Popcorn Wylie -

Popcorn Wylie (June 6, 1939 — Sept. 7, 2008) was an American soul singer from Detroit who released the 1974 ABC album Extrasensory Perception.

Background

Richard Wayne Wylie was born June 6, 1939, in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Althea King, taught him piano. Wylie attended Northwestern High School, where his speed in leaving football huddles earned him the nickname “Popcorn.” He formed Popcorn and the Mohawks with bassist James Jamerson and drummer Clifford Mack, and the trio played dances, weddings, fraternity parties, and Detroit clubs.

Northern Records issued “You’re the One” (b/w “Pretty Girl”) under the Popcorn and His Mohawks name in February 1960. Wylie also performed regularly at the Twenty Grand, a Detroit nightclub where he met musician and Motown engineer Robert Bateman. Bateman recommended Wylie to Berry Gordy, who brought the pianist into Motown. The label issued “Custer’s Last Man” (b/w “Shimmy Gully”) under the Popcorn and the Mohawks name in September 1960. Wylie played piano on Motown sessions that produced recordings by the Miracles and the Marvelettes, including “Shop Around” and “Please Mr. Postman.” Gordy appointed Wylie as Motown’s first head of A&R, and Wylie served as bandleader on the first Motortown Revue tour.

Wylie left Motown after a dispute with Gordy in 1962 and signed with Epic Records as a solo artist and staff writer. Epic introduced the arrangement in October 1962 with “Come to Me,” followed by three additional singles through “Marlene” (b/w “Do You Still Care for Me”) in February 1964. Wylie then worked as a songwriter, producer, and session pianist for Detroit independents that included Golden World and Ric-Tic. He developed recurring collaborations with Edwin Starr and J.J. Barnes. Jamo Thomas recorded the Wylie co-write “I Spy (For the FBI)” in 1966, and the Platters reached the national charts the next year with the Wylie co-write “With This Ring.”

Wylie established the Pameline and Soulhawk labels and registered compositions through Ala-King Music, named for his mother. Pameline issued Detroit recordings that included the Detroit Executives single “The Cool Off” in 1967. Wylie resumed releases under the Popcorn Wylie name with “Rosemary, What Happened?” on Karen in 1968, followed by “Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry)” on Carla. Motown issued “Funky Rubber Band” on Soul in 1971, and the single reached No. 40 on the Billboard R&B chart. ABC Records brought Wylie to Los Angeles in 1974 for sessions with producer McKinley Jackson at ABC Recording Studios, where Wylie recorded his first album, Extrasensory Perception.

Discography: