The Messengers - Messengers 1969 US Originally from Milwaukee, they cut Midnight Hour/Hard Hard Year (U.S.A. 866) at Chicago's U.S.A. Studios in 1967. Almost immediately afterwards they signed to Motown records, becoming the first white group to do so. However, with the U.S.A. 866 release doing pretty well, the record company needed someone to promote it, so they signed Michael and The Messengers from Boston and re-recorded Midnight Hour with a different flip side. The Messengers had a lean spell at Motown but eventually re-emerged with further recordings on its Rare Earth label.
