The Supremes- In 1958 Florence Ballard started a singing group called The Primettes. She recruited her best friend Mary Wilson and classmate Diane Ross. The Primettes were first rejected by Motown's Berry Gordy in 1960. In January of 1961 Mr. Gordy finally decided to sign the group. His first move was to change the name from "The Primettes" to "The Supremes". After struggling for 3 years without a hit, the group eventually enjoyed success with "Where Did I Love Go". Watch the Supremes Live www.youtube.com/watch  Supremes continued to enjoy huge success for the rest of the decade. During 1967 "The Supremes" went through a transformation with the evolution of Diana Ross (Diane Ross) as the star of the group. Florence Ballard felt isolated and rejected and became an alchoholic. Her drinking problem caused her to be replaced by Cindy Birdsong. In 1969 Diana Ross left the group to start a solo career. The Supremes will be remembered as one of the greatest female groups of the century.

The Temptations- Formed in 1960 as "The Elgins", the "Elgins consisted of Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Al Bryant. "The Elgins" were signed by Berry Gordy and Motown in 1961. He changed their name to "The Temptations". In 1963 Al Bryant was replaced with David Ruffin. After struggling at Motown without a hit for 3 years, they finally had their first hit in 1964 produced by William "Smokey" Robinson, "The Way You Do The Things You Do".Watch The Temptations Live   www.youtube.com/watchDuring the rest of the decade "The Temptations" were produced by William "Smokey" Robinson and Norman Whitfield. They were one of the most successful groups at Motown. In 1969 David Ruffin was replaced with Dennis Edwards. As the music changed in the 1970's, "The Temptations" changed their music style with a funk flavor such as "Ball Of Confusion". "The Temptations" who have endured several group changes since 1969 will always be remembered as one of the greatest male vocal groups of the century.

The Isley Brothers- The Isleys consisted of Vernon, O'Kelly Jr., Rudolph, Ronald, Marvin, Ernie, and brother-in-law Chris Jasper grew up in Cincinatti, Ohio. They were born to the parents of Sally and O'Kelly Sr., and they started their career singing gospel music throughout the state of Ohio. Vernon was killed in a bicycle accident at the age of 13, and this episode caused an emotional setback with the other brothers. After taking some time off after the death of Vernon, in  1957 they left Ohio for New York to develop a music career singing Doo Wop. In 1959 they had their first hit "Shout" on RCA records. Watch the Isleys sing "Shout" www.youtube.com/watch. After the success of "Shout" they struggled to have a follow up hit. In 1964 The Isleys formed T-Neck records and recorded two records, however neither one of the songs werehits. They hired a guitarist Jimmy James (Jimi Hendrix), who later had a huge career of his own. His influence would later be instrumental in the success of the Isleys in the 70's and 80's. In 1969 they signed with Buddha records and their career started to elevate. They had a string of hits "It's Your Thing", "Love The One You're With", "Pop That Thang", and "Work To Do". After their Buddha contract expired in 1973 they signed with Epic Records and restored the T-Neck label on their records for the next 27 years. The Isleys trademark sound with Ronald on vocals, and Ernie on lead guitar became one of the icons of the FUNK and SOUL era. Their career exploded from 1974 until 1985 with a string of hit albums, "Live It Up", "3+3", "The Heat Is On", and "Go For Your Guns". More Isleys "Live" www.youtube.com/watch. The Isleys will be remembered as one of the greatest FUNK bands of the 20th century.

