Song:Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)
Album:Hitsville USA, Vol. 1: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971
The Monitors are a very minor Motown group who had their only chart hit with Greetings. They are closely associated with The Temptations. Monitors lead singer Richard Street went to high school with future Temptations Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin and was a member of The Distants. When The Distants merged with The Primes and became The Temptations, Street continued as Richard Street & The Distants. They recorded a couple of singles but their label folded and Street joined The Peps. In 1965, Street formed The Monitors with Warren Harris and John & Sandra Fagin. They were originally called The Majestics but had to change the name. They released several singles on Motown's VIP label but Greetings was the only song that charted. It reached #21 on the R & B Singles chart in 1966. Though people associate the song with the Vietnam War, The song was originally recorded by The Valadiers and released by Motown in 1962. The Monitors even released an album in 1968 on Soul but it went nowhere. This Hitsville USA box set has Greetings and plenty of other Motown hits. Motown rereleased it last year with new packaging. Street worked in Motown's quality control department. Motown sent Street on the road with The Temptations in 1969 when Paul Williams started having health problems. Williams lipsynced to Street's offstage vocals. Street replaced Williams in 1971 and remained with The Temptations until 1993. He still performs today. The Monitors reformed in the late 80s with lead singer Darrell Littlejohn replacing Street and recorded for Ian Levine's Motorcity Records. Here's a video for Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) by The Monitors.
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