Motown Meltdown, Saturday, April 8, 8 p.m., Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville St., Vancouver. Tickets: $32.50 + service charge or $44 at the door. Available online at ticketmaster.ca or at Highlife Records, 1317 Commercial Dr.
Will Sanders wanted to be like “Superstition” singing sensation Stevie Wonder when they were both teens.
“When (Stevie) started, when he was 13, I remember sitting in my uncle’s living room and looking at the album cover and marvelling at, ‘Wow, this guy, he’s the same age as me and he’s doing stuff.’ And I was really fascinated by that,” says Sanders, who eventually found his musical footing in the gospel scene.
Sanders, a North Vancouver transplant by way of smalltown Louisiana, spent the early 1970s in juke joints listening to The Dramatics, The Dells, Curtis Mayfield and other American R&B powerhouses.
“That’s when Marvin (Gaye), Betty Wright and a whole bunch of those Stax Records people (came on the scene),” says Sanders. “Of course, when Marvin came out with ‘What’s Going On,’ that changed the dynamic of music all together.”
And it wasn’t just his imagination when The Temptations hit the airwaves with their distinct harmonious sound – Sanders knew they were something special. In fact, The Temptations taught Sanders how to harmonize, he says.
All through his childhood, Sanders sang in church choirs and ensembles. Since moving to Vancouver – Sanders has lived on the North Shore for almost 30 years – he has sung with a number of gospel groups including The Sojourners, who earned a Juno Award nomination for Blues Album of the Year in 2011.
Sanders has also shone on stage, earning a Jessie Award nomination for his starring role in the Arts Club production When the Rains Come.
On April 8, Sanders will pay tribute to The Temptations when he takes the stage at the annual energizing Motown Meltdown event in Vancouver. Now in its 14th year, Motown Meltdown is an evening of soul, rhythm and blues that gets everybody moving in the storied Commodore Ballroom.
You can be sure Motown classics such as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Dancing in the Street” and “My Girl” will reverberate through the electrified room and stir souls. Motown Meltdown veteran Sanders is one of about 20 solo Canadian artists who will be performing and backed by a lively 12-piece band. He will be going against the grain in singing a lesser-known Temptations song, “Little Miss Sweetness.”
“You’re going to hear (familiar) Michael Jackson (songs), you’re going to hear Marvin, you’re going to hear The Supremes. It’s just that these artists had other songs,” says Sanders of his choice to sing something from one of
The Temptations early albums, Gettin’ Ready.
Also, don’t expect Sanders to add his own flavour to the tune.
“This is going to be very authentic in its interpretation,” he says. “Because I want to be true to it. This is about Motown. It’s about that era and a certain group of artists.”
Motown Meltdown has remained, year after year, one of the more highly anticipated events in Vancouver because the music never goes out of style and people really enjoy dancing to old familiar R&B songs, explains Sanders.
“I think it’s because of the genuine feeling that went into the writing and the singing,” he says. “People believed because we were all hopeless romantics. Being black in America, it was one of the things that black folk had back then. They were very romantic when they wrote their songs. It was the beat, it was the groove, it was the rhythm behind it. It made us want to dance to it. It made us want to fall in love.”
As for the artists, it’s no chore for them to lend their talents for the cause. Proceeds from the evening benefit Seva Canada, a Vancouver-based charity whose mission is to restore sight and prevent blindness in developing countries.
“I guess over the years we kind of fell in love with (Motown Meltdown). If we are not doing anything on that night we are there,” says Sanders of the artists in Vancouver’s tight-knit music community.
And they couldn’t have asked for a better venue in the Commodore.
“It’s the ambience,” explains Sanders. “It’s one of the best clubs in Vancouver, where you can go and dance. It’s a big-ass dance floor that’s usually so full you can’t dance anyway because it’s so packed with people. It’s a wonderful place for artists to perform in. It’s like a big dance show.”
Sanders is always in awe of his Motown Meltdown counterparts.
“Sometimes, it’s intimidating because oh boy, these guys, they can sing,” he says. “Some of these songs, they are powerful, and they bring it.”
Soon Sanders will go back into the studio with The Sojourners to lay down tracks for their fourth album, which he says won’t be a departure from their unique blend of R&B, country and blues.
“You try to stick with what got you where you are,” says Sanders. “We try to be creative but we stick to our message of social justice and equality and also try to uplift some spirits.”
