Dave Revels loves the songs of Motown so much, he created a show
around them.
He calls it “Forever Motown.”
And that show — a tribute to one of the most memorable eras of
American popular music — will close out the Bradford Creative and
Performing Arts Center’s season at 7:30 p.m. April 24 at Bromeley
Family Theater in Pitt-Bradford’s Blaisdell Hall.
“Motown produced such creative and indelible music that it
gained worldwide acceptance,” he said. “Besides, everyone in Motown
has become iconic.”
The list of recording artists on the Motown Records’ roster from
the 1950s to the 1970s bears out that statement — Diana Ross and
the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Temptations,
The Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight and the
Pips, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie and Marvin
Gaye
And then there’s the songs — “You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me,”
“Heat Wave,” “Dancing in the Street,” “Tracks of My Tears,” “Where
Did Our Love Go,” “I Want You Back” and countless other radio
staples.
“The lyrics in those songs are the music of our lives,” Revels
said. “They’ve become part of our life stories because we can
identify with them.”
Revels, who not only created, directed and choreographed the
show, also performs in it, singing along with the current members
of Cornell Gunter’s Coasters and The Marvelettes.
“The show is high energy with a lot more music than talking,” he
said. “We strive to recreate the songs authentically, so we don’t
change the keys. We want to recreate people’s memories of the
original songs.”
To help the performers do that, Revels said the show travels
with a core band — piano, guitar, bass and drums — and keeps in all
the songs’ signature hooks. So the audience can expect the
foot-stomping, hand-clapping beats and distinctive arrangements
that defined the hits that flowed non-stop from Motown’s recording
studio in Detroit.
In the show, the performers will also recreate the feel of the
era, which did nothing if not emphasize the dramatic with
light-catching evening gowns, tuxedos and stylized
choreography.
Revels, who will take on Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye in the
show, brings some musical chops to the stage. He started out
working with The Persuasions. “They taught me harmony and
arrangement,” he said.
When he was in his 20s, he auditioned for The Drifters and
performed with them for 10 years. In addition to his current work
with “Forever Motown,” Revels travels across the nation presenting
a patriotic-themed program in which he showcases his song “Stand Up
America.”
“I believe in supporting our troops,” he said. “I go to schools
and stadiums and bring a positive message about our soldiers.”
But for his Bradford visit, it’s all about the music of a
long-ago era that never seems to get old.
“One of the things missing in today’s music is melody,” he said.
“Today’s songs have misplaced melody and positive lyrics for lyrics
with a negative message.”
Motown’s music, he said, is there to remind us of a time when
music had a different sense and meaning.
“We knew the melodies, the lyrics, the whole songs — not just
parts of songs,” he said.
As for his own favorite Motown song, he said he’d have to go
with anything by The Four Tops.
“When Levi Stubbs, the lead singer, sang to you in those songs,
you felt every note, all the passion in his voice. In fact, when
you listen to those old records, you can still hear the intake of
their breaths, just like on the day they recorded them.”
Tickets for “Forever Motown” are available at the BCPAC office
or by going online at bcpac.com.
