"Motown Deep Cuts" "Carolyn Crawford Lover Boy" "Women Of Motown
"An absolutely, ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, beautiful song by young Miss Carolyn Crawford. "Lover Boy" was a Smokey Robinson composition/production that revealed the young songwriter was endlessly and magnificently gifted. Carolyn sings with such tender and delicate joy and beauty this should very well become a new favorite for all Motown fans.
Carolyn Crawford came to Motown much the same way the Marvelettes did, via a talent contest. The contest was sponsored by Motown Records, Detroit radio station WCHB and Tip Top Bread Company. For the contest, Carolyn performed a Mary Wells song, "Laughing Boy," but with a twist: there was an extra verse not heard on the record, a verse written by Carolyn herself. Berry Gordy was very impressed.
In the end, Carolyn found herself with a 4-year contract at Motown. Hers a fascinating story because it tells us how talented Carolyn was but it also illustrates how much faith Berry had in Carolyn- not just as a singer, but also a songwriter. Carolyn has spoken about her time at Motown in the terms of a realist. She doesn't come across as someone who sat around forever thinking of what could have been but rather how much of a fun opportunity it was for a young 13/14 year old girl.
It appears Carolyn was not afraid to speak up for herself right from the start. She remembered how she told Berry Gordy she had 3 things to ask: 1. She didn't want to change her name; 2. She wanted to record her own song; 3. She wanted very definitely to be on the Motown label, with the Big "M" and NOT on VIP, Gordy or Tamla, (thank you very much!) She got all three. Get It Girl!
So indeed her first recording session was with a song she herself had written, "I'll Come Running." It says a lot that Berry gave Carolyn not just one opportunity, but others as well to record her own songs. More importantly, Carolyn says Berry allowed her to do so and did not change ONE word of her songs. He also gave her the chance to work with the Funk Brothers in working out arrangements on some of her songs.
On the whole, Carolyn seems to have had good memories of her time at the company. I'm including three links to interviews that were conducted with Carolyn. They make for fascinating reading as she talks a great deal about the excitement and fun of "hanging out" at Motown, even singing on others' songs whenever producers wanted a fuller sound on the background vocals. True, Carolyn never had a hit that made her a household name, but she does talk about how her records did become hits in various regions, especially in her hometown, Detroit. She speaks positively about how Motown gave her a change to work and to get her name out there. In the end, Carolyn felt it was a blessing that Motown let her go (you'll have to read the interviews to see why...)
3 Links for Carolyn Crawford interviews:
https://aadl.org/node/199910
https://aadl.org/node/199883
https://www.suityourselfmodernists.co...
https://www.shinyl.co.uk/carolyn-craw...
Recording info from the site "Don't Forget The Motor City"
http://www.dftmc.info/titles/tl-08.htm
"Lover Boy (William Robinson) published Jobete 15-Mar-66
Carolyn Crawford; recorded Hitsville, completed 21-Jun-65 ; produced by Smokey Robinson"
25-Mar-13; CD (M): Ace CDCHD 1365 Finders Keepers - Motown Girls 1961-67 [UK]"
