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Le plein de zik !
Le plein de zik !
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24 janvier 2008

Barrett Strong

Barrett Strong (born February 5, 1941, West Point, Mississippi) is an American singer and songwriter. He lacked the distinctive talent of the great soul vocalists, however, and seems destined to be remembered for his backroom work at Motown rather than his own sporadic releases.

Career

Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and is the performer on the company's first hit, "Money (That's What I Want)" (#2 U.S. R&B in 1960, on the Tamla record label). It gave Strong his only major hit as a vocalist

In the mid 1960s, Strong became a Motown staff lyricist, teaming with producer Norman Whitfield. Together, Strong and Whitfield wrote some of the most successful and critically acclaimed soul songs ever to be released by Motown, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips, "War" by Edwin Starr, "Smiling Faces Sometimes" by The Undisputed Truth, and the long line of "psychedelic soul" records by The Temptations, including "Cloud Nine", "I Can't Get Next to You", "Psychedelic Shack", "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", amongst others. Strong received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1973 for co-writing "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone".

After Motown moved its operations base from Detroit, Michigan to Los Angeles, California, Strong left the label and resumed his singing career. In 1972 he signed with Epic, but after one failed single Strong moved on, recording two albums for Capitol Records in the mid 1970s.

Strong continued into the 1980s, recording "Rock It Easy" for an independent label and writing and arranging "You Can Depend on Me," which was included on The Dells' The Second Time album in 1988.

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.

On November 17, 2007, at the Caravan of Stars XIV oldies revival concert in Henderson, Tennessee, featuring such acts as the 1910 Fruitgum Company, Dickey Lee, Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods, Jimmy Gilmer and others, Barrett was scheduled to perform, but did not attend for unknown reasons.

 

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