label / management), so we never knew when we would be home and we lost a lot of loved ones because of it'... The Baker / Wilson team were to contribute numerous compositions that the group recorded. In the partnership, Melvin would develop the words & melody, whilst James worked on the music.
Harvey took all the credit for producing the group's efforts, as New Birth were signed to his Fuqua III production company. It was Fuqua III that had the deal with RCA, not New Birth directly. The people at RCA wanted Leslie Wilson to be featured more as lead vocalist but Harvey resisted this, to help ensure that he kept tight control of the group. Even though Harvey got all the producers credits, many of the songs they recorded were developed on the road. Songs would be tested out in live performance and improvements / stylistic elements incorporated. Thus the final version would be laid out long before the group ever got into the studio with Harvey. Harvey always wanted Leslie to sound more "churchy" but Melvin and Leslie would sit down together before hand and plan the songs vocals note for note. In the studio, Leslie would then generally stick to their version and not accept Harvey's suggested vocal changes ( much to his frustration ). In late 74 the group recorded their last LP for RCA, 'Coming From All Ends' and yet again the title track was released as a 45 (10242) and made it onto the R&B singles chart. 1974 also saw the release of another Nite-Liters album, 'A-nal-y-sis', and tracks such as 'Serenade For A Jive Turkey' were lifted from it for single release. With regard to live work, Leslie states .. 'a show with Barry White in New York at Madison Square Garden stands out. Even though Barry was backed by his full orchestra, New Birth pulled out all the stops & still managed to put on an amazing show. It was a great show all the way around'...For Melvin, the most memorable performance put on by the group was on a bill they shared with Earth, Wind & Fire. By all accounts they thrived on the competition provided by the other top acts of the period.
Even though the groups work for RCA had nominally all been produced by Harvey Fuqua, as numerous different lead vocalists had been featured on their releases, they wanted to break with Harvey (1975) but this also meant their departure from RCA.
______________________________
Harvey
&
RCA Record Label
&
RCA Record Label
1970-1980
Quitting Motown, Harvey also left Detroit behind and returned to Louisville, Kentucky to plan his next project. Once again he had his sights on his own record label, though unlike his early sixties ventures, this time he would not be distributing the records himself, by hand! Fuqua III Productions soon came into being, with an exclusive deal via the major RCA label. He also called in an old friend from his early days in Detroit. Ann Bogan, famous in the sixties as a Marvelette, actually hailed right back to the Harvey/Tri-Phi labels, when she recorded a couple of duets as half of Harvey and Ann. His new roster of talent also included the Niteliters, New Birth and Love Peace and Happiness, and while not achieving the world-beating status of Motown's stellar names, they saw very respectable sales and favourable reviews. By any standards, eleven Top 40 R&B entries is not exactly a failure!
The seventies were a relatively quiet time for Harvey, as the disco epidemic all but wiped genuine Soul music off the map, though he scored with Sylvester and Two Tons of Fun (aka The Weather Girls). Throughout the decade he remained active - the surefire way of staying young - even if his profile was somewhat less visible on the horizon than previously.
______________________________
Harvey
&
Sylvester
&
Sylvester
1978
disco superstar Sylvester ("Dance [Disco Heat]," "You Make Me Feel Mighty Real").
______________________________
Harvey
&
Resurging Artist Label
&
Resurging Artist Label
2000
A latter-day version of the Moonglows performed on a 1999 PBS television special, and a Fuqua-led version of the group recorded updated renditions of traditional R&B favorites for the subsequent Harvey & the Moonglows 2000 album released on Fuqua's Resurging Artist label.
A latter-day version of the Moonglows performed on a 1999 PBS television special, and a Fuqua-led version of the group recorded updated renditions of traditional R&B favorites for the subsequent Harvey & the Moonglows 2000 album released on Fuqua's Resurging Artist label.
