Mable John - Looking For A Man

Written and produced by Berry Gordy, !Looking For A Man" was released as Tamla 54040B on 12th June 1961 and again as 54040B on 25th June when the A-side, "No Love" was re-issued with added strings.

Mable John was born in Bastrop, Louisiana. At a very young age, she and her parents moved to Arkansas, where her father got a job in a paper mill. There four brothers (including legendary R&B singer Little Willie John) and two sisters were born. In 1941, after her father was able to secure a better job, the family moved to Detroit, where two additional brothers were born. The family lived in a new housing development at Six Mile and Dequindre Road. She attended Cleveland Intermediate School, and then Pershing High School, which is at Seven Mile and Ryan Road. After graduating from Pershing High School, she took a job as an insurance representative at Friendship Mutual Insurance Agency, a company run by Berry Gordy's mother, Bertha. Later, she left the company and spent two years at Lewis Business College. She subsequently ran into Mrs. Gordy again, who told Mable that her son Berry was writing songs and was looking for people to record them. Berry Gordy began coaching her and would accompany Mable on piano at local engagements. This continued until 1959, when Mable performed at the Flame Showbar at the last show that Billie Holiday did in Detroit, just weeks before Ms. Holiday's death.

The same year, Mable began recording for Gordy. First she was signed to United Artists, but nothing was released there. Eventually, she became one of the first artists signed to Tamla, Gordy's own label.[2] In 1961, she released her first Tamla single, "Who Wouldn't Love a Man Like That?," a blues number, to no success. John followed with "No Love" in June of that year and then with "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" by year's end. While Motown was beginning to have success with acts like The Miracles and The Marvelettes (and later The Supremes, who had sang background vocals for John) that appealed to teenagers and young adults, it failed to make an impact in the established blues market. As a result, Gordy soon thinned out his roster of early blues artists. While John continued to be used as a background singer, Gordy dissolved her contract in 1962.

After leaving Motown, Mable John spent several years as a Raelette, backing many Ray Charles hits. In 1966 she attempted a solo career again, signing with Stax Records. Her first single with the label, "Your Good Thing Is About To End," became a soul classic as result of its honest lyrics and John's emotional performance. The song peaked at #6 on the R&B charts, and even managed to cross over onto pop radio, peaking at #95 there. She released six more singles for the label, none of which captured her first single's success. After leaving Stax Records in 1968, John rejoined the Raelettes for several years. She left secular music in 1973, and began managing Christian gospel acts, occasionally returning to the studio as a singer.

Mable John received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994. She appeared in John Sayles' 2007 movie Honeydripper.

(Wiki)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mable John
• looking for a man
• motown

[8Hollie2]

wheres no love?

[srercrcr]

@tljones9 Wow, you've been thinking of this for a whole year now! IMO Berry wasted alot of vinyl and money searching like you say, but he really knew the formula already....solid hits by Jackie Wilson, Marv Johnson, Smokey....they all shared a great sound, nothing like Mable John. Besides, she was Willie's sister I believe and Willie and Berry had some history somewhere along the line. Have you checked out MotownJunkies.Wordpress? I think you'll like.

[tljones9]

@srercrcr you have to remember that Mable John was a blues singer and Berry Gordy was trying a variety of genres when he started the label back in '59

[DominoDee]

Check out her brother Little Willie John

[austindr09]

Have been searching for a quality version of Mabel's original, "You're Good Thing (Is About To End" from STAX. Would like to find one here on the "Tube"

[ILuvMusic4real]

@sandfordway thanks for post. Do you have the song Able Mable for posting. I haven't heard that in years.

[roymanry]

Cool song, heard this on Delta's music channel 12 with other hits of this era.

Thanks for posting!

[warmwarmerdisco]

great voices here

[Individuell83]

definitly the supremes in the background you can really hear flo and barbara :D

[srercrcr]

As a witness to the day, I never heard of Mable until YouTube. This song doesn't fit the MONEY/SHOP AROUND sound of the day...puzzling IMO. I guess it's a B side though. Thx