Heard It Through The Grapevine...

How we got to sing and dance at in the Tamla Motown studios...

In England at least, Detroit is famous for two things. The Ford Motor Company and Motown. Attractive though walking around a car factor sounded, we opted for the latter and found ourselves transported back into history.

"I really want to head back," grumbled Ross as we pulled up to the Motown Museum.

"Look, it's tiny," I said as we pulled up alongside a two little houses. "It won't take long."

I shivered as I remembered some of our previous jaunts. There was the time I made Ross drive nearly 200 miles to the Ben and Jerry factory in Vermont just to get a free thimble of ice-cream. Then in England, where we travelled north to see the home of Beatrix Potter. Surprisingly Ross wasn't as excited as I was to see the actual vegetable patch Peter Rabbit used, or the tiny dingy cottage that we were in and out of in two minutes flat.

"You know this has cost has $10 each," he muttered as we hurried to join our tour guide.

But two hours later, we were saying "and this only cost us $10 each?

The museum itself is indeed small, lined mostly with photos and record album covers. There was a hat and sequined glove donated by Michael Jackson, and three Supremes dresses, but not much else.

However, what brought it alive was our guide, Mike, who couldn't have been more enthusiastic than if he were Berry Gordy's father.

He packed so much information into the tour I could have written a real article, had I brought along a note-book.

For example, did you know the Tamla in Motown came from the film Tammy because Gordy liked the name? That Baby Ruth candy bars were always kept in the same section of the vending machine so Stevie Wonder would know which handle to pull when he bought one? That the switchboard was manned by Martha Reeves (probably with the Vandellas singing behind her) and that all that wonderful music was recorded in a converted garage?

After the museum, we were led into the house itself, next door. Things were left pretty much as they would have been, with a tiny sixties office.

The studio was amazing. It was, in fact, an extended garage. The walls were lined with hardboard, you know the kind with little holes. We saw Stevie Wonder's vibraphone and drum kit, which I suppose is more than he ever did!

Anyhow, near the end of the afternoon, we were split into three groups to "perform" My Girl

Mike took the lead after showing us the steps to do, and we were all the backing singers. Thankfully they neither recorded nor videoed it, but we do have some great memories.