More magical music in Motown

Detroit has produced more than its fair share of great musicians over the years and many of them are buried or interred at the Woodlawn Cemetery. On Saturday we took the bus there and began by visiting the mausoleum where Aretha Franklin is interred, along with her father Rev C L Franklin and sisters Carolyn and Erma. We checked out several other graves  including those of Marv Johnson, Levi Stubbs and Lawrence Payton of the Four Tops, the Gordy family plot where Esther Gordy Edwards is commemorated and a memorial to Michael Jackson. There are many more music related graves there, including Billy Davis, Pervis Jackson of the Spinners, David Ruffin, James Jamerson and Earl Van Dyke, as well as members of the Ford, Dodge and Hudson motor dynasties. The autumn colours were a delight but our visit was cut short in the end by rain.
The second Motown A Go Go show took place in the evening at Bert's Warehouse and once again it was a fantastic night of great music and nostalgia. Billed as Junior Walker's All Stars, the Ronnie Nelson band and backing group The Ladeez, wearing glittery jackets, kicked things off in fine style with 'Roadrunner', 'What Does It Take' and 'Shotgun'. Then it was the turn of original Vandellas Rosalind Holmes and Annette Helton, along with Roschelle Laughhunn, to crank things up with 'Heatwave', 'Nowhere To Run' and 'Dancing In The Street', all sounding much like they did when Martha still had a decent voice.
Next up was a real treat: the Velvelettes featuring all four original members. They looked extremely elegant dressed in long peach, blue and green dresses and sounded great too, with lead singer Carolyn Gill showing the way. There was a moment of drama though as sister Mildred slipped and fell backwards on the stage. Fortunately she was able to carry on after a few minutes and all three of their numbers - 'These Things Will Keep Me Loving You', 'Lonely Lonely Girl Am I' and the classic 'Needle In A Haystack' - were sublime.
The interval saw a series of awards to Motown luminaries  including Ivy Joe Hunter, Paul Riser, Clay McMurray, who was represented by his family, and a lifetime achievement award for the late Esther Gordy Edwards, which was collected by the manager of the Motown Museum that she set up. There were also acknowledgements for the work of Phil Dick and his crew for setting up the shows of the last three years and for the support of Pat Lewis.
The Motown vocal group magic continued in the second half with the Miracles, featuring lead singer Mark Scott, whose set included 'Tears Of A Clown', 'More Love' and, appropriately, 'Going To A Go Go'. Next up were the Elgins, frequent visitors to the UK, whose lead singer Saundra Edward's spent several precious minutes talking about their UK trips and their recent R and B Hall of Fame Award, rather than singing. She dedicated the set to singer Johnny Dawson, who died last year, but when they did sing ('Darling Baby' and 'Heaven Must Have Sent You') they were excellent.
I've always had a soft spot for the Contours' rather more upbeat numbers and I was delighted when the five guys, including founding member Joe Billingsley, hit the stage. They were funny, energetic and on top form as they sang 'First I Look At The Purse', 'Just A Little Misunderstanding' and their breakthrough hit  'Do You Love Me'. Along with the Velvelettes they were the stand out act of the night I thought.
Final act of a long night were the Supremes, featuring Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene, plus Joyce Vincent. Looking glamorous as you would expect, in yellow gowns, they had all the actions and poses made famous by previous group members and harmonised well on 'You Keep Me Hanging On', 'Stop In The Name Of Love' and 'Love is Like An Itching In My Heart'. They closed with 'Some Day We'll Be Together' and were joined on stage by the entire cast at the end of what was another joyous night of Motown.
Sunday was a relatively quiet day with just a panel discussion involving Motown stalwarts Ivy Joe Hunter, Paul Riser and Dennis Coffey by way of interest. The evening however was another matter with another Detroit A Go Go show featuring artists who recorded for labels such as Ric Tic and Golden World.
Willie Kendrick was on first, dressed in a red suit and shaking hands with everyone in sight. He sang three numbers including 'Change Your Ways' but my lack of knowledge,  and rather muffled vocals, prevented me recognising the other two. No such problem with Ronnie Savoy who began with 'Loving You Is Such A Beautiful Thing' and then brought a female audience member on stage for 'Johnny On The Spot', a song that he wrote.
Pat Lewis appeared next dressed in yellow and sang well on 'I'll Wait' and 'Can't Shake Loose'. Too much chat perhaps but good fun and she clearly enjoyed herself. Following her was a real highlight, J J Barnes, dressed in a pale pink suit but still managing to look like a respectable businessman. He lit up the stage with 'Real Humdinger' and was also excellent on 'Please Help Me' and 'Baby Please Come Home'.
After an interval the tall figure of Al Kent (Ronnie Savoy's brother) was introduced and came on carrying a large book called 'Custodians of the Hummingbird', which is the story of his life in music. He sang a little bit of 'The Way You Been Acting Lately' rather shakily, and was presented with a lifetime achievement award by Phil Dick. Pat Lewis received a similar award.
It was now time for some vocal group harmony and the Reflections came on stage for four numbers. They would not be out of place at the Long Island doowop festival and were great on 'Poor Man's Son', a good version of Jackie Wilson's 'To Be Loved' and their fabulous hit from 1964 'Just Like Romeo and Juliet'. They were followed by the Fantastic Four, none of them original members but excellent in terms of their harmonies and choreography. They have re- recorded two numbers on a 45 that was launched at Detroit A Go Go and sounded great on both numbers, 'Can't Stop Looking For My Baby' and 'Pin Point It Down.
Tony Michaels, lead singer of the Reflections, came on stage to sing his 1967 solo number 'I Love The Life I Life', dedicated to all the Northern Soul fans in the audience.  Finally the Ladeez, dressed in short yellow tassled dresses, sang 'Proud Mary' in full Ike and Tina Revue mode and the rest of the acts came on stage to bring what had been another great night, and a fabulous weekend, to a close.