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PRODUCTIONKamran V

LICENSINGGraham Kurzner

RE-MASTERINGPeter Lyman [except 96 Tears]

ILLUSTRATIONSBen Lamb

SLEEVE NOTESBill Holdship

DESIGN & ART DIRECTIONLevi’s® XX

© 2013 Levi Strauss & Co.

www.levisvintageclothing.com

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In the early 1960s, Detroit was still the heart of the American car

industry, which drew thousands of migrants from the South and

elsewhere to work in the auto factories. The pulsing beat of the

factory was reflected in the music, and Detroit soon became a

hotbed for a diverse range of sounds.

Detroit’s biggest export was Motown Records, founded by local

Detroiter and former autoworker Berry Gordy with an $800

loan from his parents. Gordy’s “Hit Factory” worked on the same

principles as the Detroit car assembly lines, churning out chart-

topping hits by Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles,

the Supremes and more.

If Motown was the sound of the city, then the garage rock of the

Hideout club was the sound of the suburbs. The first teen shack in

Michigan to feature live music, the Hideout soon had its own record

label which spawned the careers of Bob Seger, Glenn Frey and Suzi

Quatro, among others. This sound was the bedrock for local artists

like The Stooges and The MC5, who would pave the way for the

punk rock movement that was to follow.

For Fall Winter 2013, Levi’s® Vintage Clothing pays tribute to Motor

Town’s musical revolution and the slick stylings of the people

that were there. In addition to reissuing iconic garments from the

era, the Brand is offering up the soundtrack to its “Boom Town”

collection: Seven singles released between 1960 and 1966 that

cover a wide breadth of Detroit genres and labels.

Like the archival reproductions that Levi’s® Vintage Clothing is

famous for, each record in this set is a classic in its own right and

has been faithfully pressed and packaged exactly as it was when it

was first introduced.

THE DETROIT SOUND Motor City Music from 1960 to 1966

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James Brown called him his favorite singer and everyone who saw

his amazing live performances testifies that Little Willie John was

one of the primary architects of what became “soul music”. His 1968

death at age 30 – in a Washington state prison following a 1966

manslaughter conviction – undoubtedly accounts for his lack of

mainstream recognition.

His family moved from Arkansas to Detroit when Willie was four.

The John children formed a popular Detroit gospel quintet in the

’40s. But Willie preferred secular music and began winning talent

shows as a solo artist throughout the city. His parents rejected

touring offers from Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, but Willie

eventually signed to King Records, and, at barely age 18, recorded

the original version of Otis Blackwell’s “Fever,” later a smash hit for

Peggy Lee.

Willie’s recording of “I’m Shakin’” was released by King Records in

1960. Although it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has since become a

classic of its genre and showcases his raw vocal power.

LITTLE WILLIE JOHN I’m Shakin’

KING (1960)

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John Lee Hooker was born a sharecropper’s son in Mississippi, and

spent years in Memphis before relocating to Detroit for auto factory

work in 1943. Most Delta blues greats only made it to the Billboard

pop charts via reinterpretations of their material, usually by young

white British groups. But Hooker had the remarkable distinction

of crossing over to the pop charts himself with his own original

recording of “Boom Boom,” which reached No. 60 in 1962. British

group The Animals also hit the American pop charts in 1964 with

their take on “Boom Boom”

Before cutting “Boom Boom,” Hooker put together a band for the

session, complete with horns, featuring mostly players who’d

come to be known as Motown’s Funk Brothers, including legendary

bassist James Jamerson and drummer Benny Benjamin. The Rock

and Roll Hall Of Fame, which inducted Hooker in 1991, included this

record on its list of the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock.”

JOHN LEE HOOKER Boom Boom

VEE-JAY (196�)

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This marvelous pop confection perfectly illustrates the racial and

cultural melting pot that was Detroit in the 1950s and ’60s. There

are numerous other examples of the city’s musical crossbreeding

but this one surely ranks as the best. The Royal Playboys were a

popular show band, opening for national acts like The Four Seasons.

The Dynamics – an R&B vocal quintet – saw the band play a Detroit

Catholic church across the street from their low-income housing

project and convinced them to play backing on Misery. The song’s

creation remains shrouded in mystery. But everything about this

garage-style take on doo-wop, complete with falsetto shrieks and

a sax solo, is perfection. The song was a major hit in Detroit, only

months before The Beatles arrived, reaching a respectable position

of number 42 on the national charts.

Meanwhile, in England, The High Numbers, the quartet soon to

become The Who, were seeking material for their first single.

