Music
Maurice King
· bandleader, arranger, vocal coach
Leader of the Flame Show Bar house band who became Motown's musical director and vocal coach, and who gave the Four Tops their name.
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1960s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
From 1950 Maurice King led the Wolverines, the house band of the Flame Show Bar on John R Street, the most important Black nightclub stage in Detroit in the 1950s. Backing touring headliners and local hopefuls, he became a mentor to young singers; he was also musical director for the vocal quartet that became the Four Tops, and it was King who suggested that name when the group signed with Chess. When Motown created its artist development department in the mid-1960s, housed next to Hitsville on West Grand Boulevard, King joined Harvey Fuqua, Maxine Powell and Cholly Atkins there as vocal coach, musical director and arranger, preparing the company's acts for nightclubs and television. His Flame Show Bar job as organist passed to Earl Van Dyke, later leader of the Funk Brothers.
Highlights
- Led the Wolverines, Flame Show Bar house band, from 1950
- Suggested the name "Four Tops"
- Motown vocal coach, musical director and arranger in the mid-1960s
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
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 · 1950–1960s
Flame Show Bar
Demolished · 1949–1963
He led the club's house band. The building was demolished in 1965.
Worked here · mid-1960s–1972
Motown Museum
Motown's artist development department, where he was vocal coach and musical director, was housed in the Hitsville row.