Smokey Robinson has filed a $500 million cross-complaint for defamation and elder abuse against the four former housekeepers who sued him with claims of sexual harassment and rape earlier this month. The Motown musician, 85, says the former housekeepers conspired with their lawyer to make “slanderous statements” against him and …
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T.G. Sheppard knows exactly how people at home may havefelt when they were watching Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, the landmark 1983 TV special honoring one of the most enduring record companies ever. The singer was feeling the same way backstage at the Pasadena Civic Center in California, marveling at …
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Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving original member of the Four Tops who sang on all of the group’s timeless hits, including “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” and “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” died Monday of heart failure. He was 88. …
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A singer in the Four Tops is suing a Michigan hospital with claims its staff dubbed him “delusional” and placed him in a restraining jacket instead of believing he was a member of Motown’s legendary vocal quartet seeking care for chest pains related to a “severe” heart condition. Alexander Morris, …
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On a bright Saturday morning in the summer of 1963, 13-year-old Carolyn Crawford walked onto the stage of Detroit’s Fox Theatre and sat behind a piano. She had to bring her A game to this performance, the finals of the Tip-Top Talent Contest, hosted by a local gospel and R&B …
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At this stage of his life, you could forgive Smokey Robinson for coasting off past glories. The 83-year-old icon wrote some of the most enduring songs in American history during his time at Motown and with the Miracles, not to mention the pop hits (“Just to See You” and “One …
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Motown legends Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson will be honored as MusiCares Persons of the Year, with an all-star tribute concert for the duo set for Feb. 3, 2023, two nights before the Grammys. “Wow! How honored I am to be named the MusiCares Persons of the Year, and together …
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Joe Messina, the prolific guitarist whose work with the Funk Brothers can be heard on an array of Motown classics, died Monday, April 4, the Detroit Free Press reports. He was 93. Messina died at his home in Northville, Michigan after a lengthy battle with kidney disease. Despite his long …
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