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VIP 25011 (A), October 1964
b/w You’re Bad News
(Written by Mickey Stevenson, Berry Gordy and Earl Van Dyke)
The Headliners were a white band from Florida, who’d previously recorded under the names “the Tornadoes” and “the Flying Tornadoes”. They were an eclectic bunch, their live gigs showcasing rock ‘n’ roll, folk, R&B, pop, country, show tunes and blues, depending on the occasion and their mood; this versatility got them their Motown deal, after an impressed Berry Gordy saw them play a set and excitedly signed them up on the spot.
When I found out they were a self-contained band, though, rather than a vocal group – according to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 5 (not Volume 4 which actually contains this record), the lineup included future C&W Hall of Fame drummer Larrie Londin, as well as their own bassist, pianist, saxophonist and guitarist – well, that was rather strange. Listening to Tonight’s The Night, which is dominated by a demented tambourine and a rippling Hammond organ part, and then noting that Motown house band leader and keyboardist Earl Van Dyke copped a writing credit on this, I’d assumed the Headliners were just the singers here, but no, apparently not. Maybe Motown just replaced them with their own musicians, as was standard practice at Hitsville when some (or all) of the members of an outside band weren’t getting it done in the studio.
Anyway. This is kind of a mix between Van Dyke’s own recent 45 Soul Stomp and Marvin Gaye’s Baby Don’t You Do It, two helpings of bruising, repetitive, straight-up dance music. Which only goes to show how difficult it is to get this apparently simple stuff right – compared to those two singles, this one’s a disappointment.
There are a few excellent and surprising moments here; the falsetto call and response backing vocals call Frankie Valli to mind (in a good way), and there’s an unexpected instrumental break just after a minute in, where the guitarist goes briefly nuts (lead singer Bobby Lewis was the group’s axe man but I don’t know if it’s him doing that part) before the organ muscles him out of the way for a few measures of Van Dyke Hammond goodness. Those bits are great.
Otherwise, though, this is a tedious exercise. The Headliners’ harmonies aren’t anything to write home about, the vocals are muddy and indistinct, and everyone sounds bored, a lack of enthusiasm that can’t help but cross over to the listener too. Whoever the musicians are on this thing, the singers let them down.
Plus, there’s not really much song going on here, and while you could technically say the same for those aforementioned Van Dyke and Gaye sides, at least those were thrilling. Here, apart from the instrumental break, this feels like more of a plodding slog, and each new verse saps a bit more joy from your heart as it strikes up – oh, there’s more? You weren’t done?
Not completely terrible, it has its redeeming features, but if I find I’m impatiently waiting for a record to finish, then it’s not done it for me, I’m afraid.
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!)
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The Headliners “You’re Bad News” |
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Another single where the flip is, to me, more interesting. This side just doesn’t blend song, production, and group, and I find myself preferring the unadulterated garage rock of the B-side.
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I love this. Reminds me of “high Heel Sneakers”
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Mainly because it IS, with different lyrics and minor details.
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While not the strongest Motown record I’ve ever heard, I quite like it. At least 5/10.
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Tedious is the perfect word to describe this song Nixon. Slightly boring can also be a phrase to describe this song. I don’t dig this song at all, so I do I agree with the 3/10.
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Rating would immediately jump to a 5 or 6 if this were an instrumental-only track. Spot-on that the vocals continue to drag this one into a cesspool of mediocrity.
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Yes, this is definitely just some sketchy third cousin, twice removed to the great “Baby Don’t You Do It.” And (except for the brief falsetto bursts) the vocals are resolutely humdrum. But I had to check it out because recently I bought “Cellarful of Motown 3” and was just floored by the unreleased Headliners track “This is Goodbye.” Can’t stop playing it. Definitely a terrific song. With a great pedigree, too. Sylvia Moy & Hank Cosby helped co-write it, with Cosby and William Stevenson producing. Even the lyrics are top-drawer. The thing just pulsates with everything I love about Motown ‘65. And that’s largely in spite of the lead vocal (is it Bobby Lewis?). He sounds like some guy who gets up to sing karaoke over a great Motown track and –whaddya know – manages to carry it off . . . just. Which is to say, he doesn’t make a fool of himself. Of course, by this time, I’m kinda fond of the vocal. I mean, the guy just sounds so gosh-darn unassuming it makes for a kind of amiably sedated semi-Rick Nelson counterpoint to the dynamic production around him. But, oh does the song call out for an exciting vocalist! I would have loved to hear The Four Tops or Marvin Gaye tackle this. Or Eddie Holland or J.J. Barnes or Jimmy Ruffin. What a spectacular closer this song would’ve made for a live show! Considering Motown’s penchant for repurposing background tracks, It’s hard to believe that no other Hitsville artist ever laid down a vocal for it. Does anyone out there know if there’s another version of “This is Goodbye”? If so, I sure hope it makes it into the next Cellarful of Motown.
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Van Dyke is one of the writers. I wonder if Connie Van Dyke was a co-writer, and came up with the idea for the song? If so, why did we not find a recording of it by her? And it’s hard to believe that she was still hanging around Hitsville by 1964. Or was her brother or cousin (or someone else with that last name) a member of The Headliners? Does anyone here have the names of all the group members?
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I don’t know the group members’ names, but the Van Dyke who co-wrote this – as listed in the information block at the top of the review and mentioned in the second paragraph – is Earl Van Dyke.
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Ha! Ha! That’s what happens when one gets old! I remember the obscure Van Dyke, and not the obvious one! The Headliners were as follows: Bobby Lewis, Ray Clayton, Lonnie Londin and Larrie Londin. I would be shocked to learn that NO OTHER artists at Motown recorded this song. Clearly, it was NOT written with The Headliners in mind. I’d have liked to hear it sung by The Joe Stubbs or Dennis Edwards-led Contours, or The Originals, or The Monitors, or The Spinners, or The Temptations or The Four Tops, or The Isley Brothers, or The…………
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I think i remember an interview years ago where Berry Gordy was talking about this group but i can’t be sure. Gordy has (or had) a very very heavy accent and strange enunciation. Couple that with a habit of dropping tone and raising voice at different points in a conversation/interview and i think we have a very interesting psycological profile here.
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