Saturday, July 10, 2010

Harvey Fuqua RIP

Harvey Fuqua, one of the truly great names of R and B, has died aged 80. He made his name withe one of the most important R and B vocal groups of the 1950s, The Moonglows, named by Alan Freed after his nickname 'Moondog', and had a series of hits with Chess including Sincerely, in 1954, and the Ten Commandments of Love, by which time he had become undisputed lead singer. He recorded some great tracks with Etta James including Roll With Me Henry and If I Can't Have you, before leaving Chess to join Anna Records in Detroit, where he introduced Marvin Gaye ( a former Moonglow) to Berry Gordy and married Berry and Anna's sister Gwen Gordy. In 1961, he started his own labels, Tri-Phi Records and Harvey Records, whose acts included the Spinners, Junior Walker and Shorty Long who later recorded for Motown as Harvey headed up the label's artists development department. He co-produced several hits with Johnny Bristol and was responsible for bringing Tammi Terrell to the label and produced her duets with Marvin Gaye.
After leaving Motown in the early 1970s he joined RCA and had success with various disco acts including Sylvester and the Weather Girls, In 1982 he reunited with Marvin Gaye to produce the the Midnight Love album which included the single Sexual Healing.
Here is Harvey's obituary in The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/harvey-fuqua-singer-songwriter-and-producer-who-played-a-significant-role-in-the-rise-of-black-music-in-the-1950s-and-60s-2023182.html