DETROIT — Reflecting on a legendary career with Motown Records that included finding some of its most iconic talent and shaping its sound, William "Mickey" Stevenson, its former A&R head, believes it was nothing short of a "spiritual movement."
Stevenson, now 85, said even amid the divisive, tumultuous climate of the 1960s that included the civil rights movement, Vietnam and the deaths of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy, Motown continued to grow. But the company was "designed" to do what it did, he said.
"It was crazy, right?" said Stevenson. "And yet this company was growing. People of every race, creed and color — people have told me they'd be in their bedrooms, with the covers pulled over their heads, listening to Motown songs. We had wars going on. Soldiers would play the records in the trenches. What is that but a spiritual movement? What else can you say?"
Stevenson, Motown's very first head of A&R, is credited with building Motown's roster of songwriters, musicians and artists. He also wrote or co-wrote some of its biggest songs, including "Dancing in the Street,” “It Takes Two” and “Beechwood 4-5789." On Thursday, he'll be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, along with Mariah Carey, the Isley Brothers and Steve Miller, among others.
Stevenson couldn't believe it when he got word that he'd be inducted.
"I was in shock," said Stevenson, speaking by phone from California where he was gearing up to play golf with his old Motown pal, Smokey Robinson. "It's been years. I never thought about it. Everything I did is because that's what I do. I had no concept of being invited into anything. It just comes from the heart."
As he gets ready for his big day, Stevenson is sharing some of his favorite Motown memories, from betting Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. that he could get Marvin Gaye's first hit with Motown out of him (he originally sang jazz) to discovering the Four Tops.
Looking back, he's proud of Motown and its lasting legacy.
"It brought us together," he said.
A singer first
Stevenson originally wanted to be a singer. His mother was a singer and he sang in a group with his brothers, even performing at the Apollo Theater.
"My mother — she taught us how to sing and perform and that sort of thing. And she took us to Apollo. That was another lesson I acquired — if you go for something, go for it with the intention of winning it," he remembers. "Don't just do it. She said the best thing that could happen is you will learn something about you and how you need to approach something. You don't lose no matter what."
But when Stevenson sang for Gordy, he didn't get the reaction he wanted: "He said my voice was for s—."
Instead, Gordy convinced Stevenson to be his A&R man (it stands for "Artists and Repertoire"), scouting new talent: "I had no idea (what the job involved). And he wasn't thoroughly sure what it did."
$5 a day and all-you-can-eat chili
Even though he was learning the job as he went, Stevenson remembers asking Gordy who he'd report to. He'd report to Gordy, the chairman said. He also asked how much the job would pay.
"He said '$5 a day.' Five dollars a day and all the chili you can eat," said Stevenson, with a laugh, who still counts Gordy as one of his closest friends. "That's how we started."
Martha Reeves and 'Dancing in the Street'
For "Dancing in the Street," Stevenson was actually looking for a record for his girlfriend at the time, Kim Weston (Weston later became his wife). But after asking Martha Reeves to sing it as a demo, they were blown away.
Stevenson said he remembers hearing the demo and Marvin Gaye looking at him, along with Ivy Jo Hunter, a fellow songwriter, producer and singer. Hunter had pledged to not get a haircut until he had a hit record.
"You can imagine what he looked like after six-seven months. When I heard that record ('Dancing in the Street'), I turned to him and said 'You go get a haircut,'" he said. "That was a smash."
When it came to finding the right people for certain songs, "I'd take a song and give it to somebody if that person is going to deliver it better," said Stevenson.
Working with Marvin Gaye
Stevenson said working with Gaye was "amazing." But originally, Gaye sang jazz. He remembers Gordy telling Stevenson he wanted a hit for Gaye.
"I pulled him aside and said 'Man, listen. He's a jazz singer. What are we are going to do with that? He said, 'I didn't say I wanted no jazz hit. You the A & R man here? You said you can do anything in this business?' He said 'Get me a hit. I don't care what kind of record it is.'"
Stevenson agreed but the two did what they always did: they bet on it — $1,000.
"We always bet on everything," Stevenson said.
Stevenson worked with Gaye, singing and writing alongside him. They started working together, writing songs for someone else at Motown. They recorded a song, each singing a part, with Stevenson instructing Gaye to change his jazz style.
"I said 'This ain't no jazz record. You come from church. Go back to church,'" he said.
Eventually, Stevenson cut his portions out of the song and spliced only Gaye's parts together into one song,
"I took all my verses out and I closed all his verses together. I came in the next day and I played that song that he and I wrote, with all my verses gone and his together. He said 'That sounds pretty good.' Then I said, 'Why don't you do this song?'" he said.
Once the song was finished, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," he remembers giving Gordy the song, telling him to play it in his office. "He came back downstairs and gave me my money," he said. "...I learned in dealing with him and others that I had a gift to get the best out of you."
Discovering the Four Tops
Of all the acts he discovered, Gaye and the Four Tops are among his favorites. He remembers seeing the Four Tops, then called the Four Aims, during an amateur show while Stevenson was on furlough from the army.
"It was jazz and R&B, all in one song," he said. "I said, 'Wow, these guys are great."
Later, working for Motown, he saw the group again, now called the Four Tops, but this time in New York. Hearing them perform, he asked to talk to them after their set.
"I said, 'Here's what you do, fellas. You come back to Detroit. You come to my office, sign with me and I'll make you stars.' They looked at me like I was crazy," he said.
Eventually, the group took Stevenson up on his offer. They visited him at Motown and Duke Fakir put his finger in Stevenson's face and said, "You said you're going to make us stars. I'm holding you responsible for it."
They signed contracts about 30 minutes later. And Stevenson lived up to his word.
"We became very, very close," Stevenson remembers.
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