Richard "Pistol" Allen was the primary recording session drummer for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band on most of Holland-Dozier and Holland's hit productions of the 1960s. Hits for which Allen played the drums include "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" by Martha & the Vandellas, "The Way You Do the Things You Do" by The Temptations, "Baby Love" by the Supremes, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, and "Reach Out I'll Be There" by the Four Tops.