THE CONTOURS
The Contours gave Motown one of its earliest hits, a recording that charted in both 1962 and 1988.
In 1959, Joe Billingslea and Billy Gordon formed a singing group called the Blenders in their hometown of Detroit. The group was rounded out by Billy Rollins, Billy Hoggs, and Hubert Johnson. Rollins soon left and was replaced by Leroy Fair. At that point, they changed their name to the Contours.
In the fall of 1960, they auditioned for Berry Gordy, Jr., at Motown; he turned them down. This prompted the Contours to seek help from Rhythm & Blues star Jackie Wilson, who was Johnson’s cousin. Wilson got them a second audition with Gordy, who signed the Contours to a seven-year contract. The Motown chief also placed guitarist Huey Davis with the group. Sylvester Potts would later join, replacing Benny Reeves, who in turn had replaced Leroy Fair.
After two singles that failed to chart, the Contours recorded the song that would assure their place in rock ‘n’ roll history. Contrary to popular belief, “Do You Love Me” was not written for the Temptations; it was offered to the Contours first. Berry Gordy only considered giving it to the Tempts when the Contours had trouble getting the song down pat. Of course, the Tempts never did the song. Instead, the Contours took it to #1 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart and #3 pop in the fall of 1962. “Do You Love Me” sold over a million copies and was awarded a gold disc. And a 1964 cover by the Dave Clark Five returned it to the top twenty.
As far as the pop charts were concerned, the Contours were done. The Black audience, however, was much more receptive. After the initial success of “Do You Love Me,” the Contours went top forty on the R&B chart seven more times.
In 1964, every group member except Billy Gordon left Motown. Berry Gordy added three new members to the Contours: Council Gay, Jerry Green, and Alvin English. Within a year, Sylvester Potts was back in the group (replacing Alvin English). Billy Gordon himself would soon quit. His replacement was Joe Stubbs, brother of the Four Tops’ Levi Stubbs. However, Stubbs did not last long either and was succeeded by Dennis Edwards. The Contours no longer had any original members. After their Motown contract expired, Edwards left the group to replace David Ruffin in the Temptations. In 1968, the Contours disbanded.
In the early ‘70s, Joe Billingslea revived the Contours with a line-up that included ex-member Council Gay. The group started playing locally in Detroit, but became increasingly popular throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s and even got dates internationally. When Dirty Dancing became a hit movie in 1987, it led to Motown’s reissuing “Do You Love Me,” which got to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 early the following year. This further led to a “Dirty Dancing Concert Tour” and a recording contract with the UK-based Motorcity label.
Billingslea kept the Contours going, with many personnel changes, into the 21st century. In 2004, Sylvester Potts formed his own Contours group. This prompted Billingslea to sue. The suit was resolved in an out-of-court settlement that allowed for the existence of both groups as “The Contours with Joe Billingslea” and “The Contours with Sylvester Potts” respectively. Potts’ group disbanded in 2014, at which point the Contours’ name was assigned exclusively to Billingslea.
Of the group’s former members, Hubert Johnson committed suicide in 1981; Joe Stubbs died in 1998; Billy Gordon passed away in 1999; guitarist Huey Davis died in 2002; Leroy Fair passed in 2004; and Sylvester Potts died in 2017.
In all, the Contours went through twenty-five group members.
Rock critic Dave Marsh included both “Do You Love Me” and “Shake Sherry” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.
Charted singles:
“Do You Love Me” (1962) R&B #1 (3 weeks), Pop #3
“Shake Sherry” (1962-63) R&B #21, Pop #43
“Don’t Let Her Be Your Baby” (1963) Pop #46
“Can You Do It” (1964) R&B #16, Pop #41
“Can You Jerk Like Me” (1964) R&B #15, Pop #47
“That Day When She Needed Me” (1964) R&B #37
“First I Look at the Purse” (1965) R&B #12, Pop #57
“Just a Little Misunderstanding” (1966) R&B #18, Pop #85
“It’s So Hard Being a Loser” (1967) R&B #35, Pop #79
“Do You Love Me” (Reissue, 1988) Pop #11
