Deep Groove Encyclopedia

Originals

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Click below for an Originals sample:

Lesser-known Detroit quartet that benefited from some of Marvin Gaye's first attempts at production. He cooked up "Baby I'm For Real" and "The Bells" in 1969-70, and both hit the top 5 on the charts, leading some to say the Originals were Motown's best-kept secret.

As Gaye went deeper into his own thing, the Originals suffered from a lack of notable material until hitting with "Down to Love Town" in the final days of the Soul imprint. While only scraping the top 100, the song is a disco classic much loved for its closing section. After Soul closed, they moved to Fantasy for a couple of LPs.

Although they got their recording start rather late, they had been backing singers for a number of years, and lead singer Freddie Gorman wrote "Please Mr. Postman" for the Marvelettes back in 1961. He died on June 13, 2006. .

Originals' Deepest Grooves

Baby I'm For Real (Soul, 1969)
The title is something of a minor soul masterwork, having been covered by After 7.

Naturally Together (Soul, 1970)

Communique (Soul, 1976)

Very Best Of (Motown, 1999)

Essential Collection (Universal, 2002)
Emphasis solely on the their 60s material. Currently an import, but best bet for traditional vocal group fans.