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Miracle MIR-7 (A), September 1961
b/w You’re My Desire
(Written by Mickey Stevenson and Rex Robertson Jr.)
The Miracle Records label continued its run of failed singles with this unpopular release by the bafflingly-obscure Equadors, a group about whom almost nothing is known.
It seems a fair bet that these aren’t the same “Equadors” that Allmusic (and thus the rest of the Internet) thinks performed this song (a Philadelphia doo-wop group who had a 1958 semi-hit with Sputnik Dance on RCA, and supported Ray Charles and Frankie Lymon before becoming the Modern Ink Spots); that group’s various line-ups are well-documented, and both sides of this single are credited to a co-writer named “Rex Robertson Jr” who appears nowhere in any biography of those Equadors.
The liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 1 fare little better, offering the possibility that this is either the Philadelphia group or – alternatively – “the Ecuadors”, a different group who hung out with Chuck Berry and released the single Let Me Sleep Woman (with Berry on guitar) on Argo Records, before quickly clarifying that it might be neither of these. Certainly this sounds more like Berry’s “Ecuadors” than the Philadelphia “Equadors” on the basis of that one record, but it’s hardly conclusive.
As to the identity of the mysterious Rex Robertson, it seems nothing at all is known. The BMI database credits him with only one other song apart from the two sides of this single, a number apparently called “I Traded Her Love For Deep Pur” which is obviously a mistake (a reference to Roland Johnson’s 1959 country single “I Traded Her Love For Deep Purple Wine”, co-written by “Junior Robertson”), while the ASCAP online songwriter database doesn’t have anyone listed under that name at all. A mystery.
It would be a more pressing question if this were a better record. It’s an uptempo Fifties doo-wop/R&B dancer which sounds significantly out-of-date next to the other records Motown was releasing in late 1961; it’s somewhat reminiscent of the aforementioned Frankie Lymon, as well as the Marcels’ then-current rendition of Blue Moon, and about a million other upbeat early R&B rockers built on the off-the-rack 50s progression chords.
The singing and playing is competent, if forgettable, but never more than that. The lead singer aims for a haunting semi-harmony but just sounds as though he keeps hitting bum notes, taking the ear by surprise each time he changes gear up or down.
Worse, the lyrics are largely meaningless and patronisingly objectifying, the singer bemoaning his lack of “a woman”, letting us know how much he wants said generic woman, how good he’d treat generic woman if he had her (“had” here being framed very much in the sense of ownership, making the title faintly creepy), and finally running through a list of his friends who already “have one” to emphasise how much he feels left out by this, before the song fades out and the record ends. Not one word is expended on the qualities his ideal woman would possess, nor does she appear to get a say in the matter; he just wants a girlfriend as a status symbol. Difficult to admire.
Not fantastic, and (yet again) not a hit, meaning the Miracle label was now 0-for-6. The label would be closed down by an impatient Berry Gordy within four months, while the Equadors – at least under this name – were never heard from again.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
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The Equadors “You’re My Desire” |
Motown Junkies 
Hi,
I was interested in your entry about the Equadors because I wrote about the Argo Ecuadors in my book ‘Long Distance Information -Chuck Berry’s Recorded Legacy’. I can advise you that this group included Roquel ‘Billy’ Davis, Harvey Fuqua and Etta James. The group was put together for the puposes of recording the two Argo songs ‘Let Me Sleep Woman’ & ‘Say You’ll Be Mine’. This info came directly from Billy Davis. Hope it is of interest.
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That is interesting – Roquel Davis and Harvey Fuqua both have extremely strong Motown connections, working very closely with (and in Fuqua’s case also married to) Berry Gordy’s sister Gwen, so it seems exceedingly unlikely that these Equadors would be a third, different group rather than the Argo “Ecuadors”.
Which raises the question, who the heck was “Rex Robertson Jr”? Both Davis and Fuqua had already had writing credits on Motown releases by the time Someone To Call My Own was released, so there’d have been no legal need for them to use a pseudonym.
Curiouser and curiouser. Thanks, Fred!
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Rex Robertson was, no doubt a member of The Equadors of Miracle Records, who didn’t sound anything like Billy Davis, or Harvey Fuqua. I don’t hear Billy Davis, Harvey Fuqua nor do I hear Etta James even in the background of either side of Miracle 7. The Equadors’ lead has a quite distinct voice, which can be easily differentiated from Harvey and Billy (each of whom have very distinctive, recogniseable voices, which can’t be mistaken).
