Syreeta & G.C. Cameron

Some performers, such as Florence Ballard, were ground up in the Motown hitmaking machine -- and a few, like Syreeta, found their callings and success in other parts of the music business. Born in Pittsburgh, Rita Wright had her sights set on a performing career, and luckily her family moved to Detroit when she was in her teens and she had the talent to back up the goal. She came to the company as a secretary and was later discovered by Brian Holland, one third of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, who began using her as a backup singer on various records and brought...