Kim Weston has been performing since the age of three. Through her church, she began her music career with the traveling gospel group the Wright Specials. While the group signed to Motown’s gospel label Divinity in 1960, Kim Weston left the group before signing. Following disputes with the group, she took a year hiatus from performing. In 1961, she performed for Johnny Thorton, a cousin of Eddie and Brian Holland, who successfully convinced her to pursue a music career at Motown. She signed to the Tamla label in 1961. Her first song “Love Me All The Way” was a minor hit for the singer (reaching #24 on R&B charts and #88 on pop charts) and secured her as an up-and-coming star.
Weston’s next release “Take Me In Your Arms (And Rock me A Little While)” (1965) was her highest charting song as a soloist. It reached #4 on R&B charts and made it to the top 50 of US pop charts. After Mary Wells left Motown, Weston took her place as Marvin Gaye’s duet partner. While she continued to record as a soloist, it was with Marvin Gaye that she found the most success, with their album It Takes Two (1966). It became an international hit, with the title song topping out at #4 on the US R&B charts and #14 on US pop charts. That same year, she would marry the head of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) William “Mickey” Stevenson.
Despite her success, Weston left Motown in 1967 when her husband Mickey Stevenson was given the chance to run his own label with MGM in Los Angeles. Following her leave from Motown, she focused on her film career. Starting with a small role in the 1969 film Changes, she was then featured in 1972 concert film Wattstax. In the movie, she sang the American national anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” colloquially referred to as the “Black national anthem.” She donated her profits to the United Negro Fund and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Eventually, she moved to Israel to train young singers, and even starred in a musical called Sound and The Kidnapped African. An artist with such a diverse career, she has since moved back to the states and still performs.
Kim Weston performing “Take Me In Your Arms (And Rock Me A Little While)” in 2015 at the Detroit All-Star Revue
Kim Weston performing “A Little More Love”
Motown Note
Born Agatha Natalia Weston, she got her stage name from actress Kim Novack.
