Fortunately, they really liked us a lot. I think because we were so green. They probably had pity on us and just said, "We'll let them go. We'll give them another chance." That was our first really big professional gig and for us to be there at The Apollo was just like awesome in itself. It was really an experience, a true experience to see what people were really doing as performers.
We had no idea, so we sort of learned as we went. Mr. Charlie Atkins was one of the people who gave us some help in that area because we were going to do a nightclub for just a short time, not very long. He was very helpful in pulling that all together for us, along with the songs. You know, doing songs like "Summertime," the classics.
In terms of your overall experience, what do you consider to be the pivotal moment in your career as a group that brought you over the top?
Well, I think the pivotal moment for me was our first gold record. We received that in 1961 and that was at the state fair in Detroit, Michigan. It was a real, real surprise because we were performing at the fair and all of a sudden, Mr. Gordy came on stage and presented us with this beautiful plaque saying "One million sales of ‘Shop Around.'" How exciting that was to think that we were basically just kids that started out and now had actually come to fruition that we really had sold a million records. That was like, "Well, maybe we can stay around longer." Perhaps.
What insight do you have on Berry Gordy, as the man behind the vision? Was there any advice that you received from him or an experience that you had with him that really shaped your career?
I would say that almost everything that helped shaped the career really came from his vision and what he perceived the artist should be when they went out to present themselves to the world – that they were to be as classy as they could be, to dress well, to speak well, and just overall represent themselves as well as the company. So I think that from the beginning, he was giving that kind of advice. At that point, he was a songwriter for Jackie Wilson and he had several hits with him. Our first meeting happened to be at the studio where Jackie Wilson recorded many of his songs.
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