Loading ...The Grapevine’s Gone Quiet: Motown’s Norman Whitfield Died
Motown songwriter Norman Whitfield died earlier this week in Los Angeles. Best known for ‘(I Heard It Through) The Grapevine’, Whitfield brought a new, grittier sound to Motown in the late 1960’s.
Whitfield and his songwriting partner Barrett Strong initiated the transformation of Detroit Soul label Motown from an innocent pop factory into a socially aware hotbed for artists who shaped a new, funkier sound. There is only one year between Gladys Knight & The Pips releasing the classic Motown stomper ‘(I Heard It Through) The Grapevine’ and The Temptation’s unleashing the biting ‘Cloud 9′ - Both co-penned by Whitfield.
Listen Here To Norman Whitfield’s Songs
Whitfield had been writing hits for Motown since 1963. Five years later the label’s trademark sound full of polished, uptempo optimism had fallen out of step with the Zeitgeist. It’s Whitfield’s songs who put Motown back on the agenda: ‘Don’t Let The Joneses Get You Down’ (Temptations, 1969), ‘Ball Of Confusion’ (Temptations, 1970) and most pointedly ‘War’ (Edwin Starr, 1970).
Watch Edwin Starr on YouTube
A few years on, Whitfield plugged into the then still underground Disco scene with the timeless groove of ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone’, performed with gusto by the Temptations.
Watch The Temptations On YouTube
He left Motown around ‘73 to set up his own label, Whitfield Records, focusing on Disco and Funk with former Motown band The Undisputed Truth as his main act. Whitfield had his last major hit in ‘76 with ‘Car Wash’ for Rose Royce.
Norman Whitfield died 16th September 2008 in Los Angeles, aged 68, of diabetes related illness.
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Nice one Christian. That's my kind of stuff. 
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Comment by hugh on 9 October 2008:
Help requested,
i was at a 50th birthday party recently, a musician friend of mine.
I texted asking him to name some ofhis favourite artists as i want to buy him some music.
His answer
Duke Ellington
King Crimson
John Zorn
Charlie Mingus
Philip Glass
Roland Kirk
Your task tuneraker, should you choose to accept it!! Is to give me a short list of unusual music, by other artists that this man might like, considering his tastes. Not a huge list as it was only his 50th.
Thanks
Comment by admin on 10 October 2008:
Hi Hugh,
Sounds like a cool kind of party…
Suggestion 1) Try anything by Arthur Russell, he worked with Phil Glass for a while before going his own way.
Suggestion 2) Brand new, hot off the press is ‘Dolores’ by Bohren & Der Club Of Gore. It ticks all the items on your friend’s list: Jazz, free improvisation, art rock, drone.
Suggestion 3) I recommend anything by Dutch tape and electronics artist Rutger Zuyderveldt, aka Machinefabriek. Three albums in particular:
Aaron Martin & Machinefabriek: ‘Cello Recycling/Cello Drowning’
Baars, Van Veldhoven, Zuyderveldt: ‘Zeeg’
Machinefabriek & Leo Fabriek: ‘Fabriek + Fabriek’
Suggestion 4) If your friend hasn’t got anything by New York maniac Rhys Chatham yet, get him ‘Die Donnergoetter’. Rhys loved to pile ‘em up and play it LOUD: His pieces are for six electric guitars plus band, or four trumpets, or… see for yourself.
Suggestion 5) If Chatham sounds right, than its worth to expand your selection to include highlights from the days of New York No Wave, roughly 1977-82. The friendly dudes at Souljazz Records have released three compilations that contain most of the essential artists. You get neat booklets, good liner notes and in most cases a vastly improved sound quality to the original vinyl. Check out ‘New York Noise’ Vol.1-3.
I’ve checked availability with amazon.co.uk and put together a few selections for you. Have a look below, you can flip through the carousel using the arrow buttons. To view or order an album, just click on the cover. Enjoy!
Comment by hugh on 14 October 2008:
hi christian.
thanks a million for the great advice, my first purchases through Tuneraker, I’ll be back! in my speedos!!!
Pingback by Top 20 Motown Soul Tracks : Tuneraker.com - Music Reviews Without Hype And Jargon on 14 January 2009:
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