The Contours - Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance) (1962)

The first LP released on Gordy Records is also the Contours' first and only regular album release on Motown; a later collection also titled Do You Love Me was a greatest-hits compilation. This is worth a few bucks if you can find a copy. Three cuts were released on the Motown label before they were switched to Gordy ("The Stretch," "Funny," and "Whole Lotta Woman"); all stiffed. On Gordy, the group enjoyed their biggest hit the first time out in "Do You Love Me." "You Better Get In Line," a slick dance number, died as the flipside of "Shake Sherrie." A lively "You Must Be Love" has Billy Gordon swapping leads with Joe Billingslea. "Shake Sherrie" has a looping beat, a wandering baritone sax, and incredulous vocals from Gordon, Billingslea, Sylvester Potts, Billy Hogg, and Hubert Johnson. The rest suffer from a lack of identity; neither the group nor Motown had defined their sound when these were cut.