______________________________
Harvey Fuqua
Discography
Label/Cat No. - A Side / B Side - Date
Discography
Label/Cat No. - A Side / B Side - Date
The Moonglows
Champagne 7500 - I Just Can't Tell You No Lie / I've Been Your Dog (Ever Since I've Been Your Man) - 1952
Chance 1147 - Baby Please / Whistle My Love – 10/1953
Chance 1150 - Just A Lonely Christmas / Hey, Santa Claus – 12/1953
Chance 1152 - Secret Love / Real Gone Mama – 02/1954
Chance 1156 - I Was Wrong / Ooh Rockin' Daddy – 06/1954
Chance 1161 - My Gal / 219 Train – 07/1954
Chess 1581 - Sincerely / Tempting - 1954
Bobby Lester & The Moonlighters (Duet of Bobby Lester and Harvey Fuqua)
Checker 806 - So All Alone / Shoo Doo-Be Doo – 1954
Checker 813 - Hug And Kiss / New Gal – 1954
The Moonglows
Chess 1589 - Most Of All / She's Gone - 1955
Chess 1605 - Starlite / In Love – 1955
Chess 1611 - In My Diary / Lover, Love Me – 1955
Chess 1619 - We Go Together / Chickie Um Bah - 1956 (One known copy has surfaced in Los Angeles In 1999 pressed in red vinyl)
Chess 1629 - See Saw / When I'm With You – 1956
Chess 1646 - Over And Over Again / I Knew From The Start - 1957 (8189a in the run off area -- slower version of "A" side)
Chess 1646 - Over And Over Again / I Knew From The Start - 1957 (Normal version of "A" side)
Chess 1651 - I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over / Don't Say Goodbye – 1957
Chess 1661 - Please Send Me Someone To Love / Mr. Engineer (Bring Her Back To Me) – 1957
Chess 1669 - The Beating Of My Heart / Confess It To Your Heart - 1957
Chess 1681 - Too Late / Here I Am – 1958
Chess 1689 - In The Middle Of The Night / Soda Pop - 1958 Written By Berry Gordy.
Chess 1701 - This Love / Sweeter Than Words – 1958
Harvey & The Moonglows
Chess 1705 - Ten Commandments Of Love* / Mean Old Blues - 1958 *Written By M. Paul (Turned out to be the nine year old son of one of the Chess brothers --- when a number of legal matters were cleared up it turned out that Harvey Fuqua had written the song)
Harvey (Harvey Fuqua)
Chess 1713 - I Want Somebody / Da Da Goo Goo – 1959
Betty & Dupree (Etta James And Harvey Fuqua)
Kent 318 - I Hope You're Satisfied / If It Ain't One Thing – 1959
The Moonglows
Chess 1717 - Love Is A River / I'll Never Stop Wanting You - 1959
After this recording Harvey Fuqua folded The Moonglows -- He met up with The Marquees whose members were Marvin Gaye (Baritone), Reese Palmer (First Tenor), James Nolan (First Tenor) and Chester Simmons (First Tenor / Baritone) and instead of going to Baltimore to complete a Moonglows tour, he and The Marquees went to Chicago . In Chicago they added Chuck Barksdale (Bass) of The Dells to the group and proceeded to cut the next "Moonglows" single.
Chess 1725 - Twelve Months Of The Year / Don't Be Afraid Of Love - 1959
Harvey & The Moonglows
Chess 1738 - Mama Loochie* / Unemployment - 1959 *Lead Marvin Gaye. By 1960 the "New" Moonglows dispersed and Harvey Fuqua and Marvin Gaye make their way to Detroit . While in Detroit Harvey marries Gwen Gordy.
