The Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You

When I managed to track down the Elgins to record for Motorcity, and get them to reunite again after so many years, the project I most wanted to do was to get them to re-record "Heaven Must Have Sent You", but in the style of Bonnie Pointer's wonderful disco classic of 1979. So this was the first project we did together. I always loved The Elgins. Along with The Velvelettes they were one of my favourite Motown groups. They were originally The Downbeats in 1962, with the three guys, Johnny Dawson, Norman McLean, and Duke Miller. They added a girl lead singer in 1965, Saundra Edwards, and recorded such classics as "Heaven Must Have Sent You" and "Put Yourself In My Place". In 1968 Saundra left and Yvonne Allen joined Motown and took over as lead singer. She recorded tons of stuff at Motown but they never released any more Elgins records. In 1972, "Heaven Must Have Sent You" was reissued in England and became a huge hit, and the group appeared at The Torch allnighter in Stoke On Trent, where I was DJing. I met all four of them, Yvonne, Johnny, Norman, and Duke. So then, seventeen years later, in 1989, I persuaded them to reform for my Motorcity project. Duke had died, so Johnny brought in Jimmy Charles, and together with Norman and Yvonne, The Elgins had a whole new lease of life. And now, in 2007, they're about to return to England for the first time in sixteen years, to appear at a big Northern Soul Weekender in Northampton. And long may they continue, always smart, sharp, and timeless.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Motown
• Northern-Soul
• Detroit
• Motorcity
• Diva
• Girl-Groups
• Sixties
• Classic

[spintation]

Why didnt Saundra ever rejoin or sing with the Elgins again-especially during your reunion project?

[IanLevine]

Because she didn't want to displace Yvonne, who had been the lead singer since 1968.

[gbarba5]

wow, what a gem!

i never realized they were the original artists, i love this song.

[varietylover]

5 stars... It's no surprise that so many big British singers raved about Motown and recorded tracks for their albums and performed the songs live on stage. Fabulous...music bridging Britain and U.S.A.

[IanLevine]

@EventsExtraordinair1 - I've already been in touch

[EventsExtraordinair1]

@IanLevine Hi Uncle John is doing just fine he is on facebook if you want to connect with him take care!

[KathyS2008]

Wild. I was just looking at the original. Not quite the same but the lead singer still has a great voice. I LOVED this when I was a kid! : )

[vera2344]

Well done

[mschest]

Hearing this song again is a real treat. Me and my friends use to dance off this song, at dances. We loved it. Ahh, the memories.

[waynebrasler]

Diana Ross recorded the song too (in a very early morning session at Motown before catching a flight out of town) and it's one of her best performances. She recorded "Just A Little Misunderstanding" at the same session, also fabulous. They finally surfaced on the Supremes' 25th Anniversary C.D.

[Transportor4u]

They knew what was back then

[soulsupremeful]

Who can not like this song!!

[Azishome]

I agree about the choice of arrangements.  But if you'll look at the dress, haircuts and letter fonts, you can see when this performance took place. Do you think ole Don Cornelius and the cynical American music audience would have set still for their original hit arrangement? I fear much good music is discarded because it is somehow perceived as being dated or not currently cool. Appreciate your comment about the old arrangement.