More than picking up just a hit, Golden World Records scored a secure foundation in spring 1964 when its release, “(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet,” peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
One of the last hits of the doo-wop era, the song by The Reflections sold more than a million records, far exceeding the break-even point of 50,000. Now Golden World could address its needs, starting with a new studio at 3246 W. Davison St. in Detroit (near Dexter Avenue).
Eddie Wingate Jr. launched Golden World in 1962. The native Georgian with the smooth touch, then 43, had migrated to Detroit and worked at Ford Motor Co. before owning a restaurant in the 1940s. His knack for business as well as life benefited many around him and led to an empire that competed directly with Motown Records and Berry Gordy.
Joanne Bratton, co-owner and president of Golden World, supervised the early recordings. Bratton (née Jackson) was described in a divorce notice as “the long-suffering wife of playboy ex-welterweight champion Johnny Bratton.” She had graduated from Northwestern High School at 16, and became a long-distance phone operator before marrying.
“I was very bright, probably precocious as a little girl,” she told a reporter. “I was double-promoted twice in grade school. But I got dumber as I grew older.”
Bratton regained her smarts after her divorce and found a natural release in the new job, teaming with Wingate to lead their flourishing startup.
She supervised at RCA Studios in Chicago when The Reflections laid down the vocals for their hit. In a strategic move, she and Wingate lured engineer Bob D’Orleans to Detroit from New York to build Golden World’s studio and run the sessions.
Once completed, Wingate would stop by and critique the new acts.
The record market was still regionalized in the mid-1960s, and creating subsidiary labels was the standard way of penetrating into niches. One example: Golden World put out “Agent Double-O-Soul” on Ric-Tic Records. The satiric take on James Bond hit No. 21 on the Billboard Top 40 and powered singer Edwin Starr’s career.
A producer introduced Starr to Wingate, who arranged the “Double-O” session. Starr credited D’Orleans with the assist: “I cut no records without him. That’s my hit maker.”
In 1966, with a particular eye on Starr, Gordy purchased Golden World and its sublabels for, it was said, $1 million. The Davison studio became known as Motown’s Studio B. From there, D’Orleans found himself unemployed, but he was soon running Sidra Records at 12946 Woodward Ave. in Highland Park.
Among Sidra’s contributions to the Detroit Sound were Barbara Mercer’s “So Real” and “Call on Me.” Starr rewarded Gordy’s mogul move four years later when “War” reached No. 1 during its 15 weeks on the charts.
Starting in July 1966, Wingate made a push to diversify when he and partner Ernest Mackey opened the 20 Grand Motel at 14th Street and West Warren Avenue. Situated next to the 20 Grand night club, the $500,000, 52-unit inn featured a penthouse with two suites renting for $85 a day.
Wingate and Mackey also owned the Algiers Motel at 8301 Woodward Ave., which during the 1967 riots was the scene of a tragedy — three young Black men were killed by direct concerted gunfire by law enforcement, or in a subsequent raid.
Wingate also acquired a cab company, but ultimately turned that business over to his brother, James. After his wife, Ethel, died in 1994, Wingate married Bratton, and they retired to Las Vegas.
Upon his death in 2006, a former Golden World session player, Don Davis, then CEO and chairman of First Independence Bank in Detroit, remembered Wingate as “the guy who held the community together.”
