Motortown Revue 1965 Jumbo Globe Concert Poster Headlined by Marvin Gaye....

Description

HOW SWEET IT IS, THIS ALL-MOTOWN JEWEL

Motortown Revue 1965 Jumbo Globe Concert Poster Headlined by Marvin Gaye. An original Globe Posters large Day-Glo advertising window card for the 1965 Motown Records "Motortown Revue" traveling tour caravan. Features a bevy of stars including Marvin Gaye, The 4 Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, Junior Walker and the All-Stars, Brenda Holloway and the Contours. Whew!

What a spectacular piece of window-card advertising this gem is... it's almost cartoonish and fictional it's so breathtakingly beautiful, but there's no question this poster was printed up in the spring of 1965 to advertise tickets for a show in Chattanooga, Tennessee on the first day of summer.

This poster was designed for the entire tour, of course, not just one stop, but it's impossible to find from any city. It defies the imagination of collectors to this day to try to figure out... why in the world didn't people save these things in the mid-60's? What were they thinking? Ninety-nine percent of them were thrown away. Why were people so willing to toss aside such a stunning piece of art, that also served as a killer souvenir for the show they just saw? There are just no answers.

The provenance of this poster is great, in that it came directly from the late show promoter Ted Bryant's daughter. And notice how Ted's name was overlaid in the venue box, a little haphazardly by the local promoter crowding what Globe in Baltimore had printed. What's really extra proof of this is the Ted Bryant line appearing twice, accidentally, on the poster's backside... oops! They fed the board through the printing press upside-down the first two times. But no worries... nobody would see the poster's back, and they were intended to be trashed the day after the show anyway.

This lovely oversized poster measures 22" x 30 3/4" and grades to restored Very Good Plus condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: A lot of this poster's rarity has to do with the fact that so few were made in the first place. These were big, cumbersome and expensive to produce, so they could have made as few as 10 for any given city. So that's what makes them so collectible today... scarcity. Chattanooga is the only city we've ever heard of this poster from, in decades of data-gathering and collector conversations.

Globe's stunning Day-Glo florescent colors of red & yellow look great enough on their own, but then they turn to brilliant orange & green under a purple blacklight, which kids & hippies used to have a lot back in the 60's. This was never meant for bedrooms, of course, but Globe just preferred to use these expensive inks... with the added bonus that they simply never fade with the passage of time.

On the music tip, just look at the song titles... there are TEN songs on there that every baby boomer worth their salt can hum. It starts with four monster Marvin Gaye tunes right across the top... "I'll Be Doggone," "How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You" (abbreviated), "Hitch Hike" and "Pride and Joy."

The very next song is "Dancing in the Street" (which the poster makes plural) by Martha & the Vandellas. Is there a more landmark, quintessential, 60's-defining Motown hit you can think of? What a spectacular second line on the poster that is. And then there's the jaw-dropping, terrific graphic for Junior Walker & the All-Stars' Top 5 hit "Shotgun." It may well be the Globe Poster designers' finest moment ever, and we've seen 'em all.

We try to refrain from hyperbole in describing these posters for you, but that all goes out the window when addressing this one. The Motown Records slogan was, 'The Sound of Young America." Everybody to this day, even millennials, know the label's evergreen hits, many of which are found on this poster. It's a gem for the ages.

To that point, the very fact that this poster depicts Marvin Gaye with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," Martha and the Vandellas with "Dancing in the Street," Junior Walker and the All-Stars with "Shotgun," The Contours with "Do You Love Me," The 4 Tops with "Baby, I Need Your Loving" and Brenda Holloway just a couple of months before she toured America with The Beatles, and you have just a spectacular slice of American music and pop-culture history right here in one highly frameable poster. (No offense, of course, to Willie Tyler and Lester, and the Choker Campbell Band, smile.)

Condition details: Chameleon Restoration addressed a few edge and corner issues, touching up any printing or color where necessary, mending pinholes, eradicating surface blemishes and greatly reducing any creasing it might have had. The result is a hugely satisfying piece with little or no evidence of past damage.


Heritage Auctions provides as much information as possible but strongly encourages in-person inspection. Condition statements are offered as general guidance only, not as complete representations of fact, and do not constitute a warranty or assumption of liability by Heritage. Some condition issues may not be noted but may be visible in the photos, which are considered part of the condition report. Lots estimated at $1,000 or less are not de-framed for inspection, and we may be unable to provide additional details for lots valued under $500. Heritage does not guarantee the condition of frames and is not liable for damage to frames, glass/acrylic coverings, original boxes, display accessories, or artwork that has shifted in the frame. All lots are sold "AS IS" under our Terms & Conditions of Auction.