1. Marv Johnson was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song "Come to Me," which was the first record issued by Tamla Records, the precursor to the famous label.
17 Facts About Marv Johnson
1. 2.
Marv Johnson's music was especially popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.
3.
Marv Johnson was discovered by Berry Gordy while performing at a carnival; Gordy had already decided to form his first record label, Tamla, and Johnson's recording of the song "Come to Me" became the label's first single, released in May 1959.
4.
Marv Johnson went on to co-write another four songs with Gordy.
5.
Marv Johnson released three albums and several singles for United Artists, but continued to record in Motown's homegrown studios at Hitsville USA in Detroit.
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Between 1959 and 1961, Marv Johnson issued nine Billboard Hot 100 singles, including two Top 10s.
7.
Marv Johnson had his final US Top 40 single in 1960 with " Move Two Mountains".
8.
Marv Johnson had many hits in Australia, with a total of eight top 40 hits, including three chart-toppers.
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However, after early 1961 Marv Johnson's records stopped making the charts altogether.
10.
Marv Johnson then re-signed with Motown in 1964, writing and producing as well as recording.
11.
Marv Johnson remained with Motown, working on sales and promotion, in the 1970s.
12.
Marv Johnson wrote songs for Tyrone Davis and Johnnie Taylor.
13.
Marv Johnson continued to write songs at Motown way into the 1970s.
14.
Marv Johnson continued singing into the 1990s, releasing a solo album on the London-based Motorcity Records label, owned by Northern soul DJ and Motown lover Ian Levine.
15.
Marv Johnson was one of the first and, according to Levine, one of "the most loyal and the most grateful" of all the former Motown artists he recorded.
16.
On May 14,1993, Marv Johnson was performing in Sumter, South Carolina for a tribute concert to Bill Pinkney of the Drifters and collapsed, and he was rushed to the hospital.
17.
In 2015, Marv Johnson was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.