I can’t believe that The Miracle Records’ Equadors are the Argo Ecuadors.
By very late 1961 or early 1962, when Miracle 7 was recorded and released, Billy Davis had already taken his Anna artists and masters over to Check-Mate Records, a new Chess Records subsidiary. Why would he record with Motown? Etta James was still with Chess. Harvey Fuqua and Gwen Gordy were forming their Tri-Phi Records. They were in the general Motown-related family (recording at 2648 Grand Blvd.). But I don’t hear Harvey on those 2 cuts.
The evidence points to The Miracle Equadors being a completely different group. I am disappointed that no one I talked to at Motown remembered Rex Robertson. But no one remembered who The Charters were, and that Mel-O-Dy Records 104 was ever pressed. Very recently, the recordings of The Charters’ cuts have surfaced, as well as scans of the record, and we have learnt that they were a Toledo group, who may have themselves paid for their recording session, and for their small batch of DJ copies that were pressed up in 1962.
So, maybe we will learn who The Equadors were, in the future. But, the people with such knowledge are dying off in bunches these days.
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I don’t hear Davis or Fuqua in the lead vocal either, which led me to conclude this was the mysterious “Rex Robertson”, but the Chuck Berry scholar’s credentials above check out and if Davis said that, it has to be given serious consideration. If they were under contract with Chess at the time, that would also go some way to explaining the mystery shrouding this single, especially if “Rex” was someone ELSE from the Check-Mate organisation under a pseudonym (shades of “Dunbar/Wayne” on Hot Wax).
Hopefully the truth will come out while some of the people who’d know are still alive; this blog post has already generated some serious debate, which might bring some more trivia out of the woodwork to piece together the puzzle.
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I’m not disputing that Billy Davis, Harvey Fuqua and Etta James were Chuck Berry’s Ecuadors (despite not hearing any of their voices in The Ecuadors’ singles’ cuts-and they all have extremely unique voices). It’s not my place (nor my wont) to accuse Billy Davis of being a liar or being senile.
I AM., however, skeptical that those Ecuadors are the same group as Miracle’s Equadors. I don’t hear ANY of the same voices in the 4 cuts on those two records. Until I hear from Billy Davis that he and Harvey recorded some cuts for Motown as “The Equadors”, I’ll regard the Miracle record as having been done by an unknown Detroit mystery group. I really love the lead singer’s voice. It is wonderful. I wonder why I haven’t heard it in any other obscure Detroit records (I have heard thousands)?
Think about this: In 1961, Gwen Gordy and current paramour, Billy Davis broke up. Gwen started “dating”(seeing) Harvey Fuqua. Billy, Gwen, Anna and Harvey (owners of Anna Records) dissolved their company. Harvey still had dealings with Chess Records. Billy got most (or all?) the Anna Masters, and took them as well as some of the signed Anna artists to Chess Records, to run their new Detroit subsidiary, Check-Mate records.
Gwen and Anna planned with Harvey to form a new company (Tri-Phi/Harvey/HPC). Anna Records was NOT failing, as far as I know. The reason Anna cashed out, was because Chess made an offer to Billy Davis, which was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. I’m just guessing here, but, perhaps the personal situation with Gwen and Harvey starting something and Billy and Gwen over, might have been awkward at best.
IF all that was the real situation, WHY would Billy and Harvey get together with Gwen’s brother, to record a couple songs? Why would Billy risk the ire of The Chess Brothers (his new benefactors), to illegally use one of his Check-Mate artists in a deal with a competing firm? If he didn’t bring one of his artists over, why would he and Harvey sing background along with a stranger (there were 3 male background singers) behind a lead singer, who was another stranger (chosen by Berry Gordy or producer Mickey Stevenson)?
Come to think of it… Mickey Stevenson brought his favourite male back-up group with him to Motown, from his Stepp Records. They were called “The Mello-Dees” at Stepp. They had been The Teardrops on Sampson Records in their Doo Wop days. They became “The Love-Tones” at Motown, and were, basically, the “male Andantes” at Motown from 1961-64. They provided some super group harmony backgrounds on many Mary Wells records and several other Motown cuts (Linda Griner, etc). They have wonderful voices. I wonder if The Equadors were really The Love-Tones??? That makes a lot more sense to me (being as Mickey Stevenson was producer), than the VERY, VERY unlikely scenario of Roquelle (Billy) Davis getting back together with Harvey Fuqua and in the “backyard” of Gwen and Anna Gordy, to moonlight with Motown, and risk his relationship with his Chess bosses. The latter scenario was about as likely as likely as one of The Sun’s UFO reports really being manned by space aliens.