Chess 1749 - Blue Skies / Ooh, Ouch, Stop! – 1960 as Harvey
Chess 1760 - If I Can't Have You / My Heart Cries – 1960 - Etta And Harvey (Etta James and Harvey Fuqua)
Chess 1770 - Beatnick / Junior – 1960 - The Moonglows
Chess 1771 - Spoonful / It's A Crying Shame – 1960 - Etta And Harvey (Etta James and Harvey Fuqua)
Tri-Phi
1001 – The Spinners - That's What Girls Are Made For / Heebie Jeebies
1002 - Johnnie & Jackie - Carry Your Own Load / So Disappointing
1003 - Lorri Rudolph - Don't Let Them Tell Me (Tell Me Yourself) / Grieving About A Love
1004 – The Spinners - I'm So Glad (Love I Found You) / Sud Duster
1005 - Johnny & Jackie - Someday We'll Be Together / Sho - Don't Play
1006 - Shorty Long - I'll Be Here / Bad Willie
1007 – The Spinners - What Did She Use / Itchin' For My Baby (But I Don't Know What To Scratch
1008 - The Davenport Sisters - You've Got Me Crying Again / Hoy Hoy
1009 - The Jordan Harmonisers - Do You Know Him / I Won't Mind"
1010 – Harvey - Whistling About You / She Loves Me So
1011 - The Merced Blue Notes - Midnite Session (Parts 1 & 2)
1012 – The Challengers - Honey Honey Honey / Stay With Me
1013 – The Spinners - I've Been Hurt / I Got Your Water Boiling Baby
1014 - The Ervin Sisters - Changing Baby / Do It Right
1015 - Shorty Long - I'll Be Here (reissue of #1006) / Too Smart
1016 - Johnny & Jackey - Do You See My Love For You Growing / Carry Your Own Load
1017 – Harvey - She Loves Me So / Any Way You Wanta
1018 - Bobby Smith & The Spinners - She Don't Love Me / Too Young, Too Much, Too Soon
1019 - Johnny & Jackie - Baby Don't Cha Worry / Stop What You're Saying
1020 - The Challengers 3 - Featuring Ann Bogan & Harvey Fuqua - Everday /I Hear An Echo
1021 - Shorty Long - What's The Matter / Going Away
1022 - The Ervin Sisters - Why I Love Him / Every Day's A Holiday
1023 - The Merced Blue Notes - Whole Lotta Nothing / Fragile
1024 – Harvey - Come On And Answer Me / Memories Of You
Bobby Lester & The Moonglows
Chess 1811 - Blue Velvet / Penny Arcade – 1962
The Moonglows
Vee Jay 423 - Secret Love / Real Gone Mama – 1962
Harvey (Formerly Of The Moonglows And The Spinners)
***************************************
1961
Tri-Phi 1001
05/61
JOHNNY & JACKIE SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER / SHO - DON'T PLAY
Tri-Phi 1005
Tri-Phi 1010
Tri-Phi 1015
JOHNNIE & JACKIE CARRY YOUR OWN LOAD / SO DISAPPOINTING
Tri-Phi 1002
LORRI RUDOLPH DON'T LET THEM TELL ME (TELL ME YOURSELF) / GRIEVING ABOUT A LOVE
Tri-Phi 1003
SPINNERS I'M SO GLAD (LOVE I FOUND YOU) / PLAYMATES SUD DUSTER
Tri-Phi 1004
Tri-Phi 1006
01/62
SPINNERS WHAT DID SHE USE / ITCHIN' FOR MY BABY (BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SCRATCH
Tri-Phi 1007
DAVENPORT SISTERS YOU'VE GOT ME CRYING AGAIN / HOY HOY
Tri-Phi 1008
JORDAN HARMONIZERS DO YOU KNOW HIM / I WON'T MIND
Tri-Phi 1009
MERCED BLUE NOTES MIDNITE SESSION (PART 1) / MIDNITE SESSION (PART 2)
Tri-Phi 1011
CHALLENGERS HONEY HONEY HONEY / STAY WITH ME
Tri-Phi 1012
SPINNERS I'VE BEEN HURT / I GOT YOUR WATER BOILING BABY
Tri-Phi 1013
ERVIN SISTERS CHANGING BABY / DO IT RIGHT
Tri-Phi 1014
JOHNNY & JACKEY DO YOU SEE MY LOVE FOR YOU GROWING / CARRY YOUR OWN LOAD
Tri-Phi 1016
HARVEY & THE SPINNERS SHE LOVES ME SO / ANY WAY YOU WANTA
Tri-Phi 1017
BOBBY SMITH & THE SPINNERS SHE DON'T LOVE ME / TOO YOUNG, TOO MUCH, TOO SOON
Tri-Phi 1018
12/62
JOHNNY & JACKIE BABY DON'T CHA WORRY / STOP WHAT YOU'RE SAYING
Tri-Phi 1019
CHALLENGERS 3 FEATURING ANN BOGAN & HARVEY FUQUA EVERDAY / I HEAR AN ECHO
Tri-Phi 1020
SHORTY LONG WHAT'S THE MATTER / GOING AWAY
