Dionne WordPress Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • The Weekend Stream
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ Mary Wells

November 14, 2024 By Mike Duquette 1 Comment

Here There and Everywhere

As fans prepare for the release of the new Disney+ documentary Beatles '64, chronicling The Fab Four's legendary inaugural trip to America, U.K. label Ace Records has an exciting release coming that same weekend, featuring nearly two dozen Black artists paying tribute to a series of songbooks that owed so much to soul music and rhythm and blues traditions. Here, There and Everywhere: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, available November 29, is the seventh of Ace's "Black

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Blues, Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock Tags: Billy Paul, Carmen McRae, Donny Hathaway, Esther Phillips, Four Tops, George Harrison, John Lennon, Keb' Mo', Linda McCartney, Margie Joseph, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Natalie Cole, Paul McCartney, Randy Crawford, Sarah Vaughan, Stevie Wonder, Syreeta, The Beatles, The Chiffons, The Drifters, The Supremes, The Three Degrees, Wings

February 9, 2024 By Joe Marchese 9 Comments

We Can Work It Out

Over the years, there have been countless collections of Beatles covers.  Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint threw its hat into the ring late last year with a fulsome new 3-CD set.  We Can Work It Out: Covers of The Beatles 1962-1966 concentrates only on the Fab Four's first years, arranging its 85 songs in the order of the original Beatles song releases.  Most, though not all, of the versions are contemporaneous, making this set a particularly enjoyable tour through the rapidly shifting pop music

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop Tags: Cilla Black, Jackie Trent, Jan and Dean, Joe Cocker, José Feliciano, Liza Minnelli, Mary Wells, Peter and Gordon, Petula Clark, The 5th Dimension, The Beatles, The Mamas and The Papas, The Supremes, Various Artists

May 21, 2022 By Mike Duquette 5 Comments

Stream

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! Some classic compilations, a Who-related soundtrack and a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. appearance are all part of the experience this week. Various Artists, The Sound of the R&B Hits (Motown) Original: iTunes / Amazon Deluxe: iTunes / Amazon As a new wave of British rockers from The Beatles and The

Continue Reading

Categories: Features, The Weekend Stream Formats: Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Everything Else, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Bing Crosby, Buck Owens, Christina Aguilera, Dave Mason, Grand Funk Railroad, Jody Miller, John Schneider, Kylie Minogue, Lil Kim, Louis Jordan, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Mya, Pink, Roger Daltrey, The Contours, The Marvelettes, The Miracles, The Notorious B.I.G., The Who

March 3, 2021 By Joe Marchese 14 Comments

Its Whats Happening Baby DVD

It's What's Happening, Baby!  That's the name of the 1965 television special hosted by influential New York disk jockey Murray Kaufman, a.k.a. Murray The K.  Over the course of 90 minutes, the jocular, hep-talking Murray (who christened himself The Fifth Beatle as an early friend and supporter of the Fab Four) shared musical performances by the day's biggest pop and soul acts including The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Rivers,

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: CD, DVD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Chuck Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Four Tops, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Herman's Hermits, Johnny Rivers, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Murray the K, Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles, Ray Charles, The Drifters, The Ronettes, The Supremes, The Temptations

April 19, 2019 By The Second Disc 9 Comments

product shot Motown The Complete No 1s

For its 60th anniversary year, Universal Music Enterprises has begun reminding fans that "Motown Did It First"; now, the label that launched The Sound Of Young America is revisiting a box set that was released in celebration of its 50th anniversary a decade ago. Motown: The Complete No. 1s is being reissued and expanded on June 28. Motown: The Complete No. 1s featured more than 200 international chart-toppers, plus a handful of bonus masters that went to No. 1 through cover versions or

