The Originals › Similar Artists

Shorty Long - 100% match to The Originals

Frederick Earl Long, 20 May 1940, Birmingham, Alabama, USA, d. 29 June 1969, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Multi-instrumentalist Long received tutelage from W.C. Handy and Alvin Robinson before joining Harvey Fuqua’s Tri-Phi label in 1961. This Detroit-based company was later acquired by Motown Records and Long acted as master of ceremonies on his new outlet’s touring re Read more

Brenda Holloway - 97% match to The Originals

21 June 1946, Atascadero, California, USA. Holloway began her recording career with three small Los Angeles labels, Donna, Catch and Minasa, in the early 60s, recording under the aegis of producer Hal Davis. In 1964, Holloway made an impromptu performance at a disc jockeys’ convention in California, where she was spotted by a Motown Records talent scout. She signed to Read more

The Temprees - 90% match to The Originals

Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers - 86% match to The Originals

Bobby Taylor (Robert Taylor; lead vocals), Tommy Chong (b. Thomas B. Kin Chong, 24 May 1938, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; guitar/vocals), Eddie Patterson (guitar), Wes Henderson (bass), Robbie King (keyboards) and Ted Lewis (drums) joined forces in Vancouver, Canada in the mid-60s. Originally known as Little Daddy And The Bachelors, they were signed to Motown Records in 1967 a Read more

Carolyn Crawford - 80% match to The Originals

US-born soul singer Carolyn Crawford won a 1963 talent contest staged by radio station WCHB in Detroit, the prize being a contract with the city’s biggest label, Motown Records. Her debut single, ‘Forget About Me’, proved unsuccessful, but she had a minor US hit in 1964 with Smokey Robinson’s ‘My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down)’. Her thi Read more

The Elgins - 80% match to The Originals

US-born Johnny Dawson, Cleo Miller and Robert Fleming, later replaced by Norbert McClean, sang together in three Detroit vocal groups in the late 50s, the Sensations, the Five Emeralds and the Downbeats. Under the last of these names, they recorded two singles for Motown Records in 1959 and 1962. Also in 1962, Saundra Mallett (later Saundra Mallett Edwards) issued ‘Camel W Read more

Kim Weston - 79% match to The Originals

Agatha Natalie Weston, 20 December 1939, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Kim Weston received her musical education with the Wright Specials gospel group, an influence that survived throughout her subsequent career. Torn between pursuing music or acting, she was persuaded to join the Motown Records label in the early 60s by Johnny Thornton, the cousin of two of the label’s top Read more

The Intruders - 75% match to The Originals

Formed in Philadelphia, USA, in 1960, Eugene ‘Bird’ Daughtry (29 October 1939, Kinston, North Carolina, USA, d. 25 December 1994), Phil Terry (b. 1 November 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA), Robert ‘Big Sonny’ Edwards (b. 22 February 1942, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) and Sam ‘Little Sonny’ Brown (b. Samuel Brown, d. April 1995) enjoye Read more

Eddie Holland - 67% match to The Originals

30 October 1939, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Like his brother Brian Holland, Eddie was active in the Detroit music scene from the mid-50s onwards, leading the Fidelatones vocal group, and producing demo recordings for Jackie Wilson. In 1958, he met Berry Gordy, who produced a series of solo singles for Holland on Mercury Records and United Artists Records. Gordy signed Holland t Read more

The Monitors - 66% match to The Originals

The Contours - 65% match to The Originals

The Contours formed as an R&B vocal group in Detroit in 1959, featuring lead vocalist Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea and Sylvester Potts. Hubert Johnson (14 January 1941, d. 11 July 1981) joined the line-up in 1960, and it was his cousin Jackie Wilson who secured the group an audition and then a contract with Motown Records in 1961. Initial singles proved uns Read more

David Ruffin - 63% match to The Originals

18 January 1941, Meridian, Mississippi, USA, d. 1 June 1991. The younger brother of Jimmy Ruffin and the cousin of Melvin Franklin of the Temptations, David Ruffin was the son of a minister, and began his singing career with the gospel group the Dixie Nightingales. He combined the roles of vocalist and drummer in the doo-wop combo the Voice Masters from 1958, before signing Read more

Eddie Kendricks - 59% match to The Originals

17 December 1939, Union Springs, Alabama, USA, d. 5 October 1992, Alabama, USA. Kendricks was a founder member of the Primes in the late 50s, an R&B vocal group that moved to Detroit in 1960 and formed the basis of the Temptations. His wavering falsetto vocals were an essential part of the group’s sound throughout their first decade on Motown Records. He was singled Read more

The Dells - 56% match to The Originals

A US soul vocal and close harmony group formed in 1953 as the El-Rays, when the members - Johnny Funches (18 July 1935, d. 23 January 1998; lead), Marvin Junior (b. 31 January 1936, Harrell, Arkansas, USA; tenor), Verne Allison (b. 22 June 1936, Chicago, Illinois, USA; tenor), Lucius McGill (b. 1935, Chicago, Illinois, USA; tenor), Mickey McGill (b. 17 February 1937, Chicago Read more

The Miracles - 56% match to The Originals

Of all the R&B vocal groups formed in Detroit, Michigan, USA, in the mid-50s, the Miracles proved to be the most successful. They were founded at the city’s Northern High School in 1955 by Smokey Robinson (William Robinson, 19 February 1940, Detroit, Michigan, USA), Emerson Rogers, Bobby Rogers (b. 19 February 1940, Detroit, Michigan, USA), Ronnie White (b. 5 April Read more