Harvey Fuqua
Encyclopedia
Harvey Fuqua, was an African-American rhythm and blues
singer, songwriter
, record producer
, and record label executive.
Fuqua founded the seminal R&B
/doo-wop
group the Moonglows
in the 1950s. He is noted for later having been one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan
: his group gave Marvin Gaye
's musical career a start, and Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy
, distributed the very first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong
's "Money (That's What I Want)
", on their record label, Anna Records. Fuqua later sold Anna Records to Gwen's brother Berry Gordy
, and became a songwriter and executive at Motown. He is also the uncle of filmmaker Antoine Fuqua
.
, and was the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of The Ink Spots
. In 1951, with Bobby Lester, Alexander Graves and Prentiss Barnes
, he formed a vocal group, the Crazy Sounds, in Louisville, later moving with other members of the group to Cleveland, Ohio
. There, they were taken under the wing of disc jockey Alan Freed
, who renamed them "The Moonglows" after his own nickname, 'Moondog'. The Moonglows' first releases were for Freed's Champagne label in 1953. They then recorded for the Chance label in Chicago
, before signing for Chess Records
in 1954. Their single "Sincerely" reached #1 on the Billboard
R&B chart, and # 20 on the Hot 100, in late 1954.
Recording on Chess Records
, Fuqua initially shared lead vocals with Lester, but eventually asserted himself as the leader of the group. This changed in 1957 when he, in effect, sacked the other members and installed a new group, previously known as the Marquees, which included Marvin Gaye. The new group, billed as Harvey and the Moonglows, had immediate further success with "Ten Commandments of Love" (#22 on the Billboard Hot 100), but Fuqua left in 1958. The Moonglows reunited temporarily in 1972, and in 2000 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
.
While on the Chess label, Fuqua also appeared on record in duets with Etta James
, having hits with "If I Can't Have You" (#6 R&B, #52 pop, 1960) and "Spoonful
" (#12 R&B, #78 pop, 1961).
Fuqua left the Moonglows when Leonard Chess
suggested that he join Anna Records in Detroit. At Anna Records, Fuqua began working with Anna Gordy, Billy Davis
, Lamont Dozier
and Johnny Bristol
. He also introduced Marvin Gaye to Anna's brother, Berry Gordy, and married their 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
. However, tiring of running a small independent label, Fuqua welcomed the opportunity to work at Motown, and was hired to head the label's Artist Development department and meanwhile worked as a producer for the company. Fuqua brought the Spinners and Johnny Bristol to Motown, and co-produced several hits with Bristol. He was also responsible for bringing Tammi Terrell
to the label, and for suggesting and producing her duets with Marvin Gaye, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Your Precious Love". In 1962, with the Five Quails, Fuqua had a minor hit with "Been a Long Time."
Around 1971, Fuqua left Motown and signed a production deal with RCA Records
, having success particularly with the band New Birth
. He also discovered disco pioneer Sylvester
, and "Two Tons O' Fun" (aka The Weather Girls), producing Sylvester's hit singles "Dance (Disco Heat)
" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
" in 1978 as well as his album Stars in 1979. He also served as Smokey Robinson
's road manager. In 1982 he reunited with Marvin Gaye to produce the singer's Midnight Love
album which included the single "Sexual Healing
". In 2000 he set up his own "Resurging Artist Records", and also acted as a trustee of The Rhythm and Blues Foundation
.
Fuqua resided in Las Vegas
, Nevada
until his death from a heart attack in a hospital in Detroit on July 6, 2010.
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and record label executive.
Fuqua founded the seminal R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
/doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group the Moonglows
The Moonglows
The Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'...
in the 1950s. He is noted for later having been one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
: his group gave Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
's musical career a start, and Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy
Gwen Gordy Fuqua
Gwen Gordy Fuqua was the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, sister of Motown songwriters Anna Gordy Gaye, Robert Gordy and George Gordy, sister of Motown Museum founder Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Fuller Gordy and also Loucye Gordy, and the former wife of Harvey Fuqua...
, distributed the very first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best remembered for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfield.-His career:Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry...
's "Money (That's What I Want)
Money (That's What I Want)
"Money " is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and became the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise....
", on their record label, Anna Records. Fuqua later sold Anna Records to Gwen's brother Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
, and became a songwriter and executive at Motown. He is also the uncle of filmmaker Antoine Fuqua
Antoine Fuqua
Antoine Fuqua is an American film director. He directed the film Training Day as well as Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Shooter and Brooklyn's Finest...
.
Biography
Fuqua was born in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, and was the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
. In 1951, with Bobby Lester, Alexander Graves and Prentiss Barnes
Prentiss Barnes
Prentiss Barnes was an American rhythm and blues singer in the 1950s. Barnes was born in Magnolia, Mississippi. He sang bass for the legendary vocal group The Moonglows which had such hits as "Sincerely" and "The Ten Commandments of Love"...
, he formed a vocal group, the Crazy Sounds, in Louisville, later moving with other members of the group to Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. There, they were taken under the wing of disc jockey Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
, who renamed them "The Moonglows" after his own nickname, 'Moondog'. The Moonglows' first releases were for Freed's Champagne label in 1953. They then recorded for the Chance label in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, before signing for Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
in 1954. Their single "Sincerely" reached #1 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart, and # 20 on the Hot 100, in late 1954.