Tri-Phi 1021
ERVIN SISTERS WHY I LOVE HIM / EVERY DAY'S A HOLIDAY
Tri-Phi 1022
MERCED BLUE NOTES WHOLE LOTTA NOTHING / FRAGILE
Tri-Phi 1023
HARVEY COME ON AND ANSWER ME / MEMORIES OF YOU
Tri-Phi 1024
5/63
***************************************
1961
Harvey 111
11/61
Harvey 112
03/62
JR WALKER & THE ALL STARS TWIST LACKAWANNA / WILLIE'S BLUES
Harvey 113
09/62
Harvey 114
09/62
Harvey 115
09/62
QUAILS NEVER FELT LIKE THIS BEFORE / MY LOVE
Harvey 116
09/62
Harvey 117
09/62
Harvey 118
11/62
JR WALKER & THE ALL STARS GOOD ROCKIN' / BRAIN WASHER Part 2
Harvey 119
01/63
QUAILS OVER THE HUMP / I THOUGHT
Harvey 120
04/63
Harvey 121 - (Harvey Fuqua And Ann Bogan)
05/63
KEITH MOSS SATISFACTION GUARANTEED / RIVER OF LOVE
Harvey 122
05/63
Tri-Phi 1010 - She Loves Me So / Whistling About You – 1962
The Spinners
Tri-Phi 1013 - I've Been Hurt / I Got Your Water Boiling Baby (I'm Gonna Cook Your Goose) – 1962
Harvey
Tri-Phi 1017 - She Loves Me So / (Dance) Any Way You Wanta – 1962
The Spinners
Tri-Phi 1018 - She Don't Love Me / Too Young, Too Much, Too Soon – 1962
Harvey (Formerly Of The Moonglows And The Spinners)
Tri-Phi 1024 - Memories Of You / Come On And Answer Me - 1963 (Around this period Harvey Fuqua links his Tri-Phi operation with that of his Brother In-Law Berry Gordy and takes The Spinners along with him)
The Moonglows
(All the singles listed here from 1964 were from another set of Moonglows formed by Alexander "Pete" Graves including Doc Green (from The Five Crowns on Rainbow Records), George Thorpe and Bearle Easton (Both from The Velvets on Red Robin Records) these are new recordings trying to recreate the old sound)
Lana 130 - Sincerely / Time After Time - 1964
Lana 131 - Most Of All / What A Difference A Day Makes – 1964
Lana 133 - See Saw / Love Is A River – 1964
Lana 134 - We Go Together / Shoo Doo-Be Doo – 1954
Lana 135 - Ten Commandments Of Love / Half A Heart – 1964
Times Square 30 - Baby, Please / I've Got The Right – 1964
Crimson 1003 - My Imagination / Gee – 1964
Lost Nite 275 - Just A Lonely Christmas / Baby Please - 196?
The Nite-Liters (Band formed in 1963 by Harvey Fuqua and Tony Churchill, later expanded to seventeen members with two vocal groups and band. Renamed New Birth Inc. --- of which Ann Bogan (Vocals) and Charlie Hearndon (Guitarist) were members)
RCA Victor 74-0374 - Con-Funk-Shun / Down And Dirty – 1970
RCA Victor 74-0591 - K-Jee / Tanga Boo Gonk – 1971
RCA Victor 74-0591 - Afro-Strut / (We've Got To) Pull Together – 1971
RCA Victor 71-0714 - Cherish Every Precious Moment / I've Got Dreams To Remember – 1972
The Moonglows (Members Harvey Fuqua, Bobby Lester, Alexander "Pete" Graves, Chuck Lewis and Doc Williams)
Big P 101 - Sincerely ' 72 / You've Chosen Me - 1972
RCA Victor 74-0759 - Sincerely / I Was Wrong – 1972
RCA Victor 74-0839 - When I'm With You / You've Chosen Me – 1972
Harvey & The Moonglows
Chess/Protein 21 P21-01 - Ten Commandments Of Love / Ten Commandments Of Beautiful Hair - 197? (promo issue for Protein 21 Shampoo)
The Moonglows
Mello 69 - Just A Lonely Christmas / Hey, Santa Claus - 19??
Harvey & The Moonglows / Bunker Hill
Intermission 584 - Ten Commandments Of Love / Hide And Go Seek (Parts 1 & 2)* - ? *flip by Bunker Hill.
Spinners
Tri-Phi 1001 - That's What Girls Are Made For */ Heebie Jeebies - 1961 *Lead Vocal Harvey Fuqua.
Tri-Phi 1004 - Love (I'm So Glad)* / Sudbuster - 1961 *Lead Vocal Harvey Fuqua.
Tri-Phi 1007 - Itching For My Baby, But I Don't Know Where To Scratch / What Did She Use - 1962 *Lead Vocal Bobby Smith.
