I co-wrote this gem with the legendary Sylvia Moy, who tailored the words around Hattie's life. This priceless footage of my favourite Hattie Littles song was filmed in Detroit in 1990, while she privately performed it for Sammy Ward and Frances Nero. Hattie had a most tragic life, and I was so grateful for a chance to record her. Dave Godin's raving about her made me so especially interested in her. But Dave told me he'd heard that she'd died many years before we started Motorcity, so when I found out that this was totally untrue, and Hattie was still singing gospel in Detroit, I couldn't wait to record her. We released two entire albums, "The Right Direction", and "Borderline", and then a greatest hits compilation entitled "The Best Of Hattie Littles". I recorded a total of twenty one tracks and brought her to England to record her second album for us. She had had such a rough life, supposedly murdering her husband in the 1960's for being abusive, and spending many years in jail, curtailing her recording career throughout the sixties and the seventies. But she had a heart of gold, and was so full of optimism and joy at the new chance she had. Back at Motown, Hattie's first ever single in 1962, "Back in My Arms" coupled with "Is It True", is legendary for its rarity. The second single on Gordy in 1963, "Your Love Is Wonderful" (which we recut) /"Here You Come", was acclaimed by the late Dave Godin as one of the greatest pieces of deep soul ever made. But magically, in recent years, so many unreleased tracks have turned up, that Hattie's fans have had a real treat, with such Motown gems as "Love, Trouble, Heartache, Misery", "Money That's What I Want", "False Words", "Wish you Were Here" (written for her by Marv Johnson), and "You Got Me Worried". In the early days of the Motorcity Revue, Hattie was the opening act for Marvin Gaye, and toured with him extensively, with her cross of blues and early Motown, and it was fitting and historical that when we did our huge concert at the Pontchartrain Hotel in August 1990, that Hattie be the opening act. She was a real treasure of Motown, and I was proud to have given her a second chance to shine.
