Harvey Fuqua

Harvey Fuqua (/ˈfjuːkwə/ FEW-kwə; July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.

Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan. His group gave Marvin Gaye a start in his music career. Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy, distributed the first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", on their record label, Anna Records. Fuqua later sold Anna Records to Gwen's brother Berry Gordy and became a songwriter and executive at Motown.

Fuqua was born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. He was the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of the Ink Spots. In 1951, with Bobby Lester, Alexander Graves and Prentiss Barnes, he formed a vocal group, the Crazy Sounds, in Louisville, later moving with other members of the group to Cleveland, Ohio. There they were taken under the wing of disc jockey Alan Freed, who renamed them the Moonglows, after his own nickname, "Moondog". The Moonglows' first releases were for Freed's Champagne label in 1953. They recorded for the Chance label in Chicago, before signing with Chess Records in 1954. Their single "Sincerely" reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 20 on the Hot 100 in late 1954.

When recording for Chess Records, Fuqua initially shared lead vocals with Lester, but eventually asserted himself as the leader of the group. In 1957 he dismissed the other members and recruited a new group, previously known as the Marquees, which included Marvin Gaye. This reconstituted lineup, billed as Harvey and the Moonglows, had immediate success with "Ten Commandments of Love" (number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100). Fuqua left the group in 1958. In 1959, he appeared under the name Harvey in the Alan Freed movie Go, Johnny, Go! singing "Don't Be Afraid To Love".

The Moonglows reunited temporarily in 1972. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.