by Bruce EderBest remembered for a handful of hits including the Top Ten smashes You Got What It Takes and I Love The Way You Love, Marv Johnson was also a seminal figure in the early history of Motown Records. Marvin Earl Johnson was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1938, and was raised in a musical environment that mixed the gospel music of the Baptist church with the jump-jazz of Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. By the time he was in high school he had joined a local singing group, playing carnivals and fairs. In 1958, he cut his first sides, My Baby-O and Once Upon a Time; the single failed to sell, but the recording session resulted in a meeting with songwriter and would-be record producer Berry Gordy.After Johnson played his original song Come to Me for Gordy and his future wife Raynoma, the couple chose Johnson as the first artist for their fledgling record label, Tamla. Because the new label didnt have distribution outside of Detroit, C...