Having got the thumbs down from Diana Ross when she auditioned for a place with the post-Florence Ballard Supremes, one-time lead singer of The Platters Barbara Randolph released just two singles for Berry Gordy‘s stable – covers of The Four Tops‘ I Got A Feeling and Marvin Gaye‘s Can I Get A Witness, both proving perfect vehicles for a delectable vocal that meshed the bolshy self-assurance of Martha Reeves with the vulnerable femininity of Tammi Terrell (who Randolph later stood in for singing live with Marvin Gaye).
Gordy’s failure to release the other 15 tracks he recorded with Randolph for the label is a mystery. The additional tracks were finally released in 2003 as The Collection on Spectrum.
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