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Country, Disco/Dance, Everything Else, Funk, Holiday, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Boyz II Men, Brenda Holloway, Charlene, Dazz Band, DeBarge, Dennis Edwards, Diana Ross, Eddie Kendricks, Edwin Starr, El DeBarge, Erykah Badu, Four Tops, Giorgio, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jermaine Jackson, Jimmy Ruffin, Johnny Gill, Jr. Walker, Lionel Richie, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Mary Jane Girls, Mary Wells, Michael Jackson, Profyle, Rare Earth, Rick James, Rockwell, Shanice, Siedah Garrett, Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stacey Lattislaw, Stevie Wonder, T.G. Shepard, Tammi Terrell, The Boys, The Commodores, The Contours, The Guinn Family, The Isley Brothers, The Jackson 5, The Marvelettes, The Miracles, The Originals, The Supremes, The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, Thelma Houston, Today, Val Young

May 15, 2018 By The Second Disc Leave a Comment

Baby Ive Got It More Motown Girls

Back in 2013, Ace Records launched its first collection of Motown Girls, spotlighting previously unreleased tracks from the legendary ladies of Motown Records.  A second installment arrived in 2015, and now, we're finally the recipient of a third volume in the series.  The 24-song anthology Baby I've Got It! More Motown Girls boasts 16 previously unreleased tracks, with the remaining eight drawn from the Motown Unreleased compilations (all of which have been digital-only except for the one

Continue Reading

Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Brenda Holloway, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kim Weston, Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Wells, The Marvelettes, Various Artists

October 18, 2016 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Let It Be Black America Sings

If there was ever any doubt as to the versatility, adaptability and endurance of the songs of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, it would certainly be dispelled by Ace’s new release of Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.  The latest volume in the label’s Black America Sings series (also encompassing volumes dedicated to Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, and the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David) and the second dedicated to the music of The Beatles,

Continue Reading

Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Dionne Warwick, Mary Wells, Nina Simone, The Beatles, The Four Tops, The Supremes, The Temptations, Various Artists

July 14, 2015 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

Rare Soul

If Rare Soul is what you're looking for, PopMarket has an exclusive release just for you.  The online shop has recently released A Crate Digger's Collection of Rare Soul, a 3-LP set pressed on heavyweight180-gram vinyl presenting 35 tracks culled from the Warner Music Group family of labels including Atlantic, Cotillion, Loma, Atco and Warner Bros. itself.  This handsome package, a limited edition of 1,000 units, features 35 tracks from some of the labels' heaviest hitters as well as names that

Continue Reading

Categories: News, Reviews Formats: Vinyl Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Ben E. King, Bettye LaVette, Dee Dee Sharp, Mary Wells, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Solomon Burke, Various Artists

August 20, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

motown 25

On the evening of March 25, 1983, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium was alive with the sound of music – the Sound of Young America, to be more specific.  Motown Records was celebrating its 25th anniversary, and producer Suzanne de Passe wasn’t pulling any stops.  “Once in a lifetime” was as overused in 1983 as it is today, but the galaxy of stars assembled by de Passe couldn’t be described any other way: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie and the Commodores, Smokey Robinson and

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, DVD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Linda Ronstadt, Lionel Richie, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, The Temptations

July 15, 2013 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

something new to do phillip mitchell songbook

“Prince” Phillip Mitchell is in some mighty good company.  The Kentucky-born singer and songwriter, who rose to prominence composing songs for deeply soulful artists including Millie Jackson and Bobby Womack, is the latest to receive a career retrospective from Ace Records’ Songwriters and Producers series.  With the Ace/Kent release of Something New to Do: The Phillip Mitchell Songbook (CDKEND 394), he joins such illustrious talents as Dan Penn, Burt Bacharach, Randy Newman, Jerry Leiber and

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Mary Wells, Phillip Mitchell

May 6, 2013 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

motown girls1

Thanks to the dedication of labels like Ace Records, it would be impossible to "forget the Motor City."  Along with the U.S.' flagship Hip-O/UMG Select imprint, Ace has led the charge in issuing vintage 1960s-era Motown material, much of it unreleased.  The recent release of Finders Keepers: Motown Girls 1961-1967 compiles 24 tracks from girls both famous (The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Wells) and all-too-unknown (LaBrenda Ben, Thelma Brown, Anita Knorl) for a potent overview of

