Music
Sylvester Potts
1938–2017 · singer, songwriter
Detroit singer and songwriter who recorded for Fortune Records with the Hi-Fidelities and was a longtime member of the Contours.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 78- Detroit years
- 1938–2017
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Potts attended Northeastern High School on Detroit's east side, the school of Martha Reeves and Mary Wilson. In the late 1950s he sang with the Hi-Fidelities, whose singles appeared on the Detroit labels Hi-Q and Fortune, including his own composition "Help Murder Police". He joined the Contours in 1961, replacing a drafted member, and co-wrote with Joe Billingslea the B-side "It Must Be Love" (1963). He left Motown in 1964 with Billingslea and others but soon returned to the group, and he co-wrote "How Can I Say I'm Sorry" with Norman Whitfield for Jimmy Ruffin. In the 1970s he sang with the Four Sonics, and in 1984 he rejoined the re-formed Contours, with whom he performed for years; he also produced and co-wrote, with Mary Wells, "Give It Up", a Temptations track later released as a bonus. He died in Detroit in 2017.
Highlights
- Member of the Contours from 1961, with later stints
- Recorded with the Hi-Fidelities for Fortune and Hi-Q
- Co-wrote "How Can I Say I'm Sorry" for Jimmy Ruffin
- Attended Detroit's Northeastern High School
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 4
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1950s
Northeastern High School
Closed · 1982
He attended this east-side high school, which closed in 1982.
Recorded here · 1958
Fortune Records studio and shop
Demolished · 1956–2001
The Hi-Fidelities released "Last Night I Cried" on Fortune in 1958; the label's Third Avenue studio was demolished in 2001.
Recorded here · 1961–1964
Motown Museum
The Contours recorded their Motown sides here.
Buried here · 2017
Detroit Memorial Park West
Status being checked
His grave (per Wikidata).