Monday, January 12, 2009

A Half Century of Fabulousness

In honor of a certain record label's 50th, herewith five minutes of pure pop perfection:

Made all the more glorious for the presence of Miss Dusty Springfield, hostess of 1965's Ready Steady Go Motown special on British television.

I love the contrast of the Supremes (generally demure; surprisingly lively here, for once singing live rather than lip-synching on TV) and their slightly feral cousins, the Vandellas. It's as if only Martha's ferocious affect (possibly combined with a light tranquilizer) is keeping the Vandellas in check; without her they might easily morph into Ronettes or even Ikettes, and then God knows what might happen.

2 comments:

  1. I've always thought the Vandellas were the surperior group; certainly Martha had such a great voice and the arrangements for the backup were better. But Lord, they were some UGLY women.

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  2. love,"dancing in the street!" what a great clip!

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