1960- "All I Want For Christmas (Is Your Love)"

.....Technically, before there was a Motown label there was Tamla, home of the Miracles and Barrett Strong. It began releasing singles in 1959 and its early hits encouraged Berry Gordy to expand with the Motown and Miracle labels in 1961, then Gordy, Divinity (Gospel), Workshop (Jazz) and Melody (Country) in 1962. These and the many others to follow became collectively known as "the Motown Group" of labels, probably to keep focus on their regional, Detroit-based identity. Berry Gordy had previously experienced a degree of success as a song-writer and producer in the area and came from a large family (he was one of eight children), many of whom also ventured into the business end of music.

.....The Anna, Harvey and Tri-Phi labels were run by husband and wife Harvey Fuqua (formerly of the Moonglows) and Gwen Gordy (Berry's sister). Anna (1959-1961) was replaced by the other two labels (1961-1963) and the Motown Group eventually absorbed their artists, producers, staff and publishing catalogs. One of Anna's busier staff writers and producers was Billy 'Roquel' Davis, who went by the name Tyran Carlo when he wrote songs with Berry Gordy. Billy had dated Gwen just a few years earlier and they founded the label together. It was about that time that Harvey Fuqua (with a then-unknown Marvin Gaye in tow) arrived after dissolving the Moonglows II, as recounted in the post from last year, found here:

http://lgcmusic02.blogspot.com/2011/01/1953-just-lonely-christmas.html

.....Harvey and Gwen would eventually form the next two labels, but Billy produced the only two singles I could find by a performer named Wreg Tracey:

• -N/A- "ALL I WANT IS YOU" (Billy 'Roquel' Davis, Gwen Gordy Fuqua)
• -N/A- b/w "TAKE ME BACK (I WAS WRONG)" (Billy 'Roquel' Davis, Gwen Gordy Fuqua)
• original source: 7" Anna Records 1105 (US) October 10, 1959

.....and, more relevantly,...

• 00:00 "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS (IS YOUR LOVE)" (Billy 'Roquel' Davis, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Robert Gordy)
• -N/A- b/w "TAKE ME BACK (I WAS WRONG)" (Billy 'Roquel' Davis, Gwen Gordy Fuqua)
• original source: 7" Anna Records 1126 (US) December 12, 1960

.....I can't determine if the same recording was used for both B-sides. Davis and Sammy Lowe are credited with the arrangements for all four sides, except for "ALL I WANT IS YOU", credited to Lowe alone. I've never seen the song on any of the compilations in my own collection and as soon as I learned of its existence I began searching on line for a CD or even a more recent vinyl album that included it. I found nothing; that doesn't mean that no such compilation was made, only that none is mentioned online where Google nor an army of fanatical R&B enthusiasts and obsessives could find it. I did learn that on the early volumes of the massive Hip-O-Select boxed sets compiling Motown singles from the same period that some songs were digitally mastered from vinyl copies out of necessity because the master recordings were never archived and may no longer exist. If Wreg Tracey never had any other releases it would not be surprising if his original recordings were recorded over to save money on tape. Also, label scans online reveal that the original singles did not provide playing times for the songs, so I wouldn't be able to plan a theoretical compilation containing it with any accuracy. An educated guess would say between 2:30 and 3:00 based on contemporary records of the period and genre.

.....If you have any information regarding the song "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS (IS YOUR LOVE)", or even regarding Wreg Tracey, any lead would be appreciated. I read all comments.