The Metros

The Metros is one of Detroit's least-known groups to have recorded on a major label: RCA Records. Under the auspices of Joe Hunter and Jack Ashford (Pied Piper Productions) the Metros' RCA output resulted in one album and three singles, all released between 1966 to 1967. The members were Percy Williams (lead), James Buckman, Robert Suttles, and Arthur Mitchell. Gordon Dunn replaced an original Metros on a final recording. Their first single, "Sweetest One" (October 1966), was their biggest record. It features a falsetto lead that finds it difficult to stay on key and a chorus similar to "The Mix-Mix Song," by the Chi-lites. RCA followed with "Since I Found My Baby" (March 1967); it featured a strong second tenor and has that four-on-the-floor beat that Northern soul fans love, making it a popular item among the old soul collectors. The Metros' third RCA single, "The Replacer" b/w "Let's Groove," was new material; Larry Banks co- wrote both sides, but it didn't matter as it failed miserably and ended the Metros time with RCA. A final recording, "She's Not Everybodys Girl" b/w "What's Wrong With Your Love," stayed shelved 21 years before emerging on Soul King Records in 1991.