Music / Religion
Frank Wilson
1940–2012 · songwriter, record producer, singer
Motown producer who moved from the label's Los Angeles office to Detroit, became a key hitmaker after Holland–Dozier–Holland left, and recorded the ultra-rare "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)".
- Born
Houston, Texas- Died
Duarte, California
aged 71- Birth name
- Frank Edward Wilson
- Detroit years
- mid-1960s–early 1970s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Houston-born Wilson joined Motown's small Los Angeles office in 1963, and his name was on its first West Coast single. Berry Gordy then asked him to relocate to Detroit, where he wrote and produced for Brenda Holloway, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Miracles, the Four Tops, the Temptations and Eddie Kendricks. Coached in the studio by Norman Whitfield, he became one of the company's most important producers after Holland–Dozier–Holland left in 1967–1968. He also cut a single of his own, "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)", for Motown's Soul label, then decided he preferred producing and had the demo pressings destroyed; the few surviving copies made it a northern soul legend and one of the most valuable records ever sold. He left Motown in 1976, became a minister and author, and died in California in 2012.
Highlights
- Relocated from Motown's Los Angeles office to Detroit
- Produced for the Supremes, Four Tops and Eddie Kendricks
- "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)": a surviving copy sold for over £25,000 in 2009
- Later a Christian minister and author
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · mid-1960s–1972
Motown Museum
Wrote and produced sessions in Studio A at Motown's first headquarters.