Barbara McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) – Baby A-Go-Go (1966)

This flawless gem by the singer with a golden voice was produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier for Motown, but only promo copies were released.

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Barbara McNair was a singer and actor with a beautiful voice who toured with Nat King Cole in the late 1950s, signed with Motown in the mid-sixties, and became one of the first Black women to host her own television variety show from 1969-71.

Barbara Jean McNair was born and raised in Chicago. She first sang at church services and in school plays. After graduating from high school in 1952, she studied music at the city’s American Conservatory of Music, then moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA for one year before dropping out to focus on her singing and acting careers. She released her first records in the late 1950s, toured with Nat King Cole, and appeared with him in his Broadway stage shows in the early sixties.

Motown was doing big business by the mid-sixties selling records to young people across color lines, but Berry Gordy wanted to crack open the adult record buying market, too. During this period he added established Black artists like Billy Eckstine to the label’s roster, whose music appealed to older, whiter audiences. In 1965 he signed McNair, who had previously recorded for Coral, Signature, and Warner Bros. Records.

Gordy produced her superb debut single “You’re Gonna’ Love My Baby” (1965) which McNair co-wrote, the only song she ever authored. Although it failed to make much of an impact on the charts, the track was destined to become a classic on the UK’s Northern Soul scene.

Its B-side was an even more beautiful song, “The Touch of Time.” Original copies of the single today sell for hundreds of dollars on Discogs.

Another of her early Motown singles was “Here I Am Baby” (1965), produced by Smokey Robinson, b/w “My World Is Empty Without You,” co-written by Holland-Dozier-Holland and produced by Frank Wilson.

Around this time, she also recorded the flawless jam “Baby A-Go-Go,” co-written by Ron Miller and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. It was only released as a promo on Motown subsidiary Soul Records in 1966, and had to wait decades to see the light of day before being included on Motown compilations.

In 1972, McNair recorded a rare single for the short-lived Marina Records label, based in Hollywood. “I Mean To Shine” was a cover of a song from Barbara Streisand’s 1971 self-titled album Barbara Joan Streisand. Co-written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, who formed Steely Dan in 1971, Streisand’s original was the first of the songs they wrote to ever be recorded.

McNair’s epic version was produced by Joe Porter and far outshone Streisand’s, but Marina went belly up before it could be officially released and only promo copies were issued.

McNair’s life took several tragic turns in the 70s. She was arrested for possession of heroin at the the Playboy Club in New Jersey on October 17, 1972, after she signed for a package containing half an ounce of the drug. Although the charges were dropped the following spring after her second husband Rick Manzie was charged with the crime, she lost a huge amount of bookings once the news of her arrest broke. Her career was never the same.

It’s likely that she was set up by someone connected to the infamous tax shelter attorney Harry Margolis, who handled her finances under the guise of helping her and other wealthy clients avoid taxes. At Manzie’s urging, she had confronted Margolis in 1970 and sought an accounting of the nearly $1 million she had entrusted to one of his Caribbean-based firms over a three year period. In response, he claimed her remaining net worth was approximately $50,000.

She later became a key witness and testified against Margolis in court in 1977. It was a brave thing to do, because Manzie had been shot to death in their Las Vegas mansion in December, 1976, a murder that remains unsolved. Manzie and Margolis were both mob-connected, and Manzie was allegedly attempting to put a contract on Margolis’ life in case they were unable to recover McNair’s funds from him.

McNair never saw the money Margolis stole from her. She declared bankruptcy in the 1980s with debts of half a million dollars. During the year 2000, she was diagnosed with throat cancer and died seven years later at age 72.

Rest in Peace, Barbara McNair.

Further info:

“What Dope Arrest Is Doing To The Career of Barbara McNair,” by William Earl Berry, Jet, December 7, 1972.

“Barbara McNair, 72, a Singer, Actress and Host of a TV Show, Dies,” obituary, The New York Times, February 6, 2007.

“Barbara McNair’s Unsung Heroism,” by Fred Gardner, CounterPunch, April 14, 2007.

“Barbara McNair: 'You’re Gonna Love My Baby',” Motown Junkies, January 26, 2014.

#soul #Motown #FrankWilson #Holland-Dozier-Holland #BarbaraMcNair