Even if one considers that The Equadors’ recordings could have been Anna masters, recorded before Anna’s dissolution, the theory doesn’t work. It is clear by the sound, that the recordings were made by Motown people in The Snake Pit, and the sound has a distinct feel of Mickey Stevenson having run the session. It sounds A LOT more like Motown than like an Anna recording. If it had been an Anna master, Davis would rather have released it on Check-Mate, and he would have made more money from his Chevis or Ro-Gor publishing cut, than he would by “giving” the publishing to Berry (the 2 songs were published by Jobete Music). The whole idea that THESE Equadors were the same group as The Ecuadors, is extremely unlikely.
I think the group may have been a local Detroit group that may have been discovered by Mickey Stevenson, or Stevenson “tossing a bone” to his prolific backup group, giving them a “release” of their own (much as HDH did for The Andantes on VIP Records). Berry didn’t want The Andantes having their own recording career, as they were much more valuable to Motown as a backup group used on hundreds of recordings per month. Perhaps Mickey Stevenson had the same feeling about The Love-Tones, but had to “appease” them (also as he did in releasing The Velvelettes’ record on IPG Records, after quality control rejected it for Motown release).
I will need to listen to the two Equadors’ cuts many times, as well as the Mary Wells cuts with The Love-Tones listed, and see if I can hear the same voices.
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I listened to the two Ecuadors Chess/Argo cuts many times. It’s clear that the main singers on those cuts are Harvey Fuqua on lead, with either all or most of his 2nd (new) Moonglows group on backgrounds, with Billy Davis and Etta James added. I have no reason not to trust Billy Davis’ memory. It is NOT just Harvey, Billy and Etta.
I listened to both Equadors’ Miracle cuts, many, many times. I hear NONE of the same voices as on The Ecuadors’ cuts. I believe there is NO CONNECTION whatsoever to the two groups.
I listened to all The Mary Wells cuts from 1961-64. The Love-Tones backing her sound a lot more similar to “Rex Robertson” ‘s background group, than they do to The Ecuadors. That is especially so on “You’re My Desire”. But they could have just erased “Robertson” ‘s voice on one of the tapes and placed Mary’s over it. The other cuts, such as “Old Love, and “I’ve Been a Fool, – Forgive This Fool”, they sound like they might be the same group. But there seem to be 5 voices in The Equadors, and The Love-Tones varied from 4 to 3 singers.
But, it is a LOT more likely that The Equadors were just a young Detroit group that never got another chance to record at Motown for some reason.
There may be a clue to their first names, however. In their song, “Someone To Call My Own”, the lead singer says that he needs someone to call his own like the following examples: “John has one, and even Marvin,… so does Sam and Charlie, every every-body has one….”.
If the songwriter was, indeed really named Rex Robertson, and the lead singer was, indeed Rex, then John, Marvin, Sam and Charles (Charlie) may have been the first names of the other group members. All we need to do is track down a male group with 5 members from 1960-62, whose first names have those first names. It does seem that I heard 5 rather than four different distinct voices in their 2 cuts. Their sound seems to be “fuller” than a group of only 4 would produce.
Robert Bateman is still alive. But he has already been pumped for answers to a lot of questions about obscure artists and happenings from the early days of Motown, and hasn’t remembered much in that regard.
When I worked with Airwave Records, we occupied a suite adjacent to Mickey Stevenson for several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I could have asked him a lot of questions about early Motown. But I didn’t. I spent a lot of time at Motown in the 1970s. But I didn’t want to bug people by asking them a lot of questions about the old days. I wonder if I’m a little sorry now that I didn’t?
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Hi Robb,
Sorry I haven’t had time to respond to this in depth before now, but there’s not really a great deal I can add to such a great effort! I especially like that we can apparently firmly discount them being the same group as the Argo “Ecuadors” despite the odd coincidences.
I think you’ve advanced the scholarship on this question very far, probably as close as anyone is ever going to be able to get to a definitive answer – but unless someone comes forward and says “I was ‘Rex Robertson’, and that’s my record”, it’s all still ultimately conjecture.
