"The Marvelettes Knock On My Door" "Motown Deep Cuts" "Women Of Motown"
"We can never explain the past, because we weren't there...
I have to keep that statement in mind ALL the time when it comes to collecting Motown. Case in point, this song, "Knock On My Door," since it was first released in 1986, has been a source of something approaching irritation among Marvelettes fans; why on God's Green Earth would Motown keep something this catchy locked away. This was completed December 20, 1963, so if this had come up for a vote by Quality Control it would more than likely have been between this and Smokey Robinson's "He's A Good Guy (Yes He Is)."
Just about every comment I've seen on this seems to question why "He's A Good Guy" would have gotten the vote over "Knock On My Door" and this is where the above statement has to be considered; many of us who love this song weren't teenagers back in the sixties and so we have no real idea how people were feeling then. Katherine Anderson has commented on how The Marvelettes were known for having great dance tunes and it could very well be that at the time it was felt that "He's A Good Guy" had the beat that kids were dancing to at the time. "Knock On My Door" still had the remnants of the HDH "Roaring 20's" sound that had worked wonders for Martha & The Vandellas- but by '64, that sound wasn't working as well as it once had.
Perhaps Motown felt that after that sound had been employed on Mary Wells' "You Lost The Sweetest Boy" (August '63), The Supremes "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" (October '63) and Martha & The Vandellas' "Live Wire" (January '64), maybe, j-u-s-t maybe, the sound was beginning to wear thin with the public. The aforementioned records didn't exactly tear up the charts so Motown's Quality Control may have reasoned that releasing yet another Martha & The Vandellas sound alike wasn't exactly the best course to take at the time.
As I get older, I'm beginning to recall how many similar things happened in the 70s and 80s with the recording scene. At one point, the big thing going on radio, particularly Black radio, was Solar Records. They were like the sixties Motown of the seventies and for a hot while, they were knocking out hits after hits - and all with an instantly recognizable sound. Well, I remember how at some point, there were things that started sounding like everyone was repeating each other's hits and things trailed off. I also recall when just about everyone was trying to duplicate the Chic Sound, the incredible productions of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. Disco itself is another case where after a spell, that sound just ran itself into the ground because everyone was trying to duplicate the elements on far too many records.
So, let's consider all of these things when we listen to The Marvelettes' "Knock On My Door." Definitely, it's one of the best things the group recorded, and there's no denying it's a fantastic record, BUT it just may be that it came too late in the game after the "Heat Wave" sound had started earning ever-decreasing returns-on-investment for Motown. But that doesn't mean we can't dub it a HIT on our own personal charts!!!!
Note: I'm sure it goes without saying, but this recording employs both talents of The Marvelettes and The Andantes. What's enjoyable here though is that rather than blending both groups together, we get the exciting sound of the two groups doing different but complimentary vocal lines. The Andantes provide the almost ghost-like ooohs in the background while Katherine, Wanda and Georgeanna provide the "response" lines to Gladys. The chorus is a very nice and fun arrangement where The Marvs and The Andantes trade off on their respective lines. A nice lively record this is!
Recording info from the site "Don't Forget The Motor City" http://www.dftmc.info/
Knock On My Door (Brian Holland-Lamont Dozier-Edward Holland Jr) published Jobete
The Marvelettes; recorded Hitsville, completed 20-Dec-63 ; produced by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier
[pressing date unknown] [acetate]; 45 (M): Jobete
Jan-64 [acetate]; 45 (M): RCA R4KM-1866
Feb-86; LP (M): Motown 5380 Never-Before-Released Masters From Motown's Brightest Stars - The 1960s
16-Aug-94; CD (M): Motown 530 365 2 The Marvelous Marvelettes
08-May-09; CD (M): Hip-O Select B0011516-02 Forever: The Complete Motown Albums Volume 1
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