Tri-Phi 1010 - She Loves Me So / Whistling About You - 1962 Harvey & The Spinners
Tri-Phi 1010 - She Loves Me So / Whistling About You - 1962 The Spinners
Tri-Phi 1013 - I've Been Hurt / I Got Your Water Boiling Baby - 1962 The Spinners And Bobby Smith
Tri-Phi 1018 - She Don't Love Me / Too Young, Too Much, Too Soon - 1962 Loe And Joe (With The Spinners)
Harvey 112 - Little Ole Boy, Little Ole Girl / That's How I Am Without You - 1962 The Spinners
Motown 1067 - Sweet Thing / How Can I - 1964
Motown 1078 - I'll Always Love You / Tomorrow May Never Come - 1965
Motown 1093 - Truly Yours / Where Is That Girl - 1966 Various Artists
Motown 2482 - Seasons Greetings From Motown - 1966 (Very Short "Christmas Greetings" Radio Station Spots Are Delivered By Martha & The Vandellas, The Temptations, The Miracles, Shorty Long, The Velvelettes, The Spinners, The Four Tops, The Elgins And The Supremes ---- It Was Pressed In Red Vinyl) The Spinners
Motown 1109 - For All We Know / Cross My Heart - 1967
Motown 1136 - Bad Bad Weather / I Just Can't Help But Feel The Pain - 1968
Motown 1155 - (She's Gonna Love Me) At Sundown / In My Diary - 1969
Vip 25050 - (She's Gonna Love Me) At Sundown / In My Diary - 1969
Vip 25054 - (She's Gonna Love Me) At Sundown / Message From A Black Man - 1970
Monarch 25057 - It's A Shame / ? - 1970 (Test Pressing)
Vip 25057 - It's A Shame / Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music - 1970
Vip 25060 - My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) / We'll Have It Made - 1971(Promo Copies Came Out In Red Vinyl)
Tri-Phi 1004 - Love (I'm So Glad)* / Sudbuster - 1961 *Lead Vocal Harvey Fuqua.
Tri-Phi 1007 - Itching For My Baby, But I Don't Know Where To Scratch / What Did She Use - 1962 *Lead Vocal Bobby Smith.
Tri-Phi 1010 - She Loves Me So / Whistling About You - 1962 Harvey & The Spinners
Tri-Phi 1010 - She Loves Me So / Whistling About You - 1962 The Spinners
Tri-Phi 1013 - I've Been Hurt / I Got Your Water Boiling Baby - 1962 The Spinners And Bobby Smith
Tri-Phi 1018 - She Don't Love Me / Too Young, Too Much, Too Soon - 1962 Loe And Joe (With The Spinners)
Harvey 112 - Little Ole Boy, Little Ole Girl / That's How I Am Without You - 1962 The Spinners
Motown 1067 - Sweet Thing / How Can I - 1964
Motown 1078 - I'll Always Love You / Tomorrow May Never Come - 1965
Motown 1093 - Truly Yours / Where Is That Girl - 1966 Various Artists
Motown 2482 - Seasons Greetings From Motown - 1966 (Very Short "Christmas Greetings" Radio Station Spots Are Delivered By Martha & The Vandellas, The Temptations, The Miracles, Shorty Long, The Velvelettes, The Spinners, The Four Tops, The Elgins And The Supremes ---- It Was Pressed In Red Vinyl) The Spinners
Motown 1109 - For All We Know / Cross My Heart - 1967
Motown 1136 - Bad Bad Weather / I Just Can't Help But Feel The Pain - 1968
Motown 1155 - (She's Gonna Love Me) At Sundown / In My Diary - 1969
Vip 25050 - (She's Gonna Love Me) At Sundown / In My Diary - 1969
Vip 25054 - (She's Gonna Love Me) At Sundown / Message From A Black Man - 1970
Monarch 25057 - It's A Shame / ? - 1970 (Test Pressing)
Vip 25057 - It's A Shame / Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music - 1970
Vip 25060 - My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) / We'll Have It Made - 1971(Promo Copies Came Out In Red Vinyl)
---------------------------
Research material
-----------------------
Harvey Fuqua and Tommy Mitchell - 2003
Smokey Concert
Tommy Mitchell and Harvey Fuqua - 2007
Cool Bobby B Convention - Las Vegas