The Commodores- The group consisted of Lionel Richie(Vocals/keyboards), Thomas McClary(Guitar), William King(Trumpet), Walter "Clyde" Orange(Vocals), Ronald LaPread(Guitar), Andre Callahan(Drums), Michael Gilbert(Bass), and Milan Williams(Keyboards). In 1967 at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, this group of talented men decided to form a band that would evolve to be one of the biggest bands of Motown in the 1970's. They began their career performing around Montgomery, Alabama, and quickly gained an avid following. In 1971 with the assitance of their manager Benjamin Ashburn they auditioned for Motown to be the opening act for the Jackson 5 on their European tour. In November of that year they were signed to a recording contract with Motown. In 1974 they had their first hit with Motown "Machine Gun" which was an instrumental arranged by Milan Williams and this record was also a crossover hit on the pop charts. For the remainder of the decade, The Commodores were a hit machine with hit albums "Caught In The Act", "Movin On", "Hot On The Tracks", and "The Commodores". The album "The Commodores" featured "Brick House", "Easy", and "Zoom". These songs elevated them into another level of success. At this point of thier career they were called "The Black Beatles", and Lionel Richie began to evolve as a force in FUNK and SOUL music. Watch The Commodores "LIVE" www.youtube.com/watch. The Commodores reached a level no other black group had reached before. They sold more records than any of the Motown artists before them. Eventually Lionel Richie would leave the group to develop his own solo career. The Commodores remained as a group by hiring former "Heatwave" singer J.D. Nicholas, and they had a hit record in 1985 "Nightshift". Lionel Richie's solo career exploded during the 1980's, and he had a string of hit albums "Lionel Richie", and "Can't Slow Down".  Watch Lionel "Live" www.youtube.com/watch.
The Commodores will be remembered as a band that could FUNK with all of the other groups, and had some of the greatest ballads of all time. 

The Jackson 5- Which consisted of five brothers Jackie (born 1951), Titio (born 1953), Jermaine (born 1954), Marlon (born 1957), and Michael (born 1958). These five brothers were born to the parnets of Joseph and Katherine Jackson in Gary, Indiana. Joseph was a strict disciplinarian who realized his sons had a musical gift. He was determined to give his sons an escape route from working in the steel mills of Gary, Indiana. In 1962 Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine began performing around Gary with two neighborhood children, Milford Hite and Reynaud Jones. They called themselves "The Jackson Brothers", and they played popular songs of other artists. In 1963 Marlon and Michael joined the group, and Michael became the lead singer.  Tito's junior high school orchestra teacher was their first music mentor. She was instrumental in signing the group to Steeltown records.In 1967 they had their first regional hit "Big Boy", and the soul group Sam & Dave arranged for them to showcase their talents at Amateur Night at The Apollo Theater. After they won the contest, Glady's Knight & The Pips strongly suggested to Motown's Berry Gordy that he sign the group to a contract. Berry Gordy was hesitant to sign the group at this time because of the issues he faced with young Stevie Wonder. In 1968 they were the headlining act for The All Star Floor Show at Chicago's The Guys and Gals Coctail Lounge and Restaurant. On July 12th of the same year they were the opening act at The Regal Theater for Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers. Bobby Taylor and Suzanne De Passe from Motown pursuaded Berry Gordy to watch a videotaped audition of the group. After watching their audition tape, he decided to sign the group to a contract.
The Jackson 5 left Chicago and moved to Los Angeles to begin their Motown career. Watch a LIVE performance of The Jackson 5 www.youtube.com/watch. The group never looked back with a string of hits "I Want You Back", "Stand",  "ABC", and "The Love You Save". Their career exploded with their version of "Bubble Gum Soul", and they were a worldwide hit. As they grew older, their success continued, and eventually Michael and Jermaine would go on to have successful solo careers. More Jackson 5 "LIVE" www.youtube.com/watch . As Funk and Soul fans, we were truly blessed by the talents of The Jackson family.    

