“We were happy, we were singing, we were joyful, we were away from home for the first time, youngsters on a magical show,” recalls Martha Reeves, lead singer of the girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, who toured through the South as part of Motown’s pioneering tours in the early ’60s. “But being met with the hatred, it was alarming — especially when the bus was shot at.”
Below, Billboard presents an oral history of Black touring artists in the ’50s and ’60s, including interviews with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and one-hit wonders, stars from the Motown and Stax soul labels, and veterans of the Motown Revue and Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars. All remain shocked and angry at the racism they experienced, mostly in the South, but also — they point out — throughout the entire United States. “The segregated era crept into your psyche,” recalls hit Stax singer William Bell. “It made you examine everything around you and question a lot of things.”
“That was my first experience with real racism”
Mary Wilson (singer, The Supremes): I was 17 and I was visiting the South because my father had died. My cousin, who lived there, said, “We’ve got to go buy you some socks.” We would go downtown in Greenville, Mississippi, and I was like, “These are cheap-looking socks” and “look at this tie, this is cheap.” The guy heard me and said, “I know she’s not from down here, because she’s talking like one of them northerners.” And my cousin said, “Mary, please, I’ve got to live here. You don’t have to live here. You’re going home as soon as you bury your father — so be quiet.” And that’s the way it was.
Sonny Turner (lead singer, Platters): We all knew the line you couldn’t cross. It was well-known. It was understood.
Shelly Berger, Temptations manager, former Motown executive: The racism in the North was insidious. It wasn’t as overt as it was in the South.
Abdul “Duke” Fakir (singer, Four Tops): When I was really young in Detroit, in the ’40s, I lived near a factory where workers of all colors worked and lived. Even though it was a predominantly Black neighborhood, it was also Italian, Greek, Jewish, Polish. They had a race riot. I saw some of the most horrific stuff you could imagine. I saw a Black man get shot out of a tree. I saw white guys get attacked with razors, their faces cut all up. It was horrific and I never forgot those images. Right after that, the neighborhood really cleaned out and started becoming all Black. That was my first experience with real racism.
