Song Gotta See Jane
Album:The Essential Collection
So how did a nice Canadian boy like R. Dean Taylor become a staff songwriter at Motown and then become the first successful white artist for the label? Gotta See Jane was one of three chart hits in the early 70s and he was much bigger in Canada and England then he ever was in the US. He was born Richard Dean Taylor in Toronto 1939. He released a single called At The High School Dance in 1960 on Audiomaster and toured Canada to support it. He recorded a few singles after he moved to New York City in 1962 and then auditioned for Motown owner Berry Gordy. He moved to Detroit and became a staff songwriter at Motown usually working with Eddie Holland and Frank Wilson. Among his hits as a songwriter were Love Child by The Supremes and All I Need by The Temptations. But Taylor wanted to record himself. Gotta See Jane was first released in 1968 and was a hit in England. Taylor wrote the song with Brian Holland. But when Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1968, Taylor became part of the new Motown production team The Clan and his recording career was put on hold. Taylor returned to recording in 1970 when Motown started the Rare Earth label for white artists. His first single Indiana Wants Me topped the Canadian charts and reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. Gotta See Jane charted when it was re-released in 1971. Taylor continued to work at Motown until the Rare Earth label was closed in 1976. You can get all his Motown hits on this comp from the British label Spectrum. R. Dean Taylor recorded for Polydor and an attempt to revive his career in the early 80s fizzled. He still tours the oldies circuit today. He's been much more successful as a songwriter. Here's the video for Gotta See Jane by R. Dean Taylor.
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