Joe Billingslea (born November 14, 1937) and Billy Gordon founded a singing group called the Blenders in their native Detroit, Michigan in 1959.

The group soon added Leroy Fair (in place of Billy Rollins), and bass singer Hubert Johnson, and changed the name to "The Contours".

Shortly thereafter, Benny Reeves left to serve in the United States Navy and he was replaced by Sylvester Potts.

In early 1962, Gordy had the Contours record "Do You Love Me," a composition allegedly originally meant for the Temptations.

But, in a 2008 interview for MOJO Magazine, original Contour Joe Billingslea stated that this was not the case.

[2] Although the Contours never quite repeated the extraordinary success of "Do You Love Me," they returned to the charts four times during 1963 and 1964 starting with "Shake Sherry."

In 1964, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and Sylvester Potts all left Motown.

Berry Gordy hired Council Gay, Jerry Green and Alvin English to back Billy Gordon, making the Contours a vocal quartet (with Davis remaining the group's guitarist throughout their stint at Motown).

During this period, tracks recorded by both line-ups were being put together for a second album for Motown entitled The Contours: Can You Dance (Gordy 910).

Within a year, Sylvester Potts returned to the group (replacing Alvin English), and Billy Gordon departed shortly thereafter.

During the mid-1960s the Contours recorded several records which received R&B radio play, notably "Can You Do It," "Don't Let Her Be Your Baby", "Can You Jerk Like Me," and its charting flip side, the Smokey Robinson written-and-produced "That Day When She Needed Me," "First I Look at the Purse" (written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers)" and "Just a Little Misunderstanding" (the only single featuring Stubbs on lead, and was co-written by Stevie Wonder).

[4] Still they were considered secondary to Motown's major male vocal groups: the Temptations, the Four Tops, and the Miracles.

[6] In the early 1970s, Joe Billingslea resurrected the group with himself, Arthur Hinson, Martin Upshire, C. Autry Hatcher and former Motown Contour Council Gay as its members and began performing at local clubs around Detroit.

In 1988, a reissue of "Do You Love Me" sent the song back to the Billboard top 40 charts for eight weeks, peaking at number eleven.

In 2004, Sylvester Potts left to form his own group with the four members (Leroy Seabrooks, Kim Green, Tony Womack and Darell Nunlee) of a local Detroit group named Upscale, which immediately began performing as "The Contours".

In 2006, the Contours with Joe Billingslea filled the vacant bass singing spot created by Potts' departure with Odell Jones.