The fabulous Kim Weston

The marvelous, underrated Kim Weston. Pardon me if I go out on a limb, and say that I think some of the best voices in the history of Motown were Kim, and, IMHO....Brenda Holloway, Florence Ballard, Chris Clark, Gladys Knight, Wanda Rogers, and Martha Reeves. No, not the tedious, over-hyped,  Diana Ross (who obviously knew how effective it would be, career-wise, to sleep with the boss), thankyouverymuch.  Gauntlet down.

In that spirit..........here's  some tunes by one singer who deserves to be more famous than she is.

Some bio:

Kim Weston (born December 30, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)".

Born Agatha Natalie Weston in Detroit, Michigan, she was signed to Motown Records in 1963, scoring a minor hit with "Love Me All the Way" (R&B #24, Pop #88). Weston's biggest solo hits with Motown were "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" (R&B #4, Pop #50, 1965, later covered by The Isley Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Doobie Brothers, and "Helpless" (R&B #13, Pop #56, 1966, previously recorded by The Four Tops on their Second Album LP). Her biggest claim to fame was singing the classic hit "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye in 1966 and her later recording of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing".  It was the success of "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye that caused Motown to seek Tammi Terrell to replace her as his singing partner, which spawned even more success for the label.

Weston left Motown in 1967 and later sued the label over disputes about royalties. She and her then-husband William "Mickey" Stevenson (former A&R head at Motown) both went to MGM Records. Weston cut a couple of singles for MGM, "I Got What You Need," and "Nobody," which went largely unnoticed due to lack of airplay and promotion. She made an album for the label, This Is America, which included her popular version of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This was released as a single and featured in the movie Wattstax. All the money from the single was donated to the United Negro College Fund.

She recorded several more albums for various labels, Stax/Volt among them, and also made an album of duets with Johnny Nash. None of these recordings charted, and Weston reportedly relocated to Israel, where she worked with young singers.

Along with many of her fellow Motown alumni/alumnae, she signed with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records in the 1980s, releasing the single "Signal Your Intention", which peaked at #1 in the UK Hi-NRG charts. It was followed by the album Investigate (1990), which included some re-recordings of her Motown hits as well as new material. A second album for the label, Talking Loud (1992), was never released, although all the songs were included on the compilation The Best Of Kim Weston (1996).

Today she is a disc jockey on a local Detroit, Michigan radio station, where she sponsors the summer events at Hart Plaza. She also tours sporadically, often alongside former Motown colleagues Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves and Brenda Holloway. She is also featured on the 2006 four CD release of the Motortown Revue series.

Here's some favourite tunes of mine by her:

Another train coming
Any girl in love
Baby (don't you leave me) (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Baby I need your loving (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Baby say yes (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Brothers and sisters (get together)
Buy myself a man
Come back to me
Come rain or come shine
Danger heartbreak ahead
Don't compare me with her
Don't let me down
Drop in the bucket
Eleanor Rigby
Everything in the world I love
Exactly like you (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Feel alright tonight
Free again
Go ahead and laugh
Get to get you off my mind
Heaven sent you I know (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Helpless
I couldn't help falling for you (w/ Marvin Gaye)
I got what you need
I want you 'round (w/ Marvin Gaye)
I'll never see my love again
I'm still lovin' you
If you go away
I'm gonna make it up to you
In the dark
It should have been me
It takes Two (w/ Marvin Gaye)
It's got to be a miracle (this thing called love) (w/ Marvin Gaye)
It's me (w/ Marvin Gaye)
I've got a weak heart
Just loving you
Let's do it (let's fall in love) W/ Marvin Gaye
Lift every voice and sing
Looking for the right guy
The beat goes on
The choice is up to you (walk with me Jesus)
The letter (w/ Johnny Nash)

http://www.4shared.com/file/WHozJIhI/kim_weston_1.html

A love like yours (don't come knocking everyday)
A thrill a moment
Love fell on me (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Love makes me do foolish things
Love me all the way
Love vibrations
Love you, yes I do (w/ Marvin Gaye)
My man AKA (Mon Homme)
Nobody
Penny blues
Secret love (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Someone like you
Something (Beatles cover)
Soul on fire
Stop in the name of love
Take me in your arms (rock me a little while)
Teach me tonight  (w/ Marvin Gaye)
That's life
That's groovy
The love I've been looking for
The sound of silence (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
Til there was you (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Walking happy
What could be better
What good am I without you
When something is wrong with my baby
When the sun comes out
When we're together (w/ Marvin Gaye)
Where am I going
You can do it
You hit me where it hurt me
You just don't know
You've got to be real (w/ Marvin Gaye)
You're just the kind of guy

http://www.4shared.com/file/gaDdLeIc/kim_weston_2.html