RPM45

Everyone knows the Supremes – three young women from Detroit who became one of the most successful groups of all time -  with 12 number one hits and 21 top 10 hits. And Mary Wilson is the one Supreme who stuck through it all…through the tragic death of her friend Florence Ballard, the departure of Diana Ross for a solo career, and the "new Supremes" of the '70s.

Today we discuss her early life, her life as a Supreme and her life since. You'll hear about...

• Her experiences growing up in Detroit and how she met her fellow Supremes.
• How The Supremes "hung around" Motown Records on a daily basis until they got their chance.
• The forgotten "Fourth Supremes" -- Betty and Barbara.
• How their initial singles flopped until Motown hooked them up with the writing/producing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.
• Her relationship with Diana Ross.
• What happened to The Supremes in the '70s after Diana left.
• What happened to Florence Ballard that led to her problems.
• Why Mary never quit music.
• How Mary moved beyond music alone to become a best-selling author.
• Her aspirations for the future.

Finally, we talk about Mary's mission to put Florence Ballard on a commemorative stamp. To help her, check out this web page for instructions: https://about.usps.com/who/csac/#process

The Cyrkle had two big hits in 1966: "Red Rubber Ball" and "Turn Down Day." They're also known for being an opening act the Beatles' final U.S. tour that same year.

But only a few years before, the band was known as the Rhondells - the #1 party band on the campus of Lafayette University - a small private school in Easton, PA.In this episode of RPM45, we talk about:

• How Beatles manager Brian Epstein became their manager.
• How John Lennon gave them their new name.
• Their experience opening for The Beatles.
• How Paul Simon co-wrote "Red Rubber Ball," and how the band turned down another Simon-penned hit.
• What band members did after their "15 Minutes of Fame." ...
• How the band got back together 5 decades later.
• And more!

It’s been almost 60 years since Judy Collins released her first album. But Judy Collins is still going strong…still writing and performing, both on record and in concert. We talk about her life, her musical journey, and (of course, since this is RPM45), her Top 10 Hit "Both Sides Now," and what it's meant for her career.

My favorite part of the interview is when Judy Collins calls out some of her fellow performers for "lying."  But throughout, she is remarkably candid and forthright.

Dennis Coffey is a legendary guitarist from Detroit - a highly coveted session musician for numerous artists and labels, including Motown. As a member of Motown's house band - the "Funk Brothers" - he played on some of its biggest hits by The Temptations, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and many others.. And in 1971, he had his own Top 10 instrumental hit – "Scorpio." 

Dennis talks about how Motown lost its signature sound after moving to L.A. and abandoning the Funk Brothers, how - despite all his success - he had to work on an assembly line at General Motors, and how he achieved success in a new career while still continuing in music.

Andy Kim had big hits in the late ‘60s, including the Top Ten “Baby, I Love You,” then made a huge comeback in 1974 with his #1 hit “Rock Me Gently” Andy tells great stories about his gutsy start in the music biz, his songwriting successes (including a #1 hit for a cartoon band), and how Detroit played a pivotal role in two of his records' successes.

But beyond his music, I found Andy to be a spiritual person with an inspiringly positive attitude. Check him out on this week's RPM45!

Gino Vannelli's unique mix of pop, rock, jazz and R&B took him to major success in the '70s and '80s.  He had two platinum album, five gold albums, two top 5 singles in the U.S. and many more in his home country Canada. plus four Grammy nominations and seven Juno awards (Canada's version of the Grammy).

But this episode is about more than Gino Vannelli's music, because he is about much more than his music. When the rush of fame left him unsatisfied, he embarked on a spiritual quest that profoundly changed him. And continues his quest to expand his musical horizons as well. In our interview, he has a lot to say about his life and philosophy in and outside of music. I think you'll him thoughtful and interesting...I know I did!

Nick Van Eede is co-founder and lead singer of Cutting Crew, which had two Top 10 hits in the '80s, including "(I Just) Died in Your Arms"-- #1 in the U.S. and 16 other countries. Nick has great stories about his colorful history in music,including how he got discovered, the meaning of  Cutting Crew's #1 hit, and when the group knew it was time to call it quits for a time. And we discuss his terrific new album -- "Ransomed Healed Restored Forgiven."

We are very grateful to have Russ Giguere of one of the late '60s greatest groups -- The Association. We talk about how the group started, its hits, how he overcame stage fright and much much more