In terms of what I think, a lot of these things are really tempting to subscribe to – I like the Love-Tones theory in particular – but without real evidence, these are just theories. (For instance, the ingenious “naming of the group members” idea could be key, or it could just be a list of random names for all we know – indeed it could be that there weren’t any “members” at all, that the Equadors were an ad-hoc studio group like the Rayber Voices, and “Rex” just happened to corral anyone in the vicinity to be on the session).
As for not asking when you had the chance… if ifs and ands were pots and pans, and all that. Nothing to regret. Chances are Mickey Stevenson wouldn’t have remembered any more than Robert Bateman, or we’d have ended up with yet another strand of information difficult to reconcile with what we already know. (I’m reminded of a quote by Paul McCartney here, where he admits even his “100% certain” recollections of certain events is in direct contradiction with recorded facts, with no hope of ever being straightened out; even if Robert Bateman turned around tomorrow and said “Hang on – I think I remember the Equadors was actually George Gordy and four trapeze artists from Lansing”, it wouldn’t end the mystery completely).
Again, though, thanks for all the efforts on trying to get to the bottom of this, it is immensely appreciated.
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I have since been listening again to The Equadors’ cuts, and I’ve come to the conclusion that they were a local Detroit group with Harry Gates Jr. on lead. He had been the lead singer of The Caravelles, who had sung “Pink Lips” and “Angry Angel” in late 1962, for Carmen Murphy’s Starmaker Records. She was the owner of House Of Beauty Records, who also owned Detroit’s original Soul Records (whose name was bought from her by Berry Gordy for his new label). Gates was also lead singer for Detroit’s original Dramatics, who recorded “Toy Soldier” for Joe Hunter (then moonlighting from his Motown job (in late 1963), and he recorded as a solo act for Enterprise Records, and may have been a member of Enterprise’s Casual-Aires (although not lead singer). Harry Gates had a rich, very distinctive voice. It sounds very like the voice of The Equadors’ lead singer. Listen to The Equadors 2 cuts, and then listen to The Dramatics singing “Toy Soldier”. All 3 cuts are available on You-Tube. So are the two Caravelles’ cuts I listed above. I think that Harry Gates was the lead singer of The Equadors, and Rex Robertson was another group member, and the songwriter. Perhaps some of the other group members were later in The first Dramatics group, and later in The Caravelles. Years ago we (Ron Murphy) asked Joe Hunter who was in that original Dramatics group. He didn’t remember, but admitted that their lead was probably Gates.
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This Equadors may have been from Cleveland. Rex Robertson Jr was singing in Cleveland in 1961. He wend on to marry Kim Tolliver in the early 60’s and he died in an auto accident in 1969.
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Wasn’t Kim Tolliver from Detroit? She wrote songs for Jack Ashford’s Pied Piper Productions in the mid 1960s. We discussed her a lot on Soulful Detroit; and as I remember, she was involved in several Detroit productions. In any case, Detroit was the music industry hub for people from Toledo, Cleveland, Akron, Dayton and Youngstown. Cleveland didn’t have much in the way of high-end recording studios and local R&B/Soul music producers, until footballer, Jim Brown set up Way Out Records. The Five Quails, Hesitations, Ann Bogan, The Challengers, Charters, O’Jays, Four Voices, Edwin Starr and many more, came to Detroit to record, as did Harvey Fuqua and The Moonglows, from Louisville, through Cleveland, and Darrell Banks, from Buffalo through Cleveland. Robertson may have taken his group to Detroit to record. But, he may also have been singing in Detroit, when he met Tolliver, and joined with some Detroit singers, which included Gates to form The Equadors. But, thanks for telling us Robertson was singing in Cleveland. Was he only a solo artist there, or did he sing in some Cleveland groups?
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Kim Tolliver was raised in Cleveland. So, I’m assuming she met Rex Robertson there. The main question is whether or not Robertson took his whole Equadors group to Detroit to record for Motown, and the group was from Cleveland, or if Robertson came to Detroit to work, as did Tolliver, and he joind with Detroiters (possibly including Harry Gates) to form The Equdors, or if Robertson was only the writer, for 2 songs by a local, Detroit group.
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LMFAO! The lyrics to this song is creepy.
It is kinda hard for me to judge this song. Reason being is that is sound alrite…for a song that could have possibly come out in the late 1950s. Considering this is 1961 this song sounds dated and out of place with most of the current Motown releasings. A 4/10 sits well with me.
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