Recording on Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, Fuqua initially shared lead vocals with Lester, but eventually asserted himself as the leader of the group. This changed in 1957 when he, in effect, sacked the other members and installed a new group, previously known as the Marquees, which included Marvin Gaye. The new group, billed as Harvey and the Moonglows, had immediate further success with "Ten Commandments of Love" (#22 on the Billboard Hot 100), but Fuqua left in 1958. The Moonglows reunited temporarily in 1972, and in 2000 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
.
While on the Chess label, Fuqua also appeared on record in duets with Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, having hits with "If I Can't Have You" (#6 R&B, #52 pop, 1960) and "Spoonful
Spoonful
"Spoonful" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. It is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton , itself related to "All I Want Is A Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson and "Cocaine Blues" by Luke Jordan...
" (#12 R&B, #78 pop, 1961).
Fuqua left the Moonglows when Leonard Chess
Leonard Chess
Leonard Chess was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues.- Early life :...
suggested that he join Anna Records in Detroit. At Anna Records, Fuqua began working with Anna Gordy, Billy Davis
Roquel Billy Davis
Roquel "Billy" Davis of Detroit was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Davis is best known as a songwriter for a number of soul musicians label, and as a writer/producer of commercial jingles, mostly for Coca-Cola...
, Lamont Dozier
Lamont Dozier
Lamont Herbert Dozier is an American songwriter and record producer, born in Detroit, Michigan. Dozier has either co-written or produced several US Billboard #1 hits.-Career:...
and Johnny Bristol
Johnny Bristol
Johnny Bristol , was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
. He also introduced Marvin Gaye to Anna's brother, Berry Gordy, and married their sister Gwen Gordy
Gwen Gordy Fuqua
Gwen Gordy Fuqua was the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, sister of Motown songwriters Anna Gordy Gaye, Robert Gordy and George Gordy, sister of Motown Museum founder Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Fuller Gordy and also Loucye Gordy, and the former wife of Harvey Fuqua...
. In 1961, he started his own labels, Tri-Phi Records and Harvey Records, whose acts included the Spinners
The Spinners (U.S. band)
The Spinners is a soul music vocal group, active for over 50 years, and with a long run of pop and R&B hits especially during the 1970s. The group, originating from Detroit, still tours regularly ....
, Junior Walker and Shorty Long
Shorty Long
Frederick Earl "Shorty" Long was an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer for Motown's Soul Records imprint...
. However, tiring of running a small independent label, Fuqua welcomed the opportunity to work at Motown, and was hired to head the label's Artist Development department and meanwhile worked as a producer for the company. Fuqua brought the Spinners and Johnny Bristol to Motown, and co-produced several hits with Bristol. He was also responsible for bringing Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, known as Tammi Terrell was an American singer-songwriter most notable for her association with Motown and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter–Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in April 1965 and enjoyed...
to the label, and for suggesting and producing her duets with Marvin Gaye, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Your Precious Love". In 1962, with the Five Quails, Fuqua had a minor hit with "Been a Long Time."
Around 1971, Fuqua left Motown and signed a production deal with RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, having success particularly with the band New Birth
New Birth (band)
New Birth is an American funk and R&B group, originally conceived in Detroit, Michigan by former Motown songwriter/producer and veteran musician Vernon Bullock, and co-founded in Louisville, Kentucky by Vernon, with former Motown songwriter/producer Harvey Fuqua, and music industry veterans, Tony...
. He also discovered disco pioneer Sylvester
Sylvester James
-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:* Mighty Real UK #62* 12 By 12 * Immortal -Singles:-Additional recordings:*Lights Out San Francisco...
, and "Two Tons O' Fun" (aka The Weather Girls), producing Sylvester's hit singles "Dance (Disco Heat)
Dance (Disco Heat)
"Dance " is the title of a 1978 single by American disco singer Sylvester James, who performed using just his first name, Sylvester. The song became Sylvester's first Top 40 hit in the US, where it peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1978; it also reached #29 on the UK...
" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
"You Make Me Feel " is the title of a 1978 single by American disco singer Sylvester James, who performed using just his first name, Sylvester...
" in 1978 as well as his album Stars in 1979. He also served as Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
's road manager. In 1982 he reunited with Marvin Gaye to produce the singer's Midnight Love
Midnight Love
Midnight Love is the final studio album recorded and issued by American soul singer Marvin Gaye and was the singer's first release from Columbia months after leaving his longtime label, Motown. It claimed the number one slot on NME Album of the Year....
album which included the single "Sexual Healing
Sexual Healing
"Sexual Healing" is a 1982 song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye on the Columbia Records label. It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime album the previous year...
". In 2000 he set up his own "Resurging Artist Records", and also acted as a trustee of The Rhythm and Blues Foundation
Rhythm and Blues Foundation
The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music....
.
Fuqua resided in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
until his death from a heart attack in a hospital in Detroit on July 6, 2010.