Motown, Philly - they sing the full Spectrum

Instead of the usual repertoire - emanating from Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley -

Peter Nero

's next

Philly Pops

outing is inspired by the Motor City.

Detroit's enormous Motown catalog is the theme, interpreted by the four-man vocal group Spectrum, appearing as Nero's guests. Their R&B repertoire also samples the Philly Sound, with music from the O'Jays, Delfonics and Stylistics.

It'll be the first trip back to Philly in 31 years for Spectrum founder Cushney Roberts.

A Princeton-trained engineer, Roberts worked with a security clearance in the 1970s at GE's 32nd and Chestnut satellite-re-entry plant. In those days, he could never have dreamed about leading a sellout Las Vegas singing act.

Roberts' mother, Artie Sellers, grew up at 55th and Arch streets in West Philadelphia and was one of the few African-American graduates of the University of Pennsylvania in the 1940s.

When he was a youngster living in northern New Jersey, passionate Motown tunes weren't even on Roberts' radar.

"As a kid, I was in a singing group that did Beatles songs," said Roberts by phone from his home in Las Vegas, "and we once won a competition against guys doing Motown. Even earlier, I sang as a boy soprano for an Episcopal church in a neighboring city, not even the church I attended.

"But seriously pursuing music was the farthest thing from my mind. Even at Princeton, our group Quiet Fire played at parties and supper clubs for some extra money, and once even at the 21 Club in New York, but nobody thought career, and everyone went their separate ways."

Roberts only spent a short time working in Philly and commuting from Collingswood, N.J., before he moved to another GE facility in Chicago. There, he answered a want ad that led to a two-year stint singing Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Engelbert Humperdinck and Tony Bennett standards in a supper club show that included a comedian, juggler, magician and aerial act.

Relocating to another GE facility in Dallas, he continued singing nights and weekends and gradually realized his heart was in performing. He finally left engineering for the opportunity to appear on Broadway in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

In 1995, Roberts assembled a Four Tops tribute group, choosing the name Spectrum with the thought that the group would eventually broaden its repertoire.

One of Spectrum's members, Oakland, Calif.,-born Darryl Grant, had been lead singer with the '70s Philly group Fat Larry's Band, which went on to great success in England. The other two current members are Chicago native Pierre Jovan and tenor David Prescott, of Rochester, N.Y.

Spectrum performed in Las Vegas with the two biggest impersonator shows, "American Superstars" and "Legends In Concert," logging more than six years doing two shows a night, six nights a week. Music by the Spinners, Commodores, Isley Brothers, Drifters and Temptations built up the act during this period.

After that stint and a trip to Germany, a lucky contact with a booker led to a four-year lounge gig at the Boardwalk casino on the strip. They did three sets a night, 51 weeks a year, in an early show geared for an older crowd.

"We had to prove ourselves every show, which made us better entertainers," said Roberts. "We learned what audiences do and don't want to hear, and [it] forced us to pay attention to the audience. We're not trying to impersonate the originals, but to replicate the style with our own flavoring and richer harmony."

They also worked on cruise boats and, eventually, got their first orchestra job with the Claremont Symphony in California.

Part of Roberts' pay went toward the symphonic charts for the orchestra musicians, which he's revamped through the years so that "string players are not going to fall asleep playing our music."

"Philly Pops will be our 12th orchestra job," said Roberts. "Jeff Tyzik, conductor of the Rochester Pops, referred us to Peter Nero, and we'll be very happy to be in the home of Philly International. We're ready to do all the tunes Peter wants us to do." *

Send e-mail to dinardt@phillynews.com.

Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce streets, 3 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 10-11, also 8 p.m. Nov. 7 and Nov. 9, $26-$100, 215-893-1999, www.phillypops.org.