MABLE JOHN, "WHO WOULDN'T LOVE A MAN LIKE THAT" C/W "YOU MADE A FOOL OUT OF ME," TAMLA T-54031 (REL. 8/1960)

Most folks would guess Mary Wells to be Motown’s first female solo act. She was the label’s first successful femme performer, yes. And though Wells’ debut 45 was issued a few weeks before Mable John’s (on sister imprint Tamla), John was signed first and had a built-in marketing angle. She was the sister of King Records’ r&b star Little Willie John. Born in 1930, she was the oldest of 10 siblings. Her family moved from Louisiana to Detroit in 1941. Ms. John got to know Berry Gordy’s family before she signed with the label. In high school, she had an afternoon job working for an insurance firm run by Gordy’s mother. Ms. Gordy was a mentor to the young woman. After high school, John went to a business college for two years. Upon her return to Detroit, she chanced upon Mrs. Gordy, who informed her that her son Berry was now a songwriter and was pursuing a career in music.

Mable had sung in a family gospel group that included little brother Mertis (Willie) and Gordy’s mom suggested she call on her son. Mable auditioned for the ambitious Berry Gordy, who liked her style and began to manage her. He spent some time grooming her for stardom—making live performances in the Detroit area to build up her stage confidence and working as the entrepreneur’s chauffeur. In 1959, with the foundation of Tamla Records, Ms. John became Motown’s first female artist. Gordy, at the time, was fond of suddenly deciding to re-record songs that had already been released—often getting the notion in the middle of the night and summoning the artists and band to the studio to follow his whim.

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Like Sam Phillips of Sun Records, Gordy might hold recordings back for years before deciding the time was right to release them. He also worked side-deals that sometimes backfired. Prior to signing her to his new label, Gordy got John a contract with United Artists records, where Marv Johnson, Eddie Holland and other lesser-known Detroit acts were being produced by him. For reasons unknown, John didn’t have any releases on UA. Gordy had decided she was a fitting artist for his new enterprise.

She had five singles on Gordy labels. Her first 45 was issued on Motown in a promotional version, then on Tamla for retail. Her second single was recalled and re-recorded—once with a string section and once without. Her final single paired one side of her debut 45 with a new song recorded in 1963. By this time, Gordy realized that his early artists, who were more on the blues end of the spectrum, weren’t selling like the younger performers who appealed to a broader audience. John’s contract was annulled in 1963. She continued to record for Gordy as a background singer, which must have been humiliating.

For three years, she became one of Ray Charles’ Raelettes, performing live and on many of Charles’ ABC-Paramount records. In 1966, she signed with Stax Records in a fresh start. Her gutsy, tell-it-like-it-is style was now favored, as Black music became grittier and bolder. “Your Good Thing (Is About to End),” penned by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, got into the r&b Top 10 in 1966 and onto the bottom of the national Hot 100. John was a natural fit for the hard-hitting Stax sound which, in 1966, had reached an early plateau that balanced its potential heavy hand with a welcome lack of hubris.

All that was in the future when today’s single appeared in the late summer of 1960. It made a little noise; Billboard reviewed it with their so-so assessment typical of the magazine’s general attitude towards Black music. Its two sides reveal a different voice from those we associate with Motown.

“Who Wouldn’t Love a Man Like That?” was co-penned by Berry Gordy and Tyran Carlo in 1957—perhaps gender-swapped from its first intended use for Jackie Wilson, Motown’s first success (though he never appeared on the Detroit label). It’s a jazzy show-tune blues with a finger-snappin’ swing, tremolo guitar and the gritty vibe that so distinguished Detroit recordings of this era.

Mable’s is not a pretty voice—but neither was Mary Wells’ on her early Motown sides. Neither woman was a blues belter in the classic Ruth Brown-La Vern Baker style. This was something new for Black music at the dawn of the 1960s; both voices were tough, careworn and worldly-wise. This is a powerful performance of a song about a man who sounds too good to be true. Let’s hope Mable’s glowing review is correct; if so, she’s a fortunate soul.

>>> Hear it HERE! <<<

On the B is a more recent item. “You Made a Fool Out of Me” was composed by Barry and Gwen Gordy and Billy “Roquel” Davis in 1960. It has a swamp pop-style 12/8 grind and its lyrical forecast is bleak. Ms. J is passionate in her moving, pleading performance on this stark B-side that has a haunting, forlorn feeling.

>>> Hear it HERE! <<<

Mable John made a series of powerful singles for Stax into 1968. After her final single, “Running Out,” she rejoined The Raelettes, where she remained until 1973, when she left secular music. Her later years were spent doing good works, including the Joy Community Outreach to End Homelessness in Los Angeles and the management and guidance of gospel singers.  She made a final single for UK label Motorcity in 1991. Two years later, she earned a Master of Divinity degree. In the 2000s, she co-authored a novel, Sanctified Blues, and appeared in John Sayles’ 2007 film Honeydripper and the acclaimed documentary 20 Feet from Stardom (2014). She passed on in 2022 at age 91.

Tomorrow: unusual Motown continues with a 1962 single by mail carrier/songwriter Henry Lumpkin, whose voice is of a piece with Mable John’s.