Manager Pete Meaden took “Misery,” rewrote the lyrics, put his

name on it and “Zoot Suit” became The High Numbers’ highly-

plagiarized debut release. Pete Townshend claims he hadn’t heard

The Dynamics’ song. Nevertheless, the controversy rages on.

THE DYNAMICS Misery

BIG TOP (1963)

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The Velvelettes often seem to be forever in the shadows of Martha

Reeves & The Vandellas (who would “steal” two Velvelettes over

the years) and, of course, The Supremes. In fact, they were often

relegated to recording demos of tunes that became huge hits for

Motown’s preferred all-girl acts.

This group, originally two sets of sisters, a cousin, and a family

friend, formed at Kalamazoo’s Western Michigan University

during the early ’60s. Berry Gordy’s nephew was a classmate who

encouraged the girls to audition for Motown Records with his

strong endorsement.

Signed in 1963, The Velvelettes basically languished until new staff

producer Norman Whitfield took them under his wing in the spring

of ’64. Together, they created this dance classic, which, although

it only reached No. 45 on the US pop charts, has since become a

classic on the underground soul scene. The record was released on

Motowns V.I.P. imprint in September ’64.

THE VELVELETTES Needle in a Haystack

VIP/MOTOWN (1964)

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There were self-contained all-girl rock bands long before The

Runaways, who often get the credit. One of the finest was Detroit’s

Pleasure Seekers, formed in 1964 by two sets of sisters, Patti and

Suzi Quatro, and Nancy and Mary Lou Ball.

The group was one of many garage rock bands that formed

throughout the country in the wake of the exploding British

Invasion. They were soon regulars at The Hideout, promoter Dave

Leone’s teen club and ground zero for Detroit’s burgeoning garage

rock scene. Suzi was 15, Patti 17 when they recorded a single for

Leone’s Hideaway label. “What a Way to Die,” the B-side, featuring

lyrics by Leone, is a prototype of the genre, celebrating teen sex and

underage drinking.

Suzi eventually joined forces with producer Mickie Most, who

molded her into a black-leathered rock phenomenon in the UK

during the early ’70s. Superstardom got her the cover of Rolling Stone, although she’s still best known to US audiences as The

Fonz’s tough girlfriend, Leather Tuscadero, on TV’s Happy Days.

THE PLEASURE SEEKERS What a Way to Die

HIDEOUT (1964)

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“96 Tears” is not only one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll records of

all time, as John Lennon once called it, but also one of the most

important. Those three-and-a-half minutes of keyboard brilliance

and punk attitude helped launch garage rock to the notoriety that

continues today.

Critic Dave Marsh coined the term “punk rock” in CREEM magazine

to describe this group of Texas-born Mexicans, who’d relocated to

Michigan for auto plant jobs. One week, they were in a Saginaw

garage – and a few months later, they had America’s No. 1 song!

But the “punk” was also notable in the tough image of the lead

singer, born Rudy Martinez (never without his trademark shades)

who legally changed his name to “?” in the mid-’60s. (The words

“Question Mark” are reportedly on his Social Security card.)

“96 Tears” was originally released by Pa Go Go, a small indie label

where only 500 copies were pressed. But following nonstop local

airplay, the single was picked up by Cameo for distribution, and the

rest is rock ’n’ roll history. The band scored minor hits with several

follow-up singles, never again striking gold.

? & THE MYSTERIANS 96 Tears CAMEO (1966)

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The Contours are best remembered for 1962’s “Do You Love Me,” one

of Berry Gordy’s earliest smashes. It was a tough act to follow, and

the group never scored another hit – not even with this exuberant

1966 single, co-composed by Stevie Wonder (that’s Stevie playing

drums behind the Funk Brothers). It was the first – and only –

Contours record to feature new lead vocalist Joe Stubbs, brother of

The Four Tops’ Levi, and the singer Wilson Pickett had replaced in

Detroit’s much-beloved Falcons.

Truth is, Gordy originally didn’t want to sign the group. The Contours

were the hardest-sounding unit in his Motown stable, never really

fitting the label’s rapidly increasing mainstream formula. It wasn't

until R&B great Jackie Wilson, a longtime Gordy associate and

cousin of The Contours member Hubert Johnson, asked him to

reconsider that Gordy finally relented. This single was released on

the Gordy imprint in 1966, and while it only hit No. 85 on the pop

charts, it has since become a classic among Northern Soul fans.

THE CONTOURS Just a Little Misunderstanding

GORDY RECORDS/MOTOWN (1966)

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