Biography
Though Chico Leverett never attained the same degree of fame enjoyed by Marv Johnson or Eddie Holland, his place among Motown’s earliest roster members is secure; he signed and cut tracks before the company itself had received a name. Born Charles Leverett—the name that appears on his song copyrights—in Washington, GA, and raised in Detroit, he became a central presence at the label both as a Satintones member and the group’s chief songwriter and as a solo performer. Gospel ran through the Leverett lineage: his mother Betty and her sisters performed as the Scott Singers, an ensemble strong enough to share bills nationwide with the Soul Stirrers even though they left no recordings, and Leverett himself began singing at five.
His songwriting gift surfaced in his teens. Answering a 1959 newspaper notice placed by Berry Gordy, Jr. that sought singers, composers, and musicians, he succeeded in placing two originals on his debut session. “Solid Sender,” the track that supplied his lasting nickname, highlighted his supple baritone—supported on the bottom end by fellow Satintone Robert Bateman—through its driving rhythm and insistent hooks. In conversation with Bill Dahl, Leverett recounted that the number originated from a challenge issued by his minister uncle, who dared him to compose a secular piece—the sort often labeled “the Devil’s music”—that could still be played inside the clergyman’s home. Its flip side, the ballad “I’ll Never Love Again,” had been written for Leverett’s wife; together the two sides formed only the fourth single Motown ever released.
Further Satintones sides followed. During one discussion about possible names for the fledgling company, Leverett offered “Motor City Records,” borrowed from his first group recording, the infectious “Motor City”; the suggestion did not win outright, yet it clearly pointed Gordy in the right direction. Leverett’s writing productivity showed in the several Satintones numbers he composed or co-wrote, and he also proved he could deliver on assignment when Gordy requested a song modeled on the Drifters’ “There Goes My Baby,” resulting in “My Beloved,” only the third release to bear the Motown imprint. He departed the group in late winter 1960.
Later he settled in Reading, PA, and issued several singles that eventually appeared on the Bethlehem label. He subsequently served as executive producer at Music-Now, writing and producing material for Eddie Carroll and Emmanuel Laskey as well as additional sides by the Dells and the Originals. In 1990 he reunited with the Satintones for a single recording project and later supplied interview comments for the booklet that accompanied the 2005 compilation Motown Complete Singles, Vol. 1, 1959-1961.
His songwriting gift surfaced in his teens. Answering a 1959 newspaper notice placed by Berry Gordy, Jr. that sought singers, composers, and musicians, he succeeded in placing two originals on his debut session. “Solid Sender,” the track that supplied his lasting nickname, highlighted his supple baritone—supported on the bottom end by fellow Satintone Robert Bateman—through its driving rhythm and insistent hooks. In conversation with Bill Dahl, Leverett recounted that the number originated from a challenge issued by his minister uncle, who dared him to compose a secular piece—the sort often labeled “the Devil’s music”—that could still be played inside the clergyman’s home. Its flip side, the ballad “I’ll Never Love Again,” had been written for Leverett’s wife; together the two sides formed only the fourth single Motown ever released.
Further Satintones sides followed. During one discussion about possible names for the fledgling company, Leverett offered “Motor City Records,” borrowed from his first group recording, the infectious “Motor City”; the suggestion did not win outright, yet it clearly pointed Gordy in the right direction. Leverett’s writing productivity showed in the several Satintones numbers he composed or co-wrote, and he also proved he could deliver on assignment when Gordy requested a song modeled on the Drifters’ “There Goes My Baby,” resulting in “My Beloved,” only the third release to bear the Motown imprint. He departed the group in late winter 1960.
Later he settled in Reading, PA, and issued several singles that eventually appeared on the Bethlehem label. He subsequently served as executive producer at Music-Now, writing and producing material for Eddie Carroll and Emmanuel Laskey as well as additional sides by the Dells and the Originals. In 1990 he reunited with the Satintones for a single recording project and later supplied interview comments for the booklet that accompanied the 2005 compilation Motown Complete Singles, Vol. 1, 1959-1961.