Third Man Reissues Tamla Records Singles from Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Miracles

BY Alex HudsonPublished Nov 19, 2015

Jack White's Third Man Records has teamed up with a few esteemed record labels over the years, as the company has released Paramount Records box sets, Sun Records 7-inches and Document Records blues anthologies. Next, the label is celebrating Motown's early Tamla Records days with a series of nine classic singles for Black Friday (November 27).

These nine 7-inches all come from what Third Man refers to as Tamla's "stripes label era," which ran from 1959 to 1962. These are being released as part of a Third Man partnership with Universal Music.

The artists here include Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Miracles and more. Generally speaking, these are obscure gems for soul aficionados, since there aren't any massive, enduring hits included in the campaign. All of the singles are pressed on simple black wax and housed in reproductions of the original sleeves.

There's just one catch: these singles will be exclusive to Third Man's new Detroit location, which is getting its grand opening on Black Friday. It's a natural fit, given that Tamla Records (and Motown) was founded in Detroit.

See the list of singles below. Third Man's announcement notes that its partnership with Universal will be "ongoing," so it's likely that we'll see more releases along the same lines. We don't yet know if these 7-inches will get any sort of a wider release.

Barrett Strong - "Let's Rock" b/w "Do the Very Best You Can"
Chico Leverett - "Solid Sender" b/w "I'll Never Love Again"
The Swinging Tigers - "Snake Walk (Part 1)" b/w "Snake Walk (Part 2)"
The Satintones - "Going to the Hop" b/w "Motor City"
Barrett Strong - "Money" b/w "Oh I Apologize"
Nick & the Jaguars - "Ich-i-bon #1" b/w "Cool and Crazy"
The Miracles - "Way Over There" b/w "(You Can) Depend on Me"
Marvin Gaye - "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" b/w "Never Let You Go"
The Supremes - "Buttered Popcorn" b/w "Who's Lovin You"

This isn't Third Man's only plan for Black Friday. The Detroit store is hosting in-store performances from Margo Price, Lillie Mae Rische and the Gories, and there will be more attractions announced in the coming days. The label promises, "We've got plenty more up our sleeves."

What's more, Third Man will be inserting signed Dead Weather playing cards into random copies of the new album Dodge and Burn. These are being sold at select indie retailers throughout the U.S., and there's also a chance to get them in online orders made this weekend.

Update (11/19, 2:30 p.m.): Third Man has just unveiled a selection of new merch items in time for the holidays, including skateboards, prayer candles, dog accessories and more. See the new items here.

Meanwhile, Record Store Day has a pile of Black Friday releases coming our way, and you can see the official list here.

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