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The Latest Breaking News from Motown

Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir, last surviving member of Four Tops, dies aged 88

The beloved Motown group’s co-founder died of a heart failure and had been struggling with bladder cancer

The Guardian - US

Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, last of the original Four Tops, is dead at 88

The last surviving original member of the Four Tops has died

The Independent UK

“Be yourself and play what moves you. James Jamerson said it best: ‘If you don’t feel it, don’t play it’”: Parlor Greens’ Jimmy James is putting the soul back into guitar, groove by groove

With his inspired new trio, Seattle guitarist Jimmy James digs deep into Meters-style funk, rocking his Silvertone and making the world a better place

Guitar World

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“It's a song with enough twists and quirks to make it stand out from the pop landscape”: A music professor breaks down Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe!

We put Chappell Roan's breakthrough hit under the musical microscope

MusicRadar

“He started trying to play chords on it and he said ‘Malcolm! Bob! What’s wrong with this instrument? It only plays one note at a time!’”: Robert Margouleff on the first time Stevie Wonder got his hands on the TONTO synth

Margouleff also says that he had to talk Wonder out of giving Superstition to Jeff Beck

MusicRadar

Four Tops singer sues hospital ‘for putting him in straightjacket’ when he claimed he was famous

Alexander Morris alleges that staff at a Michigan hospital denied him care and subjected him to unnecessary psychiatric treatment

The Independent UK

Singer sues hospital, says staff thought he was mentally ill and wasn't member of Four Tops

The lead singer of the Four Tops says a Detroit-area hospital restrained him and ordered a psychological exam after refusing to believe that he was part of the Motown music group

The Independent UK

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Motown icon accuses hospital of forcing him in straitjacket when he told them he was famous

The hospital offered the Four Tops icon a $25 gift card ‘as an apology’ after he was restrained, the lawsuit says

The Independent UK

War, disastrous sex and a lot of lawsuits: the chaotic aftermath of Motown’s peak years

Disenchanted with Motown, star songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland set up a pair of bold new labels: Hot Wax and Invictus. As a new box set is released, its artists remember their personal, political songs – and exhausting battles

The Guardian - UK

From pillowy pop to foot-stomping beats: The Supremes’ 20 best songs – ranked!

Sixty years on from their first US No 1, Where Did Our Love Go, we rate the Motown group’s greatest singles – sung with and without Diana Ross

The Guardian - UK

“Jamerson pushed the intercom button and said, ‘Not bad for a white chick!’” How Suzi Quatro cut her teeth on Motown hit-maker James Jamerson

Suzi Quatro’s soul and Motown-influenced rock bass playing made her a huge star throughout the 1970s and beyond

Guitar World

‘I bet Drake heard it and laughed’: BBL Drizzy is the real winner of the Drake-Kendrick feud

The comedian Willonius Hatcher’s parody song is a phenomenon in its own right, with artists around the world creating their own versions

The Guardian - US

7 best music documentaries to stream right now

Feel the beat in these great music and band documentaries

Tom’s Guide

“Dad would never touch the gunk that had built up on the fingerboard. He told me, ‘The dirt keeps the funk’”: Inside the sound and style of Motown master James Jamerson

Five top low-enders with links to the bass great dissect the James Jamerson style

Guitar World

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Top News

Music Producer Accuses UMG Recordings Of Funding Sex Trafficking

Music producer Rodney Jones accuses Sean 'Diddy' Combs of sexual assault, involving UMG Recordings and Motown Records in alleged sex trafficking activities.

MusicRadar

"Songwriting for me, at the time of Rubber Soul, was a bit frightening because John and Paul had been writing since they were three years old": How The Beatles raised their game in 1965 to create a masterpiece that "broke everything open"

The Beatles' sixth album Rubber Soul was a colossal creative leap and marked the point at which albums began to be viewed as works of real artistic merit

Guitar World

“Steve Vai is always evolving… he continues to achieve what others thought impossible, and he finds new things to try every day”: How Philip Bynoe keeps up with the world-leading virtuoso

The Berklee grad on what drew him to six-string basses over fours and fives, why sometimes it’s important to compromise on tone, and modern playing techniques versus the joy of “a simple melody you can’t stop humming”

Guitar World

“With Marvin Gaye, we could feel we were onto something extraordinary. We could feel the magic of Let’s Get It On from the beginning”: Meet Motown mainstay David T. Walker, the session guitarist behind some of music’s all-time classic albums

Walker’s Gibson Byrdland and Fender Tweed can be heard on hits by Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, and many, many others – and he’s never lost his original approach

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MusicRadar

“I'm kind of a formalist as far as songwriting and guitar parts go, and I'm a way better rhythm guitar player than I am a soloist:” 5 of Peter Buck's greatest R.E.M. guitar moments

To celebrate the reissue of the Athens, Georgia rock icons' debut single, we take a trip down memory lane in search of Peter Buck's best guitar moments

The Guardian - UK

‘I was cancelled’: Beverley Knight on gay rights, race and her West End renaissance

As a chart-topping singer in the ultra-controlled pop landscape of the 00s, she refused to be sexy, spoke out about Aids and was staunchly pro-Labour. Now, she’s one of theatre’s biggest stars – and ready to get the Tories out

Top News

Laura Harrier Joins Star-Studded Cast For Michael Jackson Biopic

Laura Harrier joins the cast of 'Michael' as Suzanne de Passe, pivotal in signing The Jackson 5 to Motown. Jaafar Jackson and Juliano Krue Valdi depict Mic...

MusicRadar

Carl Craig: "People said techno was always supposed to be about the 808, the 909 and the 303. When I use a live drummer, they say it’s not techno because there’s no 808"

Second generation techno pioneer Carl Craig on the genre’s cultural visibility and how he’s keeping the flame alive

Guitar World

“I think Sgt Pepper was a ‘prize period’ when I was playing my best bass”: Paul McCartney’s 10 best basslines with The Beatles

Paul McCartney is, to state the obvious, a bass guitar legend – and these are his 10 best basslines

Guitar World

“I started out playing a Telecaster. One day, I heard someone playing a Gretsch – I said, ‘What is that? That’s the sound I’m looking for!’” Portugal. The Man’s John Gourley joins a fresh wave of signature artists updating Gretsch for a new generation

Armed with a signature Broadkaster kitted out in a breathtaking iridescent black rainbow finish, John Gourley shares his passion for inspiring young players, why his love of guitar is rooted in Motown and what makes his new guitar like a “goth kid who’s secretly happy inside”

Guitar World

“This is a dream – it’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a guitar”: Gretsch reveals its signature Broadkaster for Portugal. The Man’s John Gourley – and debuts a show-stopping black rainbow sparkle finish

The Grammy winner focused on durability, affordability and astonishing good looks for an instrument that evokes the spirit of Motown for a new generation of players

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