Music
Abrim Tilmon
1945–1982 · singer, songwriter, arranger
Songwriter and leader of the Detroit Emeralds, who wrote all their hits, including "Do Me Right" and "Feel the Need in Me", for the Detroit labels Ric-Tic and Westbound.
- Born
- Died
Southfield, Michigan
aged 37- Also known as
- Abe Tilmon
- Detroit years
- mid-1960s–1982
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Tilmon and his brothers began singing as the Emeralds in Little Rock, Arkansas. With his brother Ivory and childhood friend James Mitchell he moved to Detroit, where the trio added the city's name and scored their first R&B chart record, "Show Time" (1967), on Ric-Tic, the label of Ed Wingate and Joanne Bratton. In 1970 they joined Armen Boladian's Westbound Records. Recording rhythm tracks at Willie Mitchell's Hi studio in Memphis and finishing vocals and strings back in Detroit, they had a run of R&B Top 10 hits: "Do Me Right", "You Want It, You Got It" and "Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)". Tilmon wrote all their hits and also arranged and produced; "Feel the Need in Me" (1973) became a UK Top 5 record and a northern soul staple. The group split in 1974, and Tilmon led his own version. He died of a heart attack at his Southfield home in 1982, aged 37.
Highlights
- Wrote all the Detroit Emeralds' hits
- "Do Me Right" and "Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)": R&B Top 10
- "Feel the Need in Me" (1973): UK Top 5
- Recorded for Detroit's Ric-Tic and Westbound labels