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Mary Wells, Smokey Robinson, The Marvelettes, The Supremes

February 26, 2013 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

motown musical originals1

When Motown: The Musical opens at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 14, it will mark yet another career landmark for Berry Gordy, the songwriter-producer-entrepreneur who turned Detroit, Michigan into Hitsville, USA some fifty-five years ago.  The musical, written by Gordy and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, depicts the rise to prominence of the Sound of Young America, with Brandon Victor Dixon (The Color Purple, The Scottsboro Boys) starring as Gordy.  He’s joined by a cast of

Continue Reading

Categories: News Genre: Cast Recordings Tags: Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, The Supremes, The Temptations

January 15, 2013 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

mary wells the one and two lovers1

The third major Mary Wells release in recent months has arrived courtesy Ace Records’ Kent label.  The One Who Really Loves You/Two Lovers combines Wells’ second and third Motown long-players on one remastered CD, with every track taken from the original mono masters for the first time in the compact disc era. Though Wells’ time at Motown was relatively brief, her star burned brightest there.  The first true superstar to emerge from Hitsville, she was also the first of the company’s artists to

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Mary Wells

December 28, 2012 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

the association complete singles

Wow!  Was it just over a year ago when a rather dubious report began circulating (that, shockingly, was picked up by many otherwise-reputable publications) that proclaimed the death of the CD was secretly scheduled by the major labels for 2012?  Well, 2012 has come and (almost) gone, and it might have been the most super-sized year in recent memory for reissues, deluxe and otherwise, from labels new and old.  Here at the Second Disc, we consider our annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards a companion

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets Genre: Cast Recordings Tags: Barbra Streisand, Lee Hazlewood, Lionel Bart, Liza Minnelli, Lon and Derrek Van Eaton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mark Lindsay, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Matt Monro, Michael Jackson, Open Forum, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Pink Floyd, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ronnie Dyson, Salsoul Orchestra, Sam Phillips, Stephen Sondheim, The Association, The English Beat, The Jackson 5, The Kinks, The Spinners, The Velvet Underground

December 11, 2012 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

mary wells 20th

Mary Wells had a number of firsts under her belt. The first true Motown superstar, she became the first of the company’s artists to net a Grammy Award nomination. She also was the first superstar artist to leave Berry Gordy’s empire at the height of her fame. In 1965, Wells departed for a lucrative deal with 20th Century Fox Records, but her greatest successes were already behind her. Yet despite her death at just 49 years of age in 1992, Wells’ star still burns bright, largely thanks to her

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Mary Wells

Upcoming Releases

  • Version 1.0.0
    Natural Gas: Original Master Edition
    Natural Gas
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • Grateful Dead The Music Never Stopped
    The Music Never Stopped
    Grateful Dead
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • TMBG Spine Surfs Alone CD
    The Spine Surfs Alone: Rarities 1998-2005
    They Might Be Giants
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,676 other subscribers

Popular Posts

  • Most Commented
  • Most Viewed
  • Dionne Warwick Make It Easy on Yourself(Don't) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick's "Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971" Due in June on 12...
  • Tracks II CD packshot no disc artShut Out the Light: Bruce Springsteen Offers Seven Unheard Albums on 'Tracks II'
  • Rod Stewart Ultimate Hits Amazon exclusiveHe Wears It Well: Rod Stewart's 'Ultimate Hits' Due in June
  • RSD 2025 best of restRecord Store Day 2025: The Best of the Rest
  • record store day logoThe Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks
  • John Williams Anthology 1Mondo Maestro: New John Williams Box Set Series Announced, Plus 'Star Wars' Re-Recordings on Vinyl

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popdose
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2025 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy