Smokey, Marvin, Stevie and Gladys — people of a certain age, or any fans of Motown, need little more than a name to conjure up the hits that are the soundtrack of an era.
On Saturday, “Shadows of The 60s Tribute to Motown’s Super Groups” will open up the Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center’s 2018-19 season.
The show will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bromeley Family Theater at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
“If you love Motown, if you love soul, this is the show for you,” said Dave Revels, founder and creator of the Shadows of the 60s. “It’s a highly interactive show. You sing along with us. You dance with us. It’s non-stop party time.
“It’s a celebration of a unique part of our history, with the costumes, the choreography,” he continued. “It’s a group of extremely talented people who truly want to entertain people. This group of people are extroverted. We turn that enthusiasm out to the audience.
“It really is a celebration of life,” Revels said.
He explained he started out early in life as a fan of Motown, and was a huge fan of The Four Tops.
“I sort of imprinted on them like a duck imprints on his mom,” Revels said with a laugh.
For several years, he was a member of The Drifters, and was on Motown Returns to The Apollo on NBC at the same time as The Four Tops.
“I met my idols,” he said. While many people’s stories of meeting their idols has a disappointing ending, his did not. “They were very warm and welcoming.”
When lead singer Levi Stubbs died, Revels felt the person who took over after him should have emulated him rather than bringing a new style. As a fan, he started a tribute ground to “give the music justice.”
He explained his views on why the music should be emulated rather than changed or stylized.
“Every person has a deep, personal memory associated with the song,” he said, speaking of the Motown hits, “so we don’t change them.
“You can feel it when someone is giving you everything they’ve got,” Revels said. “The audience sees that we really embrace the music and them.”
Regarding interaction with the audience, he explained the group talks to the audience, and listens to them.
“It’s a conversation you’d have in your living room when you have a party,” he described. “You take time to listen (to your guests) and laugh with them. I try to recreate the moment when (the group) was going out on the road for the first time to meet the audience who bought these records.”
Revels said the concert will be a family show.
“Motown wrote these songs to appeal to all people. There’s nothing in these songs that you can’t bring your two-year-old to, or your grandma to,” he explained. “The way the songs are written they are little vignettes of our lives.
“Everyone knows these songs. They are grown-up nursery rhymes,” Revels said.
Referring to the coming show in Bradford, he said, “We try to give you as much as we can in a short time.”
He added, too, that he expects a little something in return.
“We encourage people to get up and dance,” he said. “We didn’t drive all the way there not to party. It’s a celebration of life.”
