Marcus Melvin "Marc" Gordon (October 14, 1935 – June 16, 2010) was an American

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-winning record producer, songwriter and music executive, best known for his work with

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Motown ...

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

, and for his later involvement with

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...

Biography

Gordon was born in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

and initially worked as an engineer with the

Howard Hughes Corporation Howard Hughes Holdings Inc., formerly the Howard Hughes Corporation, is a real estate development and management company based in The Woodlands, Texas. It was formed in 2010 as a spin-off from General Growth Properties (GGP). Most of its holding ...

. Around 1960, he started managing and also writing songs with R&B singer Hal Davis, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Though Davis' own recordings were unsuccessful, he and Gordon continued to collaborate on the recordings of other musicians, including

the Champs The Champs are an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged 1958 instrumental single "Tequila (The Champs song), Tequila". The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion, and was formed by recording s ...

Bobby Pickett Robert George Pickett (February 11, 1938April 25, 2007), better known as Bobby "Boris" Pickett, was an American singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for co-writing and performing the 1962 smash hit novelty song "Monster Mash". Born i ...

, and

the Hollywood Argyles The Hollywood Argyles were an American musical ensemble, assembled for studio recordings by the producer and songwriter Kim Fowley and his friend and fellow musician Gary S. Paxton. They had a US number one hit record, "Alley Oop" (Lute Records ...

; they sang backing vocals on the latter group's hit "

Alley Oop ''Alley Oop'' is a syndicated comic strip created December 5, 1932, by American cartoonist V. T. Hamlin, who wrote and drew the strip through four decades for Newspaper Enterprise Association. Hamlin introduced a cast of colorful characters and ...

".Heikki Suosalo, "Al Wilson Story", ''That'sMusic.org''
Retrieved 28 September 2015. Gordon and Davis became a record production team and began working with teenage singer

Brenda Holloway Brenda Holloway (born June 26, 1946) is an American soul singer who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s. Her best-known recordings are the hits " Every Little Bit Hurts", " When I'm Gone", and " You've Made Me So Very H ...

, as well as recording with Mary Love, a local singer for Modern Records, whose "You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet" became a Northern Soul favorite in the UK. After meeting

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

, they were given the responsibility of recording material for Motown in Los Angeles. Between 1962 and 1965, Davis and Gordon collaborated on records including

Little Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

's " Hey Harmonica Man" and "Castles in the Sand" (and the album '' Stevie at the Beach''), Brenda Holloway's " Every Little Bit Hurts" (a #13 US pop hit), and Frank Wilson's "

Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" is a song and single by American soul singer Frank Wilson first pressed in 1965 on the Motown subsidiary label Soul. It is Wilson's only Motown single and is a prized item among collectors. Record history Approxima ...

". They also produced albums by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

, and others. They acted as managers for many of the acts they recorded, and also produced records by

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

, and

the Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had chart-toppe ...

. Ben McLane, "Climax/Rocky Road Label", ''McLane & Wong'', 2006
Retrieved 28 September 2015. Marc Gordon credits, ''Discogs.com''
Retrieved 28 September 2015. Marc Gordon became President of Motown's Los Angeles office, before leaving the organization in 1965 and setting up an independent management company. He auditioned a new group, the Versatiles, and became their manager. They signed to a new label, Soul City, set up by singer

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is a retired American musician. He achieved commercial success and popularity throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a singer and guitarist, characterized as a versatile and influential art ...

, and Gordon changed their name to The 5th Dimension. Gordon and Rivers co-produced some of their early singles, and their 1967 debut album '' Up, Up and Away'', for which he won a Grammy. Gordon introduced the group to songwriter

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of Am ...

and producer

Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles (band), the Turtles cover o ...

, and remained the group's manager through their later recordings. He also managed singer

Thelma Houston Thelma Houston ( Jackson; born May 7, 1943) is an American singer and actress. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit in 1977 with her recording of " Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Grammy for ...

, The 5th Dimension, ''ClassicBands.com''
Retrieved 28 September 2015. and, with Rivers, produced Al Wilson's recording of " The Snake". As with many of Gordon's earlier productions with Hal Davis, the recording became popular on the British

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

scene a few years later. In 1969, Gordon married

Florence LaRue Florence LaRue (born February 4, 1942) is an American singer and actress, best known as an original member of the 5th Dimension. Early life She received a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from California State University, Los Angeles ...

, lead singer with The 5th Dimension, in a

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

above the

Century Plaza Hotel The Fairmont Century Plaza is a 19-story luxury hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, US. The hotel fronts the Avenue of the Stars, adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the 2000 Avenue of the Stars complex. At the time of its opening in ...

; they later divorced. In 1970, he formed Carousel Records, with Al Wilson,

Sonny Geraci Emmett Peter "Sonny" Geraci (pronounced "Jer-ay-see"; November 22, 1946 – February 5, 2017) was an American singer, best known as lead singer of musical groups The Outsiders and Climax. Biography Geraci first became known as the original l ...

's band

The Outsiders The Outsiders may refer to: Literature and stage * ''The Outsiders'' (novel), a 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton * ''The Outsiders'' (musical), a 2023 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel * ''The Outsiders'' (play), a 1911 play by Charles Klein * ...

, producer

Leon Ware Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy ...

and others. The label was renamed Rocky Road, and had a #3 US pop hit in 1972 with "

Precious and Few "Precious and Few" is a song recorded by American group Climax which became a major North American hit in early 1972. The song was written by the band's guitarist, Walter D. Nims. Background Lead vocals on the demo were provided by Johnny McCur ...

" by

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

. In 1973, Al Wilson had the label's biggest hit with the million-seller, " Show and Tell", a US pop #1 (#10 R&B). After Rocky Road was taken over by

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benn ...

in 1974, Gordon continued to manage acts including The 5th Dimension, Thelma Houston, Al Wilson,

the Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American Gospel music, gospel, soul music, soul, and Rhythm and blues, R&B singing group. Pops Staples, Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group w ...

Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn (also known simply as Dawn) is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits inclu ...

, and

Willie Hutch William McKinley Hutchison (December 6, 1944 – September 19, 2005), better known as Willie Hutch, was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s. Biog ...

. He left the music business in 1979 and became involved in

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

for the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, but returned to management in the 1990s. He died in 2010, aged 75, after several years of ill health."Obituary: Marcus Melvin Gordon", ''Goldmine'', July 8, 2010
Retrieved 28 September 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Marc 1935 births 2010 deaths Record producers from Colorado African-American songwriters Place of death missing Songwriters from Colorado American music managers Businesspeople from Denver 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American businesspeople