Most Expensive Motown Vinyl Record Ever Sold Comes To American Airwaves For First Time, Courtesy Of Uncle Nearest

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, the most awarded American whiskey brand of 2019 and 2020 to-date, announces today the release of a new commercial utilizing the music of legendary Motown writer and producer, Frank Wilson. The song, "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)," was written and performed by Wilson, and set a record in 2009 as the most expensive Motown vinyl ever sold when a Leicestershire, UK-based record dealer organized the sale to an anonymous buyer for £25,742. The album, which remains the tenth most expensive vinyl record ever sold, was never released in the U.S. The song is being introduced to the American public for the first time in Uncle Nearest's newest commercial titled "Do I Love You." Uncle Nearest CEO and founder Fawn Weaver is the daughter of Wilson.

Only 250 demo copies of the 7" vinyl record were ever pressed. As few as two are reported to have survived with the rest being intentionally destroyed when Wilson made the decision to be a Motown producer rather than a singer. It is believed that one of those two vinyls are in the private collection of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, while the other landed at a famous English Northern soul nightclub in Wigan, England, where the song became a cult classic in the '60s and '70s. Due to its enormous popularity, the album was officially released in the UK in 1979. It is arguably the most popular Northern Soul record of all time and remained No. 1 on the Northern Soul charts as late as 2015.

Weaver and the Uncle Nearest brand are becoming synonymous with uncovering lesser-known stories in American history. In 2017, Weaver introduced the world to Nearest Green through the launch of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. A story once lost to time, Weaver's extensive research revealed that Green, a formerly enslaved man, was the first known African-American master distiller. Today, his name and legacy lives on through the whiskey and the Nearest Green Distillery located in Shelbyville, Tenn.

"I remember where I was the moment I learned my father had recorded an album with his own voice," said Weaver. "My father did a brilliant job of cementing his own legacy when he was alive. Now, I have the honor of combining that with my own mission of cementing the legacy of Nearest Green, a man who didn't have the chance to do that while he was living. I have no doubt my father is in heaven with a smile, and hopefully seated right next to him is another legend, Nearest."

This is the second commercial from the super-premium whiskey brand. Uncle Nearest's first-ever commercial, "The Why," debuted last year as an introduction to the godfather of Tennessee Whiskey, and featured Emmy award-winning actor, Jeffrey Wright.

"The opportunity to share the story of yet another legacy was too good to pass up," said David Poag, the director of both commercials. "And the song itself is just so good. It makes you want to jump and dance, it makes you happy. That's an emotion we are proud to be broadcasting right now."

"Do I Love You" began airing today in all 50 states, with the first commercial running in Detroit, Mich., the original home of Motown Records. The commercial can be viewed at https://youtu.be/W2cP3MsiLW8.

About Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey honors the first known African-American master distiller, Nearest Green. The Uncle Nearest brand is distilled, aged, and bottled in Tennessee. Built on its knack for sourcing the best of Tennessee Whiskeys and Bourbons, the whiskey is made using a non- temperature-controlled aging process and unique post-aging double filtration method. This process, in part, has led to the whiskey being the most awarded American whiskey of 2019 and 2020 to-date, garnering nearly 100 awards since it's July 2017 debut, including Double Gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirit Competition and back-to-back honors of "World's Best" at Whisky Magazine's 2019 and 2020 World Whiskies Awards. Uncle Nearest has earned more than 20 Best in Class honors. Cigar & Spirits Magazine also named Uncle Nearest one of the "Top 5 Whiskies in the World."

The whiskey is currently available in all 50 states and 12 countries (while shipping into a total of 148 countries), in 12,500 stores, bars, restaurants, and at its 270-acre distillery in Shelbyville, Tenn., dubbed as "Malt Disney World." For more information please visit the Uncle Nearest website, and follow on Instagram and Facebook @unclenearest.

SOURCE Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey