The Contours

The Contours
Company type	Vocal ensemble
Industry	Music
Founded	1959 in Detroit, United States
Founder	Joe Billingslea, Billy Gordon
Headquarters	Detroit, United States
Products	Rhythm and blues music

The Contours represent an American rhythm and blues vocal ensemble affiliated with Motown Records, chiefly recognized for their 1962 chart-topper "Do You Love Me", which surpassed one million copies in sales and experienced a resurgence in popularity in 1988.

Origins and Rise

In 1959, Joe Billingslea (born November 14, 1937) and Billy Gordon established a vocal group called the Blenders in Detroit. They expanded their lineup by including Billy Hoggs, Billy Rollins (who was eventually replaced by Leroy Fair), and bass vocalist Hubert Johnson, adopting the name "The Contours." Initially turned down by Motown founder Berry Gordy, they secured a recording contract after a subsequent audition facilitated by R&B icon Jackie Wilson.

Motown assigned guitarist Huey Davis to accompany the group. Their debut single, "Whole Lotta' Woman," released in January 1961, did not make the charts. Following this, lineup adjustments occurred: Leroy Fair was succeeded by Benny Reeves, who soon departed for military duty, leading to Sylvester Potts joining the group. The 1961 release "The Stretch" also failed to chart.

In early 1962, Gordy directed the Contours to record "Do You Love Me", a track some sources suggest was initially meant for the Temptations. However, Joe Billingslea clarified in a 2008 interview that Gordy first offered the song to the Contours and only contemplated passing it to the Temptations after initial recording challenges. Ultimately, Gordy endorsed the Contours' rendition.

Featuring Billy Gordon’s dynamic lead vocals, the single reached No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart and climbed to No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 1962. It sold over one million units and received a gold disc.

Career Progression in the Mid-to-Late 1960s

Though The Contours never replicated the success of "Do You Love Me," they returned to the charts four times between 1963 and 1964, beginning with "Shake Sherry." They also appeared on the R&B charts with the B-side of "Can You Jerk Like Me," titled "That Day When She Needed Me," penned by Smokey Robinson. In 1964, members Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and Sylvester Potts departed from Motown. Berry Gordy then recruited Council Gay, Jerry Green, and Alvin English to support Billy Gordon, transitioning The Contours into a vocal quartet with Huey Davis continuing as guitarist. Recordings from both configurations were compiled for a second Motown album, The Contours: Can You Dance (Gordy 910), which ultimately remained unreleased. Within a year, Sylvester Potts returned (replacing Alvin English), while Billy Gordon exited. Joe Stubbs—brother of Four Tops lead vocalist Levi Stubbs—replaced Gordon but soon left, making way for Dennis Edwards, who later became lead singer of the Temptations and pursued a solo career. Stubbs later led the 1970s R&B group 100 Proof (Aged in Soul).

Throughout the mid-1960s, The Contours recorded several R&B hits including "Can You Do It," "Don't Let Her Be Your Baby," "Can You Jerk Like Me," its charting B-side "That Day When She Needed Me," "First I Look at the Purse" (written by Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers) and "Just a Little Misunderstanding" (their sole single featuring Stubbs on lead vocals, co-written by Stevie Wonder). Despite these successes, they remained secondary to Motown’s leading male vocal groups: the Temptations, the Four Tops, and the Miracles. Their seven-year contract with Motown concluded in 1967. After Dennis Edwards joined the Temptations in mid-1968, The Contours disbanded.

In 1970, they re-entered the UK charts with a reissue of "Just a Little Misunderstanding," but their enduring legacy is anchored by "Do You Love Me." Many of their tracks have been included on various Motown compilation albums.

After Motown

In the early 1970s, Joe Billingslea revitalized the group by bringing in Arthur Hinson, Martin Upshire, C. Autry Hatcher, and former Motown Contour Council Gay, performing primarily in Detroit venues. Throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, their fan base expanded both domestically and internationally. By 1984, Charles Davis had taken over for Hinson, and Potts rejoined the band, replacing Gay. When Hatcher departed in 1987, Hinson returned to the lineup. The following year, Darell Nunlee stepped in for Upshire. In 1988, the track "Do You Love Me" gained renewed attention after being featured prominently in the movie Dirty Dancing, prompting a re-release that climbed to number eleven on Billboard’s top 40 chart for eight consecutive weeks. This resurgence led to the 1988 "Dirty Dancing Concert Tour" and secured a new recording contract with Ian Levine’s Motorcity Records, resulting in two albums: Flashback and Revenge—the latter remained unreleased but was included in later compilation albums.

Hinson exited the group in 1992, followed by Nunlee’s departure in 1993. They were succeeded by Al Chisholm (formerly of the Falcons) and Gary Grier, establishing a lineup with Billingslea, Davis, Grier, and Potts that persisted until 2004.

In 2004, Sylvester Potts left to create a competing ensemble with members from Detroit’s Upscale, performing under the name The Contours. Billingslea filed a lawsuit; however, both parties reached an out-of-court settlement due to shared ownership of the trademark "The Contours," permitting both groups to operate concurrently as "The Contours with Joe Billingslea" and "The Contours featuring Sylvester Potts." Shortly thereafter, Seabrooks departed from Potts’ group; Nunlee was replaced by Tee Turner in 2011.

April 2011 marked the release of Dance with the Contours on Kent Records—a collection comprising previously unreleased Motorcity tracks, original Motown recordings from the 1960s, and interviews with founders Billingslea and Potts—issued with full authorization from Motown catalogue rights holders.

In 2005, Billy Hoggs made a rare guest appearance alongside Billingslea’s ensemble for PBS’s Motown: The Early Years, which was subsequently released on DVD by Motown Records in 2007. Following Potts’ departure in 2006, Odell Jones joined as bass vocalist. The group earned induction into the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame of America in 2010.

Several founding members passed away over time: Hubert Johnson (1981), Joe Stubbs (1998), Billy Gordon (1999), guitarist Huey Davis (2002), and Leroy Fair (2004).

In 2014, Lyall Hoggart replaced Jones within Billingslea’s group. That same year marked the final performance of Potts’ ensemble. In 2015, Dwjuan Brock succeeded Charles Davis—who held the longest continuous membership from 1984 to 2015. That year also witnessed The Contours' induction into the R&B Hall of Fame, featuring a performance by Billingslea’s group. After Potts’ group disbanded, Billingslea’s formation regained exclusive rights to The Contours name. In 2016, they were honored with induction into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. The trademark "The Contours" was officially assigned solely to Joe Billingslea in 2017.

Sylvester Potts passed away on January 6, 2017.

On November 4, 2022, just prior to his 85th birthday, Joe Billingslea announced his retirement during a sold-out concert in Dearborn, Michigan.

Gary Grier died on January 26, 2025.

Members timeline

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id:Vocal3   value:pink        legend:Vocals_"The_Contours_featuring_Sylvester_Potts"
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at:06/29/1962
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at:07/01/1992

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bar:BG  text:"Billy Gordon"
bar:BH  text:"Billy Hoggs"
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bar:HD  text:"Huey Davis"
bar:SP  text:"Sylvester Potts"
bar:CG  text:"Council Gay"
bar:JG  text:"Jerry Green"
bar:AE  text:"Alvin English"
bar:JS  text:"Joe Stubbs"
bar:DE  text:"Dennis Edwards"
bar:AH  text:"Arthur Hinson"
bar:MU  text:"Martin Upshire"
bar:CH  text:"C Autry Hatcher"
bar:CD  text:"Charles Davis"
bar:D N  text:"Darell Nunlee"
bar:A C  text:"Al Chisholm"
bar:G G  text:"Gary Grier"
bar:k G  text:"Kim Green"
bar:T W  text:"Tony Womack"
bar:o J  text:"Odell Jones"
bar:T T  text:"Tee Turner"
bar:D B  text:"Dwjuan Brock"
bar:L H  text:"Lyall Hoggart"

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Albums

Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance) (Gordy 901, 1962)
The Contours: Can You Dance (Gordy 910, 1964 – never released)
The Contours Sing It's So Hard Being a Loser (Gordy G921, 1967 – unreleased)
Baby Hit and Run (Music for Pleasure, 1974)
Flashback (Motorcity Records, 1990)
The Very Best (Hot Productions, 1995)
The Very Best of the Contours [Original Recording Remastered] (Motown, 1999)
Essential Collection (Spectrum, 2000)
A New Direction (Orchard, 2000)
20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection (Universal, 2003)
Live II (Middle Earth, 2003)
Dance with the Contours (Kent/Universal/Motown, 2011)

Singles

Year	Title and catalog number	Highest chart rankings			Certifications	Album
Year	Title and catalog number	US	US R&B	UK	Certifications	Album
1961	"Whole Lotta Woman" (Motown 1008) b/w "Come On and Be Mine" (Non-album track)	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center		Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)
1961	"The Stretch" (Motown 1012) b/w "Funny"	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center
1962	"Do You Love Me" (Gordy 7005) b/w "Move Mr. Man"	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	BPI: Platinum
1962	"Shake Sherry" (Gordy 7012) b/w "You Better Get in Line"	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center
1963	"Don't Let Her Be Your Baby" (Gordy 7016) b/w "It Must Be Love" (from Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance))	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center		Baby Hit and Run
1963	"Pa I Need a Car" (Gordy 7019) b/w "You Get Ugly"	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center		Non-album track
1964	"Can You Do It" (Gordy 7029) b/w "I'll Stand by You" (Non-album track)	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center		Baby Hit and Run
1964	"Can You Jerk Like Me" (Gordy 7037) b/w "That Day When She Needed Me" (Non-album track)	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center
"First I Look at the Purse" (Gordy 7044) b/w "Searching for a Girl" (Non-album track)	(1965)	57	12
"Just a Little Misunderstanding" (Gordy 7052) b/w "Determination"	(1966)	85	18
"It's So Hard Being a Loser" (Gordy 7059) b/w "Your Love Grows More Precious Every Day" (Non-album track)	(1967)	79	35
"Baby Hit and Run" (UK-only) (Tamla Motown 886) b/w "Can You Jerk Like Me"	(1974)	—	—
"Do You Love Me" (Reissue) (Motown ZT 41890) b/w "Shake Sherrie"	(1988)	11	—
"Face Up to the Fact" (Motortown 20) b/w "Face Up to the Fact (Instrumental)"	(1989)	—	—
"Running in Circles" (Motortown 45) b/w "Running in Circles (Original Mix)"	(1991)	—	—
"Look Out for the Stop Sign" (USMO 4503) b/w "Gonna Win You Back"	(1992)	—	—

External links