 Authorized reissue of original Motown albums, the first time ever on CD, the initial two albums by the soulful vocal group THE DYNAMIC SUPERIORS, produced by Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson!
This release marks the first time complete Motown albums are being released on a Cherry Red-associated label
Based in Washington DC, THE DYNAMIC SUPERIORS (Tony Washington, Maurice Washington, George Spann, George Peterbark and Michael Maccalphin) spent several years performing before being signed to Motown in 1974 by then-label president Ewart Abner.
The group's first two albums, The Dynamic Superiors and Pure Pleasure, both released in 1975 were produced by the hit-making husband-and-wife team of Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson, best known for Motown classics such as Ain t No Mountain High Enough, You're All I Need To Get By and Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing and for their production work at Motown with Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell among others.
THE DYNAMIC SUPERIORS were no strangers to controversy: lead singer Tony Washington was openly gay and seemingly, the first openly gay black recording artist, predating Sylvester and Carl Bean by a number of years. Washington sometimes performed in drag onstage, drawing a positive response from audiences when the group toured with the likes of Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5 in the U.S.
The group s self-titled Motown debut included the now-classic Shoe Shoe Shine, a Top 20 US R&B hit and the follow-up, Leave It Alone which reached No. 13 on the US R&B charts as well as the Ashford & Simpson chestnut, Don't Send Nobody Else (also recorded by Millie Jackson and Ace Spectrum). The second LP, Pure Pleasure included the dance hit, Face The Music, a Top 10 disco hit in 1975.
Notes by Soul Music.com founder David Nathan include quotes from his first 1975 interview with the group for Blues & Soul and 2010 reflections from co-producer and co-writer Valerie Simpson
About the Writer
David Nathan is the founder and CEO of SoulMusic.com and began his writing career in 1965; beginning in 1967, he was a regular contributor to Blues & Soul magazine in London before relocating to the U.S. in 1975 where he served as U.S. editor for the publication for several decades and began being known as 'The British Ambassador Of Soul.' From 1988 to 2004, he wrote prolifically for Billboard, has penned bios, produced and written liner notes for box sets and reissue CDs for over a thousand projects. He returned to London in 2009 where he has helped create SoulMusic.com Records as a leading reissue label.
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