Sly & The Family Stone- Born Sylvester Stewart on March 15, 1944 in Denton, Texas. Sylvester was the second of five children, and he and his brother Freddie and his sisters Rose and Vaetta formed "The Stewart Four". They performed gospel music in the Church of God in Christ in Vallejo, California. In 1952 they recorded their first gospel record. As he grew older he learned to play a number of instruments including the piano and guitar. He joined an racially integrated group in high school called "The Viscaynes". This group would later inspire his own multicultural group "Sly & the Family Stone". In 1966 while working as a disc jockey in San Francisco, he adopted the surname "Stone" and formed a group called "The Stoners". This group consisted of Cynthia Robinson (trumpets), Freddie Stone (guitar and vocals), Larry Graham (bass guitar and vocals), Greg Errico (drums), Jerry Martini (saxophone), and Rosie Stone (piano/vocals). Their debut single as "Sly & The Family Stone" "I Ain't Got Nobody"  was a major regional hit for Loadstone Records. The success at Loadstone led to a recording contract with Epic Records. In 1967 "Sly & The Family Stone" recorded their first hit "Dance To The Music"  which would later be included on their 4th album "Stand". In 1969 they acheived huge crossover sucess with their hit singles "Everyday People", "Thank You", and "Hot Fun In The Summertime". Watch "The Family Stone perform "Live" www.youtube.com/watch. At the end of 1969 Sly and his band performed in the classic concert at Woodstock, New York. In the early 70's Sly was criticized by The Black Panthers for having white band members. They pressured him to change his music to display more militant themes. Sly resisted to some of their requests, however this caused disharmony within the group, and the group was never the same. Greg Errico and Larry Graham decided to leave the group. Sly tried to recapture the magic with his 1973 release "Fresh" with the major hit "If You Want Me To Stay". Watch "Sly and The Family Stone" sing "Stand"  www.youtube.com/watch. Sly Stone was one of the innovators of "FUNK" music. Most of the music that followed him in the 70's was influenced by him and James Brown. In 1975 "Sly & The Family Stone" decided to break up as a group. Sly continued to write and produce music, however he never enjoyed the success he had in the early 1970's. In his personal life he struggled with drug addiction and divorce. In spite of his personal issues, Sly Stone will be remembered as "One Of The Fathers Of Funk".

Luther Vandross- Born Luther Ronzoni Vandross on April 20th 1951 to the parents of Luther Vandross Sr. and Mary Ida Vandross. He spent his early childhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. At the age of 8 his father died of diabetes, and Mrs. Vandross moved the family to the bronx. Luther was born into a musical family, his sister Patricia sang with the vocal group "The Crests" who had a hit with the song "Sixteen Candles". While studying music at William Taft high school, he formed a group called "Shades of Jade" and they once played at The Apollo Theater in Harlem. His first production credit as a producer was "Soul Christmas" in 1968. He appeared as a vocalist on the Quincy Jones album "Best" in 1969. He also appeared on the first "Sesame Street" in November of 1969. In 1975 he wrote "Everybody Rejoice" for the hit Broadway musical "The Wiz", he later appeared in the 1978 movie version. After taking a break from music, he decided to sing background vocals for the David Bowie album "Young Americans". Throughout the remainder of the 1970's he sang background for Roberta Flack, Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, and Donna Summer. He wrote commerical jingles for Kentucky Fried Chicken, NBC, and The US Army. After polishing his talents he performed as a guest singer with the group "Change", and he enjoyed success with the hit single "The Glow of Love". His success with "Change" led to a recording contract with Epic Records. HIs first album "Never Too Much" would set the stage for his subsequent success in the 1980's. Watch Luther sing "House Is Not A Home" www.youtube.com/watch Luther whose trademark was his signature arrangements of popular songs from the seventies. Watch Luther Live  His career started to soar with hit albums "Forever For Always For Love", "Busy Body", "The Night I Fell In Love", and "Any Love". Luther dominated the decade of the 80's, and he continued the legacy of Issac Hayes and Barry White. His music was the soundtrack of romance. Luther's bass player Marcus Miller was instrumental in the success of his music. They co-wrote and produced most of the tracks on his albums.
Watch Luther Live www.youtube.com/watch
From 1981 until his stroke on April 16, 2003, Luther was an icon in Soul music. Luther's family history of diabetes finally took a toll on his life. After his stroke in 2003, he never recovered. Luther finally passed away on July 1, 2005. He and his music will be remembered as "A Legacy Of Love". He left us with the belief in "The Power Of Love"!