NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED (Unreleased 1963 Motown Recording) A very curious recording indeed. Final vocals were recorded on May 31, 1963 for this Holland-Dozier-Holland production which only made it to a Jobete music publishing acetate and never issued when originally recorded. The story goes that back in the late 1970's, a fellow who was working on Motown's 'From The Vaults' LP series, discovered the acetate while looking for material. He taped it for potential inclusion on an LP collection but it was never used. Only the title, 'I've Got a Right To Cry' and the recording date were on the label. He played the tape to several other collectors trying to pinpoint who the vocalist was. In jest he said that maybe it was LaBrenda Ben knowing good and well that it sounded nothing like her. The name stuck. Further confusion had the passing of years finding the track mistitled as 'Lead Me And Guide Me'. The mystery as to the identity of the lead vocals have been a toss up between that of Saundra Mallet who recorded a couple of singles with backing by the Vandellas before positioning herself as the lead vocalist of the Elgins and then several Motown aficionados have 'unofficially' claimed the lead vocals to be that of Miss Gloria Jean Williamson who was in the pre-Vandellas lineup with Martha Reeves, Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard as the Del-Phis and the Vels. With the presumption that 'I've Got A Right To Cry' showcases the vocal chords of Gloria, she is supported brilliantly with a powerful drum-filled backing track by the Funk Brothers and background vocals by the Andantes with a few bars of male voices on the intro., instrumental break and fade. An impressive production that shows Motown and Holland & Dozier's brief fascination with Phil Spector's 'Wall of Sound'. The track would eventually find release as part of the CD compilation, 'A Cellar Full Of Motown - Volume 4' under the title of 'Lead Me And Guide Me'. Similarly produced and arranged tracks were the Supremes - 'Run, Run, Run', 'Mary Wells - 'One Block From Heaven' and the Darnells - 'Too Hurt To Cry, Too Much In Love To Say Goodbye'.
