It’s the music that has kept John Hodges, leader of Masters of Soul, performing Motown hits to audiences worldwide for nearly 40 years, he said.
Hodges, who will bring Masters of Soul to College of Lake County Jan. 14, said it’s also the music – along with the choreography and colorful costumes – that has kept audiences entertained and clapping and singing along at concerts.
“Motown music combines great rhythm for people who want to dance and great harmonies like you hear in a soulful church performance,” he said. “Everybody loves the music we’re doing and that’s the major thing behind it.”
The group, which consists of three male and three female singers and a four-piece band, celebrates iconic songs and performers of Motown and soul music – including The Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson.
Hodges, who has a deep voice and sings bass, particularly loves doing the Barry White songs, which he said the group dedicates “to the ladies.”
“I come up in costume looking like Barry White. It blows their minds. I often get a standing ovation for that,” he said.
Hodges has led his TFC Band for more than 30 years performing soul music at private events, festivals and military bases. The band created the Masters of Motown in 2008 as a show that captured the sights and sounds – and dance moves – of the Motown era, then changed the name to Masters of Soul in 2013 to include soul music from the 1970s.
Hodges said the group strives to bring the audience back to the era, by singing as close to the original record as possible, wearing period clothing and doing dance steps made famous by the original performers.
“The audience wants you to look and sound as close to the original as you possibly can,” Hodges said. “They want to reminisce back to those times. So we do the choreography and the harmonies. The Temptations thrived on having great harmonies, so we have to concentrate on that.”
Young people, who weren’t alive when Motown first became popular, come to the concerts, too, Hodges said. We do a meet and greet at the end of the performance and young kids will come up with promo sheets and get our autographs. One kid came up and said, ‘I know how to sing ‘My Girl.” He started singing and we started backing him up with vocals. It was a great family celebration.”
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Hodges said the group has done educational seminars at schools. “We have an auditorium full of kids and we ask what’s their favorite Motown song and they scream out, ‘My Girl.'”
Though they’ve been performing the music for a long time, Hodges said, it never gets old.
“It’s the music that keeps us young, and then you’ve got the bouncing off affect, once you get out there and start putting out the good sounds and choreography and the crowd starts getting into it, then it’s a back and forth motion of energy the whole night.”
The band often finishes with “Shout” by the Isley Brothers.
“Everybody is shouting and screaming and singing along,” he said.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
Masters of Soul
When: 8 p.m., Jan 14
Where: James Lumber Center, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake
Tickets: $15-$45
Information: 847- 543-2300; www.clcillinois.edu/tickets