Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #50 on the countdown is "Come And Get These Memories" from Martha and the Vandellas, in 1963. The single reached #6 on the Billboard R&B chart and peaked at #29 on their Pop chart. The song speaks of heartbreak, as the narrator (lead singer Martha Reeves) goes through her things and gives back everything her now ex-boyfriend had given her, including teddy bears, records, and "lingering love".

"Memories" is also notable as the first hit recording written and produced by the songwriting/production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, who would become the top creative team at Motown by the end of 1965. The single was the first of several hits the Vandellas scored with the team, before Holland-Dozier-Holland began to focus more heavily on hits for The Supremes and the Four Tops. However, Holland–Dozier–Holland would continue to collaborate with the Vandellas until the songwriting team's departure from Motown in 1967.

The MOTOWN JUNKIES review on this one is very long, and he gives it 10/10 - https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2010/11/17/267/

It became the title track of the album shown here:

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Next up at song #49 is the first Motown record that I ever bought. And I still think it's great now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BdhhQayeWw
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mileswide
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by mileswide »

You couldn't have had a better 1st Motown single than Norman Whitfield's peak!
All I got inside is vacancy!
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #49 song on the countdown is "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations, from 1968. As I said in the introduction, this is the first Motown record that I ever bought. It was the fall of 1968 and I turned 11 years old and started getting real interested in the music that was on the radio. This one reached #2 on the Billboard R&B chart, and got to #6 Pop.

It was the first of their singles to feature Dennis Edwards instead of David Ruffin in the lineup, was the first of producer Norman Whitfield's psychedelic soul tracks, and won Motown its first Grammy Award. The song was written by Whitfield and former Motown artist Barrett Strong.

In 1968, psychedelic rock band Sly & the Family Stone had a hit with their single "Dance to the Music", and Temptations member Otis Williams introduced Norman Whitfield to the band's music. At first, Whitfield did not want to produce anything with such a radically different sound. "I don't want to get into all that crazy shit," he said. "That ain't nothing but a little passing fancy." Within a few weeks, however, he had created the backing tracks for the newest Temptations single, a psychedelic-styled number called "Cloud Nine", and stuck primarily to such songs well into the early 1970s.

Featuring all five Temptations trading lead vocals à la The Family Stone, "Cloud Nine" was a marked departure from the standard Tempts sound: wah-wah guitars and a harder, driving beat propelled the record, as opposed to pianos and strings. The song also features the Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria on conga drums and Dennis Coffey on Guitar. Edwards, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams swap leads on the verses, bridges and choruses, such as this example from the first bridge:

Paul Williams: "You can be what you wanna be..."
Dennis Edwards: "You ain't got no responsibility..."
Eddie Kendricks: "And every man, in his mind is free..."
Dennis Edwards: "And you're a million miles from reality..."

Otis Williams has some brief lead lines on the last half of the song (i.e.: he repeats "Reality…"), and Melvin Franklin also gets a line near the end ("There's no difference between day and night…"). The lyrics for the song were about the struggles and pains of living poor, as opposed to being about relationship and love troubles. The broke, unemployed, and despondent main character in the song proclaims that he gets over all of his problems by "riding high on 'cloud nine'". This has been interpreted by many (including Motown head Berry Gordy) as a reference to drug abuse, although Whitfield, Strong, and The Temptations deny that "Cloud Nine" is about drugs.

"Cloud Nine" won Motown its first Grammy Award in 1969 for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental, reached #2 in the U.S. R&B chart and #6 in the U.S. Pop chart, and led the way for the Temptations' full-blown venture into psychedelia, with increasingly eclectic and socio-political-themed records, including "Runaway Child, Running Wild", "Psychedelic Shack", and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", following within the coming two years.

"Cloud Nine" became the title track for an album, shown below:


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Song #48 is up now. Another killer track from 1965:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E7IDzoi_CE
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #48 is "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye, from 1965. This was a #1 R&B chart hit and reached #8 on the Billboard Pop chart. The single was produced by Smokey Robinson, and written by Robinson, and fellow Miracles members Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. "Ain't That Peculiar" features Gaye, with The Andantes on backing vocals, singing about the torment of a painful relationship.

Let's check out the MOTOWN JUNKIES review:

Marvin Gaye: “Ain’t That Peculiar”
Tamla T 54122 (A), September 1965


1965 is the year Marvin Gaye became Marvin Gaye, or at least the Marvin Gaye we now know. He’d had success before, commercially and artistically, but it’s here in ’65 that he really begins to explore, try out new things, new ideas, taking steps that we can identify with hindsight as being steps towards his future; in ’65, we finally get to meet the finished article hip-shaking superstar sex symbol, as well as being able to see the path from here to the “tortured genius” social and sexual conscience of the 1970s. Not bad for a session drummer and Nat King Cole wannabe.

Marvin’s last two singles for Motown in 1965 have showed us two divergent paths; the radio-blasting R&B-pop of I’ll Be Doggone had seemed to lay out a clear set of directions for him to follow, mapping out his career as the guy who jumps around the stage and whips the crowd into an ecstatic frenzy. But then, the strange, beautiful follow-up Pretty Little Baby – with lyrics by Gaye himself – saw him in reflective, serious mode.

As much as I adore Pretty Little Baby, there’s little argument that it represented a break in what seemed like a well-worked plan, a juddering change of tack rather than a consolidation of Marvin’s newfound stardom. Not surprisingly, the record had baffled the fans, and Motown took quick action to put him back on course again. As with every other act on the label’s books, Motown did what they always did whenever an artist needed material and guidance: they called in Smokey Robinson.

Smokey and his Miracles bandmates had penned I’ll Be Doggone, and so it’s no surprise when Ain’t That Peculiar immediately sounds like a continuation of the work they’d started there; Robinson must have relished the chance to carry on what they’d begun, and Marvin seems to have been grateful to see where they wanted to take him. Which, as it turned out, was straight back to the top of the R&B charts, a second Number One (and a Top 10 pop hit) to go with I’ll Be Doggone. Easy when you know how.

It helps that it’s another very good song, of course, and Marvin has a blast with it, back in the groove as though he’d never deliberately stepped out of it in the first place. This time, though, there’s no dubious lyrical content to trouble the listener, no sense of clouded purpose; it not only sounds better and sharper than I’ll Be Doggone, it’s also catchier and livelier.

Most importantly, though, Marvin’s more comfortable in his pop star skin than ever before; I don’t know if seeing Motown approve a less overtly pop-friendly (and partly self-penned!) single like Pretty Little Baby had reassured him that making interesting records wasn’t incompatible with his swaggering new role, but he sounds happier to be doing an upbeat rocker than we’ve ever heard him before, more than Stubborn Kind Of Fellow, more than Baby Don’t You Do It. I don’t mean he sounds incongruously chirpy given Smokey’s intriguing lyrics, I just mean he comes across as though there’s no hint of him finding this demeaning in some way, and that’s a delicious relief.

It’s a fine record, this. Much has been made of Smokey’s wordplay and rhymes, but those are almost second nature to Robinson now, and Marvin navigates them with gusto (other than the slightly clunky and confusing phrase which I’d been hearing as A peculiar allergy – but consensus in the comments section has Marvin adding a syllable to the word “peculiarity”, which makes slightly more sense!)

Rather, it’s the structure of the song which really allows Gaye to come into his own. As with so many of his best hits to date, the rolling, chiming repeated riffs that underpin the song allow Marvin to float over the top, giving him room to extemporise with his his vocal as and when he feels the need without it coming across as self-indulgent. It’s a recipe that later comes to the boil in One More Heartache, but this is the best example of it so far, and Smokey and the Miracles stock the cupboards with hooks and tricks to boost the signal: a riveting pre-chorus break, a series of infectious call and response Ah-ah-ah!s, a backing vocal-led chorus that must rank among Smokey’s catchiest efforts. Even the band are having a blast, James Jamerson’s wandering bass used sparingly before cutting out altogether, piano pounded and pounded to within an inch of its life.

Not for the first time, Marvin Gaye sounds every inch the pop superstar, and once again here he’s made an excellent pop record. The difference, now, is that he’s making excellent records that sound like Marvin Gaye records, and everyone else is hereby put on notice.

MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
8/10



RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Song #47 is up now. This one is over 7 minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYQfWJNWe3I
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #47 is "As" by Stevie Wonder, from 1976. It's on the "Songs In The Key of Life" album, and was eventually released on a single late in 1977, peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at #36 in early 1978. In a strange occurrence it also peaked at #36 on the Billboard Soul chart. I think the strange title hurt the single's popularity.

The song implies that the love the singer has for his partner will never diminish, as he says that he will love her until the physically impossible becomes true. The impossible feats include: rainbows burning the stars out in the sky, oceans covering the tops of every mountain, dolphins flying, and parrots living at sea, dreaming of life and life becoming a dream, day becoming night and vice versa, trees and the seas flying away, 8×8×8 equaling 4, this day becoming the last day, the Earth turning right to left, the Earth denying itself, Mother Nature saying her work is through, and "until the day that you are me and I am you."

By the most straightforward interpretation of the lyrics, this is a lover serenading his beloved. By another possible interpretation, the lyrics describe endless unconditional love for the listener, sung on behalf of the Abrahamic god. In yet a third interpretation, the song expresses the lyricist's own love for humanity. The verse that begins with "We all know sometimes life's hates and troubles..." would seem to preclude the first interpretation, and the second interpretation would seem precluded by the lyric, "As today I know I'm living but tomorrow, Could make me the past but that I mustn't fear."


Personnel
Nathan Watts – bass, handclaps
Dean Parks – guitar
Herbie Hancock – Fender Rhodes, handclaps
Greg Brown – drums
Stevie Wonder – lead and background vocal, Fender Rhodes
Mary Lee Whitney – background vocals
Dave Hanson, Yolanda Simon, Josette Valentino – handclaps


Song #46 is up now. This one was the #8 song of the year on WABC radio in New York City that year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYAEhgLgddk
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #46 song is "Ball of Confusion" by the Temptations, from 1970. This one reached #2 on the Billboard Soul chart, and peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 Pop chart. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, and was produced by Whitfield. Although a nearly eleven minute long backing track was recorded by The Funk Brothers, only slightly more than four minutes was used for the Temptations' version of the song. The full backing track can be heard on the 1971 LP The Undisputed Truth.

Four of the five Temptations (Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Melvin Franklin) all sang part of the lead vocal of this one. Otis Williams was the only member of the group who did not sing any of the lead.

This was one of the many psychedelic soul records that Norman Whitfield wrote and produced for the Temptations between the late '60 and early '70s. The song tries to make sense of the chaos and disorder pervading the times. Lyrically, the song attacked the Vietnam War, Nixon's government, and drug addiction, making it one of the few protest records that came from Motown.

Bob Babbitt of the Motown house band The Funk Brothers recalled to Mojo magazine February 2009 the recording of this track: "Norman Whitfield gave the call to me the night before (the session). So I got to the studio the next day, there were a whole load of guys in there - Uriel Jones, Pistol Allen, Jack Ashford, Eddie Bongo, Earl Van Dyke on clavinet, Johnny Griffith on organ, Joe Messina, Dennis Coffey. There was no song, just some musical ideas, some chord patterns, and part of a bassline he played us. Norman knew what he wanted though, that it was going to be funky. He'd been listening to a lot of Hendrix, Sly & the Family Stone, that's the sound he wanted to make the Motown sound.

Putting it together was simple, we just did that one song in the three-hour session and we had enough time left over to eat some BLT sandwiches. We didn't know it was going to be political, because the lyrics weren't written when the rhythm track was recorded. I heard the song four days later. It was a Saturday morning, I was running errands and it came on the automobile radio. They got the songs out quick in those days, especially in Detroit."

Dennis Coffey used a Vox Tone Bender pedal and an Echoplex effect unit on his guitar to get psychedelic delay. Coffey also used the Echoplex on "In The Rain" by The Dramatics, where it is more pronounced.

======================================================================================================

Song #45 is up now. From 1967, this one was #6 on my ballot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7iMFDvu6F8
Cold Butterfly
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Cold Butterfly »

Hymie wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 12:01 am Image

The #46 song is "Ball of Confusion" by the Temptations, from 1970. This one reached #2 on the Billboard Soul chart, and peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 Pop chart. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, and was produced by Whitfield. Although a nearly eleven minute long backing track was recorded by The Funk Brothers, only slightly more than four minutes was used for the Temptations' version of the song. The full backing track can be heard on the 1971 LP The Undisputed Truth.

Four of the five Temptations (Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Melvin Franklin) all sang part of the lead vocal of this one. Otis Williams was the only member of the group who did not sing any of the lead.

This was one of the many psychedelic soul records that Norman Whitfield wrote and produced for the Temptations between the late '60 and early '70s. The song tries to make sense of the chaos and disorder pervading the times. Lyrically, the song attacked the Vietnam War, Nixon's government, and drug addiction, making it one of the few protest records that came from Motown.
It's songs like these which are still relevant today, sadly :angry-banghead:
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Cold Butterfly wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 12:23 amIt's songs like these which are still relevant today, sadly :angry-banghead:
Yes, it'll be 50 years ago in a few months.
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #45 is "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Gladys Knight & The Pips from 1967. This was the first version of the song that was released. The Miracles recorded the song first, but their version was not released until after this one. The Pips version was #1 for 6 weeks on the Billboard Soul chart, and peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 Pop chart. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966.

By 1966, Barrett Strong, the singer on Motown Records' breakthrough hit, "Money (That's What I Want)," had the basics of a song he had started to write in Chicago, where the idea had come to him while walking down Michigan Avenue that people were always saying "I heard it through the grapevine". The phrase is associated with black slaves during the Civil War, who had their form of telegraph: the human grapevine. Producer Norman Whitfield worked with Strong on the song, adding lyrics to Strong's basic Ray Charles influenced gospel tune and the single chorus line of "I heard it through the grapevine". This was to be the first of a number of successful collaborations between Strong and Whitfield.

Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded "Grapevine" on June 17, 1967 in Motown's Studio A, with Norman Whitfield as producer. After hearing Aretha Franklin's version of "Respect", Whitfield rearranged "Grapevine" to include some of the funk elements of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. According to David Ritz, Whitfield set to record a song that would "out-funk" Aretha. After Whitfield presented the demo tapes, Gladys Knight, Bubba Knight, William Guest, and Edward Patten worked for several weeks on their vocal arrangement. To make the song suitable for Gladys, the first line of the second verse ("I know a man ain't supposed to cry/But these tears I can't hold inside") was altered to ("Take a good look at these tears in my eyes/Baby, these tears I can't hold inside"). After much talk, Gordy reluctantly allowed the Pips' version to be a single on September 28, 1967 on Motown's Soul label.

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Song #44 is up now. This one was #2 on my ballot. I expected it to easily make the top 20 on this countdown with a good chance to be in the top 10, so this is a very disappointing finish at #44. READY.......AIM......FIRE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5pnqjZXbdc
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #44 is "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, from 1965. This classic topped the Billboard R&B chart for 4 weeks, and it peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 Pop chart. It was written and composed by Walker and produced by Berry Gordy Jr. and Lawrence Horn. "Shotgun" uses only one chord throughout the entire song, A-flat seventh. Other songs featuring this same structure (or non-structure) are "Chain of Fools" and "Land of 1000 Dances."

Personnel
Junior Walker – tenor saxophone, lead vocals
Willie Woods – lead guitar, harmony vocals
Eddie Willis – rhythm guitar
Johnny Griffith – Hammond organ, shotgun effects
Victor Thomas – keyboards
James Jamerson – bass guitar
Jack Ashford – tambourine
Benny Benjamin – drums
Note: It is difficult to find out with certainty who played drums on the song, as the musicians were not credited on the record. It is thought that perhaps Richard "Pistol" Allen or Larrie Londin played drums on the song.

The Motown Junkies review gives this 9/10. It's very long, but if you'd like to read it, here is the link:
https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2012/10/12/537/

The "Shotgun" album is fucking incredible. There are 8 different songs on the album that eventually became hit singles, plus non hit cult classics like "Tune Up" and "Hot Cha."


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RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Song #43 is up now. On Billboard this one topped both the Soul chart and the Pop chart, each for multiple weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfGe6MvY84
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #43 is "I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations, from 1969. This was a monster hit, staying at #1 on the Billboard Soul chart for 5 weeks and at #1 Pop for 2 weeks. It was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1969. All 5 members of the group took part in singing the lead vocal on this one.


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Song #42 is up now. It's the first record to show up on the countdown that was listed on 13 (or more) ballots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Cwpe8acLk
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Shown above is the rare American Picture Sleeve for the #42 song on the countdown, "The One Who Really Loves You" by Mary Wells. This 1962 release reached #2 on the Billboard R&B chart and got to #8 on their Pop chart. The song, written by Smokey Robinson, talks about a woman who's telling her boyfriend not to fall for other girls, because they don't want him, and their love isn't true, but hers is, so she's telling him that he "better wake up" before they "break up." Background vocals were provided by the Love Tones (Carl Jones, Joe Miles, and Stan Bracely).

This is my favorite Mary Wells record, coming in at #13 on my ballot. All together it was named on 13 of the 44 ballots and had 499 points.

Here's a link to the MOTOWN JUNKIES review where he gives this one 9/10 - https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2010/05/07/152/


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Song #41 is up now. A monster from 1964:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO_zEzrJRuE
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #41 is "Baby Love" by the Supremes, from 1964. Amazingly, it's the first Supremes song to come up since way back at #101. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland. Baby Love topped the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from October 25, 1964 through November 21, 1964, and in the United Kingdom pop singles chart concurrently. Beginning with "Baby Love", The Supremes became the first Motown act to have more than one American number-one single, and by the end of the decade, would have more number-one singles than any other Motown act (or American pop music group) with 12, a record they continue to hold.

It was nominated for the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, losing to Nancy Wilson's "How Glad I Am". It is considered one of the most popular songs of the late 20th century, "Baby Love" was ranked #324 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Here's a link to the MOTOWN JUNKIES review, where he gives it 10./10 and says that "Baby Love" is pretty much all hooks.
https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2012/04/24/478/


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Song #40 is up now. It's the first song to come up by this artist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubb5zSRywxs
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #40 is "What Becomes of The Broken Hearted" by Jimmy Ruffin, from 1966. This one reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart, but strangely only got to #6 on the Soul chart. The song essentially deals with the struggle to overcome sadness while seeking a new relationship after a breakup.

The tune was written by William Weatherspoon, Paul Riser, and James Dean, and the recording was produced by Weatherspoon and William "Mickey" Stevenson. "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" remains one of the most-revived of Motown's hits. Composers Weatherspoon and Riser and lyricist Dean had originally written "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" with the intention of having The Spinners, then an act on Motown's V.I.P. label, record the tune. Jimmy Ruffin, older brother of Temptations lead singer David Ruffin, persuaded Dean to let him record the song, as its anguished lyric about a man lost in the misery of heartbreak resonated with the singer.

Ruffin's lead vocal on the recording is augmented by the instrumentation of Motown's in-house studio band, The Funk Brothers, and the joint backing vocals of Motown session singers The Originals and The Andantes. "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" peaked at number 8 on the UK Chart. Eight years later, the song was reissued (with a B-Side of Ruffin's minor US hit "Don't You Miss Me a Little Bit Baby"), and surpassed its original chart position, reaching No. 4, and thus making it his highest-placed chart single in the UK.


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Moving now to song #39. This is the first song on the countdown that was listed on 15 (or more) ballots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bJsMPaIIm0
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #39 is "Come See About Me" by the Supremes, from 1964. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, it was the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two separate weeks: December 13, 1964 to December 18, 1964, and January 10, 1965 to January 16, 1965, and reached the number three position on the soul chart. The Supremes, whilst being the first to record the song, were not the first to issue it as a single. That distinction fell to 14 year old Nella Dodds, and her version started selling, climbing to #74 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Motown Records rush released the Supremes' version as a single, which killed sales of Nella Dodds' version. That's why "Come See About Me" entered the Billboard Hot 100 just 6 weeks after "Baby Love." Here's the Nella Dodds version:


Song #38 is next. This is one that many people do not realize was originally released on Motown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwR_GFbVQkQ
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #38 is "Fight The Power" by Public Enemy, from 1989. This was originally from the "Do The Right Thing" soundtrack, the fabulous Spike Lee movie. It was released on Motown. It was conceived at the request of film director Spike Lee, who sought a musical theme for his 1989 film Do the Right Thing. First issued on the film's 1989 soundtrack, a different version was featured on Public Enemy's 1990 studio album Fear of a Black Planet.

"Fight the Power" incorporates various samples and allusions to African-American culture, including civil rights exhortations, black church services, and the music of James Brown. As a single, "Fight the Power" reached number one on Hot Rap Singles and number 20 on the Hot R&B Singles. It was named the best single of 1989 by The Village Voice in their Pazz & Jop critics' poll. It has become Public Enemy's best-known song and has received accolades as one of the greatest songs of all time by critics and publications. In 2001, the song was ranked number 288 in the "Songs of the Century" list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1988, shortly after the release of their second album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy were preparing for the European leg of the Run's House tour with Run–D.M.C. Before embarking on the tour, film director Spike Lee approached Public Enemy with the proposition of making a song for one of his movies. Lee, who was directing Do the Right Thing, sought to use the song as a leitmotif in the film about racial tension in a Brooklyn, New York neighborhood. He said of his decision in a subsequent interview for Time, "I wanted it to be defiant, I wanted it to be angry, I wanted it to be very rhythmic. I thought right away of Public Enemy". At a meeting in Lower Manhattan, Lee told lead MC Chuck D, producer Hank Shocklee of The Bomb Squad, and executive producer Bill Stephney that he needed an anthemic song for the film.

While flying over Italy on the tour, Chuck D was inspired to write most of the song. He recalled his idea, "I wanted to have sorta like the same theme as the original 'Fight the Power' by The Isley Brothers and fill it in with some kind of modernist views of what our surroundings were at that particular time." The group's bass player Brian Hardgroove has said of the song's message, "Law enforcement is necessary. As a species we haven’t evolved past needing that. Fight the Power is not about fighting authority-it’s not that at all. It’s about fighting abuse of power."

The Bomb Squad, Public Enemy's production team, constructed the music for "Fight the Power," through the looping, layering, and transfiguring of numerous samples. The track features only two actual instrumentalists: saxophone, played by Branford Marsalis, and scratches provided by Terminator X, the group's DJ and turntabilist-Marsalis also played a saxophone solo for the extended soundtrack version of the song.

In contrast to Marsalis' school of thought, Bomb Squad members such as Hank Shocklee wanted to eschew melodic clarity and harmonic coherence in favor of a specific mood in the composition. Shocklee explained that their musicianship was dependent on different tools, exercised in a different medium, and was inspired by different cultural priorities, different from the "virtuosity" valued in jazz and classical music. Marsalis later remarked on the group's unconventional musicality:

They're not musicians, and don't claim to be-which makes it easier to be around them. Like, the song's in A minor or something, then it goes to D7, and I think, if I remember, they put some of the A minor solo on the D7, or some of the D7 stuff on the A minor chord at the end. So it sounds really different. And the more unconventional it sounds, the more they like it.

As with other Public Enemy songs, the Bomb Squad recontextualized various samples, and used them to complement the vocals and mood of "Fight the Power". The percussive sounds were placed either ahead of or behind the beat, to create a feeling of either easiness or tension. Particular elements, such as Marsalis' solo, were reworked by Shocklee so that they would signify something different from harmonic coherence.[8] The Bomb Squad layered parts of Marsalis' D minor improvisations over the song's B♭7 groove, and vice versa.[8] Regarding the production of the song, Robert Walser, an American musicologist, wrote that the solo "has been carefully reworked into something that Marsalis would never think to play, because Schocklee's goals and premises are different from his."

"Fight the Power" begins with a vocal sample of civil rights attorney and activist Thomas "TNT" Todd, speechifying in a resonant, agitated voice, "Yet our best trained, best educated, best equipped, best prepared troops refuse to fight. Matter of fact, it's safe to say that they would rather switch than fight". This 16-second passage is the longest of the numerous samples incorporated to the track. It is followed by a brief three-measure section (0:17–0:24) that is carried by the dotted rhythm of a vocal sample repeated six times; the line "pump me up" from Trouble Funk's 1982 song of the same name played backwards indistinctly. The rhythmic measure-section also features a melodic line, Branford Marsalis' saxophone playing in triplets that is buried in the mix, eight snare drum hits in the second measure, and vocal exclamations in the third measure. One of the exclamations, a nonsemantic "chuck chuck" taken from the 1972 song "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" by The Dramatics, serves as a reference to Chuck D.

The three-measure section crescendos into the following section (0:24–0:44), which leads to the entrance of the rappers and features more complex production. In the first four seconds of the section, no less than 10 distinct samples are looped into a whole texture, which is then repeated four more times as a meta-loop. The whole section contains samples of guitar, synthesizer, bass, including that of James Brown's 1971 recording "Hot Pants", four fragmented vocal samples, including those of Brown's famous grunts in his recordings, and various percussion samples. Although it is obscured by the other samples, Clyde Stubblefield's drum break from James Brown's 1970 song "Funky Drummer", one of the most frequently sampled rhythmic breaks in hip hop, makes an appearance, with only the break's first two eighth notes in the bass drum and the snare hit in clarity. This section has a sharp, funky guitar riff playing over staccato rhythms, as a course voice exhorts the line "Come on, get down".Other samples include "I Know You Got Soul", "Planet Rock" and "Teddy's Jam."


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Okay, let's get back to some more traditional Motown Music now. Song #37 is next, and in its day it was just as powerful as "Fight The Power" was in its day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phhwkbD1E2c
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #37 is "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by the Supremes, from 1966. It was a #1 song on Billboard on both the Soul and Pop chart. It peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart. The Supremes recording was ranked number 339 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was voted number 43 on Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs, a Detroit Free Press poll in 2016.[6]The song was written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. The single is rooted in proto-funk and rhythm and blues, compared to the Supremes' previous single, "You Can't Hurry Love," which uses the call and response elements akin to gospel. The song's signature guitar part is said to have originated from a Morse code-like radio sound effect, typically used before a news announcement, heard by Lamont Dozier. Dozier collaborated with Brian and Eddie Holland to integrate the idea into a single.

Many elements of the recording, including the guitars, the drums, and Diana Ross's vocals were multitracked, a production technique which was established and popularized concurrently by H-D-H and other premier producers of the 1960s such as Phil Spector (see Wall of Sound) and George Martin. Florence Ballard has a brief solo vocal during the bridge of the song (following Ross' line, "There ain't nothin I can do about it...wo-wo-wo") where she sings the lines "Set me free, why don't cha babe. Get out my life, why don't cha babe." H-D-H recorded the song in eight sessions with The Supremes and session band the Funk Brothers before settling on a version deemed suitable for the final release.

"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was one of the highlights of the album shown below:


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Next up at #36 is another record from 1966. The artist here was only part of Motown for a short time, but had this one very memorable song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_9M6kRfJes
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #36 is the much beloved "This Old Heart of Mine" by the Isley Brothers, from 1966. Hard to believe that this one only reached #6 on the Billboard Soul chart. It peaked at #12 on the Hot 100 Pop chart. Featuring Ronald Isley on lead vocal, In the UK, the song originally reached number 47 in April 1966, but it re-charted in late 1968 and reached number three for two weeks in November, making it the group's highest charting UK single.

Written by Motown's main songwriting team Holland–Dozier–Holland alongside Sylvia Moy, "This Old Heart of Mine", produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, was originally intended for The Supremes (who later recorded their own version for their 1966 album The Supremes A' Go-Go).


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


We got to 1973 now for song #35.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wZ3ZG_Wams
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #35 is "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, from 1973. It was listed on a dozen ballots in the voting. This was a #1 record on the Billboard Soul chart, and it peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 Pop chart. The song was released in the UK but achieved only modest success, reaching number 29 in the UK Singles Chart.

Wonder wrote and recorded the song in a three-hour burst of creativity in May 1973.[4] The album version of the song contains an extra verse and runs 30 seconds longer than the single version. The unique wah-clavinet sound in the song was achieved with a Mu-Tron III envelope filter pedal. The bass line is provided by a Moog synthesizer and using overdubs, Wonder played all instruments on the track, including drums and percussion.

The song lyrics address the issue of reincarnation. Wonder commented, when interviewed by The New York Times:

I would like to believe in reincarnation. I would like to believe that there is another life. I think that sometimes your consciousness can happen on this earth a second time around. For me, I wrote "Higher Ground" even before the accident. But something must have been telling me that something was going to happen to make me aware of a lot of things and to get myself together. This is like my second chance for life, to do something or to do more, and to value the fact that I am alive.

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 265 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, adding: "'Higher Ground' was recorded just before Wonder was involved in a near-fatal accident in August 1973 that left him in a coma. Early in Wonder's recovery, his road manager sang the song's melody into the singer's ear; Wonder responded by moving his fingers with the music."


Song #34 is next. This one was listed on 18 of the 44 ballots, but unfortunately it was ranked lower down on a lot of them, ending up with 609 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g3e3cgktZU
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #34 song is the legendary Temptations ballad, "Just My Imagination," from 1971. After a couple of years of progressive psychedelic songs like "Cloud Nine" and "Ball of Confusion," all of a sudden here comes this beautiful old style ballad that knocked people on their asses!

The song was written by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield, and produced by Whitfield. The single held the number one position on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart for two weeks in 1971, from March 27 to April 10. "Just My Imagination" also held the number one spot on the Billboard R&B Singles chart for three weeks, from February 27 to March 20 of that year.

In a 1991 interview, Eddie Kendricks recalled that many of the Temptations' fans were "screaming bloody murder" after the group delved into psychedelia, and demanded a return to their original soul sound.

"Just My Imagination" was the result of one of the few times that Whitfield relented and produced a ballad as a single for the group. Whitfield and Strong wrote the song in 1969, but with the Temptations' psychedelic soul singles consistently keeping them in the US Top 20, Whitfield and Strong decided to shelve the composition and wait for the right time to record it. In late 1970, the Temptations' single "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)", a psychedelic soul song about world peace, failed to reach the Top 30, and Whitfield decided to record and release "Just My Imagination" as the next single. He approached Barrett Strong, and asked him to pull out "that song we were messing around with a year ago... because I'm going to record it today." Except for their late 1960s duets with Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Temptations had not released a single that was not based in psychedelia since "Please Return Your Love to Me" in 1968.

The song was recorded in the midst of a bitter feud between Kendricks and the Temptations' de facto leader, Otis Williams. Dissatisfied and frustrated with Williams' leadership, Kendricks began to withdraw from the group, and picked several fights with either Williams or his best friend, bass singer Melvin Franklin. When Kendricks told his friend ex-Temptation David Ruffin about his problems in the group, Ruffin convinced Kendricks that he should begin a solo career. After a final altercation during a November 1970 Copacabana engagement, both Kendricks and Williams agreed that it would be best for Kendricks to leave the group. By the time "Just My Imagination" was recorded, Williams and Kendricks were no longer on friendly speaking terms. Nevertheless, Williams was impressed by Kendricks' performance on the recording, and in his 1988 Temptations biography referred to "Just My Imagination" as "Eddie's finest moment".

Today, "Just My Imagination" is considered one of the Temptations' signature songs, and is notable for recalling the sound of the group's 1960s recordings. It is also the final Temptations single to feature founding members Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. Eddie sang the lead, and Paul had his last hurrah singing the "Every Night on my knees I pray" part in the bridge. "Just My Imagination" is primarily a showcase for Eddie Kendricks, who sang lead on such Temptations hits as "Get Ready," "The Way You Do the Things You Do," and "You're My Everything"; in fact, this is the only Temptations hit in which Dennis Edwards did not have a lead vocal during his entire tenure with the group. During the process of recording and releasing the single, Kendricks left the group to begin a solo career, while the ailing Williams was forced to retire from the act for health reasons. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine listed "Just My Imagination" as number 389 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

A full orchestral arrangement with strings and French horns adorning a bluesy rhythm track and bass line provides the instrumentals. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of allmusic notes that the song is narrated by a man who imagines a relationship with the woman he loves, is canny enough to realize that his daydreams are fiction, yet is overwhelmed by them. The lyrics capture his resignation to his fantasies. The song as a whole captures their full emotional effect on him. The first two verses establish the theme and explore the narrator's daydreams, in which he and the object of his affections are lovers preparing to be married, to "raise a family" and build "a cozy little home / out in the country / with two children, maybe three". In the bridge, the narrator prays that he will never lose her love to another, or he will "surely die". By introducing this doubt, the musical bridge simultaneously connects the movement from dream to reality, completed when the final lines shift from imagery to bald statement: "But in reality / she doesn't even know me". For Erlewine, "the Temptations' performance has a dream-like quality, quietly drifting through the singer's hopes and desires." We must add that just as the lyrics track the movement from dream to reality, the chorus goes on to anchor the drifting melody in a robust and highly memorable rhythm.


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Song #33 is up now. We're gonna make it 2 monster ballads in a row as we go from "Just My Imagination" to this 1965 classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyl8t1L2ei8
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #33 is the legendary ballad, "Ooo Baby Baby" by the Miracles, from 1965. Written by Robinson and fellow Miracle Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, "Ooo Baby Baby" was a number 4 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. A slow, remorseful number, "Ooo Baby Baby" features Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson lamenting the fact that he cheated on his woman, and begging for her to overlook his mistakes and please forgive him. The song's highly emotional feel is supported by the Miracles' tight background vocal harmonies, arranged by Miracles member and song co-author Pete Moore, and a lush orchestral string arrangement that accents The Funk Brothers band's instrumental track.

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Miracles' original version of this song as #266 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song is one of the Miracles' most-recorded tunes.

On the 2006 Motown DVD The Miracles' Definitive Performances, Pete comments on the song's creation: "In the songs that Smokey and I wrote together, Smokey and Berry kinda left the background vocals to me. And this song "I'm On The Outside (Looking In)", which was one of The Imperials' bigger hits.... When I heard that song, as far as the background (harmonies) were concerned and how (they were structured), I wanted to get the same kind of feeling with Smokey's vocal. So I called Bobby, Ronnie, and Claudette over, and we did the backgrounds for it. I kinda had that particular song in mind...so I wanted to get the same kind of feeling with 'Ooo Baby Baby'."

John Lennon who was a huge fan of Smokey Robinson; he borrowed the "I'm Crying" part in this song for The Beatles' song, "I Am the Walrus."

Here's a tremendous live performance of the song with Smokey even more emotional than he was on the record:


Song #32 is up now. Supe's on, and it's cookin'!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZj032MNIx4
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #32 song is "You Can't Hurry Love" by the Super Supremes, in 1966. Written and produced by Motown production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song topped the United States Billboard pop singles chart, made the UK top five, and made the top 10 in the Australian Singles Chart. It also hit #1 on the Billboard Soul chart. It was released and peaked in late summer and early autumn in 1966. Billboard named the song number 19 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

The song, a memory of a mother's words of encouragement ("My mama said 'you can't hurry love/No you just have to wait' ") telling her daughter that with patience she will find that special someone one day, is an example of the strong influence of gospel music present in much of R&B and soul music. "You Can't Hurry Love" was inspired by and partially based upon "(You Can't Hurry God) He's Right on Time" ("You can't hurry God/you just have to wait/Trust and give him time/no matter how long it takes"), a 1950s gospel song written by Dorothy Love Coates of The Original Gospel Harmonettes. Check out this record below.


The recorded version of "You Can't Hurry Love" showcases the developing sound of The Supremes, who were progressing from their earlier teen-pop into more mature themes and musical arrangements. This song and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" were finished together; when it came time to choose which single would be issued first, Motown's Quality Control department chose "You Can't Hurry Love."


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Song #31 is up now. This one showed that Stevie was not just gonna be a one hit Wonder!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDbyOLzEyfk
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #31 is by Stevie Wonder, from late 1965. "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" showed everyone that maybe Stevie really was gonna become this musical genius that he had been touted as. His releases since "Fingertips" had been okay, but nothing that gave any indication oif what he would eventually become, until this one. "Uptight" was #1 on the Billboard Soul chart for 5 weeks and reached #3 on their Pop chart. It was the first Stevie Wonder hit that Stevie himself was involved as one of the songwriters. It garnered Wonder his first two career Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance.

The single was a watershed in Wonder's career for several reasons. Aside from the US number-one "Fingertips" (1963), only two of Wonder's singles, "Workout, Stevie, Workout" (1963) and "Hey Harmonica Man" (1964) had both peaked inside of the top forty of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #33 and #29 on that chart respectively. And despite receiving a modicum of chart success, the then 15-year-old Wonder was in danger of being let go. In addition, Wonder's voice had begun to change, and Motown CEO Berry Gordy was worried that he would no longer be a commercially viable artist.

As it turned out, however, producer Clarence Paul found it easier to work with Wonder's now-mature tenor voice, and Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby set about writing a new song for the artist, based upon an instrumental riff Wonder had devised. Nelson George, in Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound, recorded that Wonder had also sought something based on the driving beat of the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", after playing several dates with the Stones on tour and being impressed with the British band. As Wonder presented his ideas, finished or not, "he went through everything," remembered Moy. "I asked, 'Are you sure you don't have anything else?' He started singing and playing 'Everything is alright, uptight.' That was as much as he had. I said, 'That's it. Let's work with that.'" The resulting song, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", features lyrics which depict a poor young man's appreciation for a rich girl's seeing beyond his poverty to his true worth.

On the day of the recording, Moy had completed the lyrics, but didn't have them in Braille for Wonder to read, and so sang the song to him as he was recording it. She sang a line ahead of him, and he simply repeated the lines as he heard them. In 2008, Moy commented that "he never missed a beat" during the recording.

Here's a portion of the MOTOWN JUNKIES review:

Stevie Wonder: “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)”
Tamla T 54124 (A), November 1965


It opens with a battered drumbeat, an insistent 4/4 pounding, tambourine dragged in its wake, and appropriately enough it feels like a door being kicked open; Stevie’s career to this point had been grasping along a darkened corridor, on a straight line course to obscurity, and yet suddenly all kinds of possibilities reveal themselves, a Technicolor future flooding in, blasting away two years’ worth of shoddy novelty records.

One of the best things about Uptight, quite apart from the killer hook (slick and impossibly cool and yet somehow at the same time made for beery dancefloor bellowing) and that irresistible beat, is how it immediately positions Stevie in the Motown story, not just to answer the critics, not just as someone who can keep up, but as someone who – unexpectedly – turns out to be leading the way.

The 4/4 beat harks back to 1964, to the dawn of a Motown Golden Age which had largely passed Stevie by untouched. At the same time, the sheer energy, even violence of that beat, with its metallic echo of tambourine, horns blaring at all angles with no regard to who gets hit on the way, seams beginning to show amid the previously-seamless pop production… all of that will find its fullest expression in 1966, when the Supremes, Temptations and Tops all embrace variations on that theme. And here’s Stevie Wonder, somehow already ahead of the curve.

This single not only relaunched Stevie's career, it spawned the fine 1966 LP 'Up-Tight' which further hinted at the boy Wonder's new path. And even then, even when you’re tempted to talk down the triumph this record represents – yeah, but Stevie didn’t produce this, only copped a co-write credit with Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy, it could have been anyone doing the song… – Stevie proves he can be a star performer too. This is his show from start to finish, Stevie taking the song in the palm of his hand, turning loose his natural boyish charm (nothing to do with his actual youth – he still has that impish spark in his voice even now, in his sixties) and fine-tuning it to create a wholly likeable character, an underdog made good who makes us smile, a guy we’re rooting for even as he (essentially) spends the entire record boasting of his amazing luck. In fact, it’s so well done it makes Stevie’s real-life return to success – and, gratifyingly, the business end of the pop and R&B charts – all the more heartwarming, as if we were always rooting for him to turn this thing around, the whole time.

It’s well-sung, too, something which Stevie’s track record thus far hadn’t exactly guaranteed. The Ray Charles schtick which had seemed so forced on earlier Stevie cuts (not helped by Motown’s cack-handed marketing efforts which tried to posit a link between two entirely unrelated blind African-American R&B performers) is just amazing here, Stevie’s delivery crackling with energy, his asides – Ah ha ha ha ha-ha, YEAH – buzzing out of the speakers.

If he’s not yet strengthened his voice to the technical level he’ll reach in a couple of years’ time, he’s grasped how to use what he’s got – his diction reminds me of Diana Ross, another “underpowered” Motown star vocalist (though it’s a surprise to find the Supremes’ version of this comes across too stilted and mannered to really connect its punches).

But back to Stevie. From a losing position, a position of almost being written off – or, worse, patronised – by Motown, he’d never be left out of the top-table conversation again. For sure, it ended any question of him being allowed to slip through the label’s fingers; it’s an indelible, barrelling powerhouse of a record, a stew of tension released to vivid and unforgettable effect, channelled in exactly the right direction by its mad scientist of a ringmaster, fifteen years old and already smarter than any of us will ever be.

Back in 1962, Motown had marketed Stevie as “the 12 Year Old Genius”. Uptight marks one of those rare occasions where the marketeers – probably by accident, but still – turned out to have been right all along.

MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
9/10



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Song #30 is up now. I thought that this one would be in the top 10. Perhaps it would have if this same survey was done solely in the black community.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54LgyqSPfsQ
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #30 on the countdown is "Let's Get It On," by Marvin Gaye, from 1973. This is perhaps the top all time love making record. I'm shocked that it only finished at #30. We probably could have used more female voters. I think we only had one or two out of the 44 ballots. The single was #1 for 6 weeks on the Billboard Soul chart, and also topped their Pop chart.

The song was recorded on March 22, 1973, at Hitsville West in Los Angeles, California. The song features romantic and sexual lyricism and funk instrumentation by The Funk Brothers. The title track of Gaye's album Let's Get It On (1973), it was written by Marvin Gaye and producer Ed Townsend. "Let's Get It On" became Gaye's most successful single for Motown and one of his most well-known songs. With the help of the song's sexually explicit content, "Let's Get It On" helped give Gaye a reputation as a sex symbol during its initial popularity.

"Let's Get It On" was Gaye's plea for sexual liberation. When originally conceived by Townsend, who was released from a rehab facility for alcoholism, it was written with a religious theme. Gaye confidante Kenneth Stover changed some of the words around as a political song and Gaye recorded the version as it was written, but Townsend protested that the song wasn't a politically conscious song but a song dedicated to love and sex. Gaye and Townsend then collaborated on new lyrics and using the original backing tracks as recorded, Gaye transformed the song into an emotional centerpiece. The album version of "Let's Get It On" features soulful and emotional singing by Gaye that is backed by multi-tracked background vocals, also provided by Gaye, along with the song's signature, and most notable, funky guitar arrangements. In an article for Rolling Stone magazine, music critic Jon Landau wrote of the song:

"Let's Get It On" is a classic Motown single, endlessly repeatable and always enjoyable. It begins with three great wah-wah notes that herald the arrival of a vintage Fifties melody. But while the song centers around classically simple chord changes, the arrangement centers around a slightly eccentric rhythm pattern that deepens the song's power while covering it with a contemporary veneer. Above all, it has Marvin Gaye's best singing at its center, fine background voices on the side, and a long, moody fade-out that challenges you not to play the cut again.

— Jon Landau

In 2001, when the album Let's Get It On was reissued by Motown as a two-disc deluxe edition release, the original demo that Gaye had recorded with lyrics by Kenneth Stover was included. It has a running time of 5:12.


Song #29 is up now, and this will be a seamless transition from "Let's Get It On" to this one:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WxgeYXCjM8
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #29 is "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" by Marvin Gaye from 1971. This was from his now legendary "What's Going On" album. The single topped the Billboard Soul chart for 2 weeks, and peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 Pop chart. The song, written solely by Gaye, became regarded as one of popular music's most poignant anthems of sorrow regarding the environment. The record featues Gaye playing piano, strings conducted by Paul Riser and David Van De Pitte, multi-tracking vocals from Gaye and The Andantes, multiple background instruments provided by The Funk Brothers and a leading sax solo by Wild Bill Moore. In 2002 it was his third single recording to win a "Grammy Hall of Fame" Award. As on "Inner City Blues", Bob Babbitt, not James Jamerson, plays the bass line.


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Song #28 is up next. It's from 1976, but the song is about the 1930s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6fPN5aQVDI
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #28 is "Sir Duke," by Stevie Wonder. This is another track from his monumental double album "Songs In The Key of Life" from 1976. Released as a single in 1977, the track topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles charts, and reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, his joint biggest hit there at the time. Billboard ranked it as the No. 18 song of 1977. The song was written in tribute to Duke Ellington, the influential jazz legend who had died in 1974. The lyrics also refer to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

Wonder wrote the song as a tribute to Duke Ellington, the jazz composer, bandleader, and pianist who had influenced him as a musician. Wonder had already experienced the death of two of his idols (Dinah Washington and Wes Montgomery) after attempting to collaborate with them.

After Ellington died in 1974, Wonder wanted to write a song acknowledging musicians he felt were important. He later said, "I knew the title from the beginning but wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for me. So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation."


Song #27 is up now. It's the first Motown record that really broke deeply into the consciousness of White America:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQGXa3FiXKM
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #27 is "Shop Around" by the Miracles, from 1960. In early 1961 it was #1 on the Billboard R&B Chart for 8 weeks, and it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart. This was the first Motown record that broke into the top 10 on the Pop charts. The song was written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. The single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2006, inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of The 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, and honored by Rolling Stone as #500 in their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The original version of "Shop Around" by the Miracles (credited as "The Miracles featuring Bill 'Smokey' Robinson"), was released in September 1960 on Motown's Tamla label, catalog number T 54034. The song, written by Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy, depicts a mother giving her now-grown son advice about how to find a woman worthy of being a girlfriend or wife ("My mama told me/'you better shop around'"). The original version of the song had a strong blues influence, and was released in the local area of Detroit, Michigan, before Gordy decided that the song needed to be re-recorded to achieve wider commercial appeal. Here's the first version:


At 3 a.m. one morning, the Miracles (Robinson, Claudette Rogers, Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, and Pete Moore) recorded a new, poppier version of the song that became a major national hit. The original record label credits Bill "Smokey" Robinson as the writer, with Berry Gordy as producer. The single was the first Motown record to be released in the UK, on Decca Records' London label.


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Song #26 is up now. It's another classic Whitfield-Strong compositioin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQHUAJTZqF0
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #26 is "War" by Edwin Starr from 1970. This one reached #1 on the Billboard Pop chart, and #3 on the Soul chart. Whitfield first produced the song – an obvious anti-Vietnam War statement – with The Temptations as the original vocalists. After Motown began receiving repeated requests to release "War" as a single, Whitfield re-recorded the song with Edwin Starr as the vocalist, with the label deciding to withhold the Temptations' version from single release so as not to alienate their more conservative fans. It was one of 161 songs on the the no-play list issued by Clear Channel following the events of September 11, 2001.

The Temptations' version of "War", featuring Paul Williams and Dennis Edwards on lead vocals, was less intense than the Edwin Starr version. Williams and Edwards deliver the song's anti-war, pro-peace message over a stripped-down instrumental track, with bass singer Melvin Franklin chanting a repeated recruit training-like "hup, two, three, four" in the background during the verses.


The song was included as a track on the March 1970 Psychedelic Shack album, which featured the title track as its only single. The track's direct message, summarized by its chorus ("War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothin'!"), struck a chord with the American public and resonated with growing public opposition to the war in Vietnam. Fans from across the country, many of them college students and other young people, sent letters to Motown requesting the release of "War" as a single. The label did not want to risk the image of its most popular male group, and the Temptations themselves were also apprehensive about releasing such a potentially controversial song as a single. The label decided to withhold "War"'s release as a single, a decision that Whitfield fought until the label came up with a compromise: "War" would be released, but it would have to be re-recorded with a different act.

Edwin Starr, who had become a Motown artist in 1968 after his former label, Ric-Tic, was purchased by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr., became "War's" new vocalist. Considered among Motown's "second-string" acts, Starr had only one major hit, 1968's No. 6 hit "Twenty-Five Miles", to his name by this time. He heard about the conflict surrounding the debate of whether or not to release "War", and volunteered to re-record it. Whitfield re-created the song to match Starr's James Brown-influenced soul shout: the single version of "War" was dramatic and intense, depicting the general anger and distaste the anti-war movement felt towards the war in Vietnam. Unlike the Temptations' original, Starr's "War" was a full-scale Whitfield production, with prominent electric guitar lines, clavinets, a heavily syncopated rhythm accented by a horn section, and with The Originals and Whitfield's new act The Undisputed Truth on backing vocals. In 1999, Starr's recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-ARTIST-TITLE
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Song #25 is up now. A signature song for this artist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGJQPkfwlAc
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Image


Song #25 is "Stop In The Name of Love" by the Supremes, from 1965. The single reached #2 on the Billboard Soul chart, and #1 on the Pop chart. I think when most people who were around back then picture the Supremes in their mind, they see them with the white gloves on, the way that they performed this song live.


The song was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland. The Supremes recorded "Stop! In the Name of Love" in January 1965 and released as a single on February 8. The song was included on the Supremes' sixth album, More Hits by The Supremes, and was nominated for the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance, losing to "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers. That just shows you how fucked up the Grammys were when it came to rock and roll.

The Supremes' choreography for this song involved one hand on the hip and the other outstretched in a "stop" gesture. Paul Williams and Melvin Franklin of The Temptations taught the girls the routine backstage in London, before the Supremes' first televised performance of the single on the Ready Steady Go! special "The Sound of Motown," hosted by Motown enthusiast Dusty Springfield. They also performed the song on an episode of the ABC variety program Shindig! which aired on Wednesday, February 24, 1965.

Here a link to the MOTOWN JUNKIES review of this record, where he gives it 10/10. https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2012/11/02/546/


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Song #24 is up now. From 1971:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_PxgSQ9Vf4
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #24 is "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) by Marvin Gaye, from 1971. This was the third and final single from and the climactic song of his 1971 landmark album, What's Going On. Written by Gaye and James Nyx Jr., the song depicts the ghettos and bleak economic situations of inner-city America, and the emotional effects these have on inhabitants. Like the other two singles from the album, it reached #1 on the Billboard Soul chart. This one peaked at #9 on the Pop chart.

In 1998, co-writer James Nyx Jr. recalled, "Marvin had a good tune, sort of blues-like, but didn't have any words for it. We started putting some stuff in there about how rough things were around town. We laughed about putting lyrics in about high taxes, 'cause both of us owed a lot. And we talked about how the government would send guys to the moon, but not help folks in the ghetto. But we still didn't have a name, or really a good idea of the song. Then, I was home reading the paper one morning, and saw a headline that said something about the inner city of Detroit. And I said, 'Damn, that's it. 'Inner City Blues.' "

In its unedited version as it appears on the album, the final minute of the song (and of the LP) is a reprise to the theme of "What's Going On", the album's first song, then segues into a dark ending. The "What's Going On" album was named as the top soul album of all time on this list:

https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best ... -soul.html


Song #23 is next. This one never failed to rock the house when I played it back in my DJ days:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crWSG6liT5Y
Hymie
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Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #23 is "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by the Temptations, from 1966. A monster hit in the Black Community, it was #1 on the Billboard Soul chart for 8 weeks, peaking at #13 on their Pop chart. The record was produced by Norman Whitfield and written by Whitfield and Edward Holland, Jr.. Whitfield had composed the music, and he asked Holland to come up with lyrics.

The song's lyrics feature its narrator pleading for a second chance with his departing lover, opening with the determined statement "I know you wanna leave me/but I refuse to let you go." The narrator goes on to state that he "ain't too proud to beg" or "plead" his lover to stay. The Temptations were pleased with the composition, feeling that the song's blues-inspired melody and James Brown-esque horn stabs would help to update their sound. David Ruffin was tapped to sing lead on the song, and Whitfield submitted the mix to Motown's Quality Control department.

On Friday mornings at Motown's Hitsville USA offices, the creative team held Quality Control meetings, at which potential single releases were voted for or against release. To Whitfield's disappointment, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" failed twice to make it through Motown's Friday morning Quality Control meetings, with Berry Gordy commenting that the song was good, but "needed more story". For the third recorded version of "Ain't Too Proud", Whitfield had David Ruffin's lead vocal arranged just above his actual vocal range. As a result, the singer was forced to strain through numerous takes in order to get out all of the song's high notes. By the end of the "Ain't Too Proud" recording session, recalls Temptation Otis Williams, Ruffin was "drowning in sweat and his glasses were all over his face."

By this point, both the Temptations and Whitfield were confident they had a major hit on their hands. However, both "Ain't Too Proud" and "Get Ready", a Temptations track produced by Smokey Robinson with Eddie Kendricks on lead, turned up at the same Quality Control meeting. Since Robinson was the Temptations' main producer, his song was released and Whitfield's was shelved. Cornelius Grant, the Temptations' road guitarist, band director, and songwriter, recalled that after that decision was made, "it was as if the veins jumped out of Norman's neck." Whitfield was less than pleased at the Quality Control department's decision, and stated plainly that "never again am I gonna lose out on a release like that". As a compromise, Gordy promised Whitfield that "Ain't Too Proud" would be the next single if "Get Ready" failed to reach the Top 20 on the Billboard Pop Chart.

"Get Ready" reached number-one on the Billboard R&B charts, but only number 29 on the pop charts. As promised, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" was released as the next single. It also reached number one on the R&B charts, but made it into the top twenty at number thirteen. "Ain't Too Proud" replaced Sam & Dave's "Hold On! I'm a Comin'" as the R&B number-one single during the week of June 18, 1966, and held the position for four weeks until being replaced by Ray Charles' "Let's Go Get Stoned" during the week of July 16. The following week, Ain't Too Proud returned to the number-one position, where it remained for four more weeks until being replaced the week of August 20 by another Motown single, Stevie Wonder's cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind".

The Temptations had been on tour during all of the office politics involving the release of "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", and only learned about the record being a hit when they were contacted by Motown an hour before an August 20, 1966, performance on American Bandstand and ordered to perform it. Temptation Paul Williams quickly devised a dance routine for the song, and the group lip-synched the song for the American Bandstand viewing audience.

Much of the song's success, according to the Temptations themselves, is due to Whitfield's production, which was leaner and hit harder than Robinson's smoother style, and also to David Ruffin's pained lead vocal. The tactic of having Ruffin record above his register worked well enough that Whitfield went on to use it on later Temptations records such as "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You", and also did the same to Marvin Gaye when he recorded his now-famous version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
023 - 19-734 - Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
024 - 15-730 - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
025 - 19-715 - Stop! In The Name Of Love – Supremes
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Song #22 is up now. This one stayed at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart longer than any other Motown record, 9 weeks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO3ihTtbOTU
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #22 is "I Can't Help Myself" by the Four Tops, from 1965. It was listed on 21 of the 44 ballots in the voting. As I said in the introduction, it was #1 on the Billboard Soul chart for 9 weeks, and also topped their Pop chart. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "I Can't Help Myself" is one of the most well-known Motown recordings of the 1960s and among the decade's biggest hits. Billboard ranked the record as the second biggest single of 1965. "I Can't Help Myself" was the Four Tops' first Top 40 single in the UK, peaking at 23 in the summer of 1965, then reaching 10 on its spring 1970 re-release. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #415 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The MOTOWN JUNKIES review is here - https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2013/01/12/567/

Below is a scan of a killer EP that contained all 4 of the Four Tops 1965 hits, with a beautiful color picture on the cover.


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Song #21 is up now. This one was listed on 22 of the 44 ballots in the voting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_UvycgoAdM
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #21 song is "Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas, from 1963. It was written by the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team. The single was #1 for 4 weeks on the Billboard R&B Chart, and it peaked at #4 on the Pop chart. The lyrics of "Heat Wave" feature the song's narrator singing about a guy who has her heart "burning with desire" and "going insane" over the feeling of his love, and asking, "is this the way love's supposed to be?" The song is often referred to as "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave", but the title on the label of the original 1963 single was just "Heat Wave."

Produced and composed with a gospel backbeat, jazz overtones and, doo-wop call and responsive vocals, "Heat Wave" was one of the first songs to exemplify the style of music later termed as the "Motown Sound." It also garnered the group's only Grammy Award nomination for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording for 1964, making the Vandellas the first Motown group ever to receive a Grammy Award nomination.

Let's see what the MOTOWN JUNKIES review has to say.

Martha & the Vandellas: “Heat Wave”
Gordy G 7022 (A), July 1963


When I first bought The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 3 (which, for the uninitiated, comes with a working replica 7″ copy of Heat Wave strapped to the front), it arrived on my desk at work. Every person who came into my office that day and saw it there began spontaneously singing Heat Wave. Every single one.

If I had to sum this record up in one word, it would be “confidence”. The band are confident, trying out all manner of new things – layers of baritone sax, horn crotchet notes on the beat of a tambourine, a different rhythm pounded out on vibes and piano together – all of which would come to be ingredients in the so-called “Motown sound”. The producers and songwriters are confident, happy to leave all vocals off what should be the entire first verse and chorus of the song, introducing America to the record as an instrumental. Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard are confident, providing some of the best backing vocals in Motown history with laser accurate precision. Martha Reeves is confident, sounding like a veteran with fifteen Top Ten smashes under her belt, rather than a 21-year-old relative newcomer who’s had one solitary Top 30 hit single to her name. And, most importantly, the tune is confident, barrelling along and charging up the scale: young, brash, energetic, optimistic, unstoppable.

That first, instrumental “verse” is remarkable enough; opening with a crash of drums leading to a barrage of guitars, handclaps and saxophone, the sheer momentum of it all demands attention. That probably explains the decision to keep the vocals under wraps for such a long time; it’s the sound of the Funk Brothers showing off everything they’d learned so far, and just how far they’d come. (Nelson George: “The melody and lyric ride over a rhythm track clarly derived from the interplay of the musicians among themselves. That record is imbued with the spirit of a lively, fun-loving musical ensemble. It is not a producer’s record; it’s a band record, though HDH gave it structure.”)

But then, after almost half a minute of instrumental fun, the band trading blows and licks, up steps Martha Reeves. No warm-up needed for her, she starts off at top volume. Sure, you were enjoying what the band were doing, but they’ve had their showcase. Pay attention to me now.

Whenever I’m with him
(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
Something inside
(Something inside)
Starts to burning
(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
And I’m filled with desire

You’re singing it to yourself now, aren’t you? The way Martha delivers her lead fastball-style, it sounds like every line should have an exclamation mark at the end. It’s particularly appropriate with lyrics like these – the whole song is full of visceral, energetic imagery, a reinterpretation of falling head over heels in love by some people who’ve thought about what “falling head over heels in love” might actually look like, especially if it happens on a flight of steps. But the real hook hasn’t even been introduced yet.

Could it be / a devil in me / Or is this the way / Love’s supposed to be? / It’s like a HEAT WAVE!

I know what Nelson George means, and in many ways he’s right – this has the carefree exuberance of a freewheeling jam session mixed with the professional rigour of a rigid studio chart – but the Vandellas’ vocals don’t merely “ride over” the rhythm track, they bolster it, augment it, become part of it. Where the band have already introduced us to the rising scale of saxophone, piano and vibes, reaching a pounding plateau before the whole thing starts over again, producers Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier are clever enough to (a) allow the listener to hear what it sounds like without the Vandellas first, and (b) then have Roz and Annette go up the scale with the instruments, creating an unstoppable rise to the top for Martha to blast that line without stopping for breath, ready for all three Vandellas to get to the summit together and shout “HEAT WAVE!” in unison. Killer hooks don’t come any better than this – momentum, anticipation, reward. The first time it happens, the listener’s attention is grabbed, almost forcefully; the second time, the listener knows what’s coming well in advance, and feels not only entitled but encouraged to join in with it.

Picky critics have rounded on Heat Wave in the past for not employing more musical diversity – and they’re not wrong, as it’s really the same verse/chorus structure, rhythm and melody used throughout the entire song, masked by some neat tricks in the arrangement and by Martha and the girls’ clever vocal shifts. But they’re missing the point. Once the basic structure has been established by those first two verses and choruses (one instrumental, one vocal), the listener can use that knowledge to hold on to the song while HDH and the Vandellas throw everything at them. You never know exactly what’s coming up next, while never losing your grip on the relentless rhythm or the song’s basic structure; whatever happens, whether it’s a saxopone taking over for Martha for a verse, or the climactic weaving of shouted voices and harmonies, you know there’s going to be another “HEAT WAVE!” coming along soon. A clever trick, straight out of the Puccini playbook, and for that reason, it’s among the catchiest pop records I can think of – which explains why all those people sang it in my office that day, and why you’ve probably got it in your head right now.

It’s just such a buzz, this record. You’d have to be made of stone not to crack a smile by the time we get to the middle verse and Martha exclaims:

I can’t explain it / Don’t understand it / I ain’t never felt like this before!

But then she ups the ante even further. “Now that funny feeling has me amazed / Don’t know what to do, my head’s in a haze, it’s like a heat wave… and Martha’s voice tails off quietly, for the first time on the record. She doesn’t fully engage with the shout of “HEAT WAVE!” this time, and you’re wondering what’s going on, until she instead reappears off the beat a split second later with a full-on shout of YEAH YEAH!, which signals the start of the busy, almost overloaded later phase of the record. A series of interlinked vocal lines all ducking and dovetailing in and out of one another, seamlessly picking up on the main line or the backing refrain, switching between patterns with no notice whatsoever given to the listener… I love it.

So did the American public, sending this right up the charts to blast a hole at the top; Motown’s eighth R&B Number One and a Top Five pop hit to boot, some of its success has traditionally been ascribed to the actual heat wave that struck the USA during the late summer of 1963 (and the record’s use on weather bulletins reporting on it), but I can confidently state that this sounds good whatever the weather (it’s absolutely pelting down outside my window here in Wales at the time of writing, and Heat Wave still has me dancing). Yet it’s still unmistakeably the sound of summer – turn this right up when the sun is shining on the grass on a beautiful July day, there’s simply nothing to beat it.

A remarkable record, and one of the best singles Motown ever released. There wasn’t any doubt as to what mark I was going to give it, was there?

MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
10/10



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We are about to enter the top 20 Motown songs, as we voted them. At #20 is another Motown Monster!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liT_YkqTSqQ
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #20 is "My Guy" by Mary Wells, from 1964. The single stayed at #1 on the Cash Box R&B chart for 7 weeks. It also topped the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart for 2 weeks. In the United Kingdom, "My Guy" peaked at number five in June 1964. The single is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles, the song is a woman's rejection of a sexual advance and affirmation of her fidelity to her boyfriend, who is her ideal and with whom she is happy, despite his ordinary physique and looks. ("There's not a man today who could take me away from my guy").

At the session for the "My Guy" backing track, the studio musicians were having issues completing the intro: with the musicians having been playing all day and a half-hour scheduled studio time left, trombonist George Bohanon said to keyboardist Earl Van Dyke that the opening measure of "Canadian Sunset" could be perfectly juxtaposed on the intro's chord changes, and Van Dyke, the session bandleader, expediently constructed an intro incorporating the opening of "Canadian Sunset" and also the "left hand notes" from "Canadian Sunset" composer Eddie Heywood's rendition of "Begin the Beguine". Van Dyke would recall: "We were doing anything to get the hell out of that studio. We knew that the producers didn't know nothing 'bout no 'Canadian Sunset' or 'Begin the Beguine'. We figured the song would wind up in the trash can anyway".

When Wells recorded her vocal she sang over the song's outro with a huskiness evoking the line delivery of Mae West: Wells would recall: "I was only joking but the producers said 'Keep it going, keep it going'."

"My Guy" was Wells' last hit single for Motown, except for duets she recorded with label mate Marvin Gaye. An option in her recording contract let Wells terminate the contract at her discretion after she reached her twenty-first birthday on May 13, 1964. Encouraged by her ex-husband, Wells broke her Motown contract and signed with 20th Century Fox in hopes of higher royalties and possible movie roles. However, Wells' career never again reached the heights it had at Motown, and she never again had a hit single as big as "My Guy."

There's a very long review of the record at MOTOWN JUNKIES where he gives it 10-/10. Here's the link.
https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2011/08/20/404/


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
020 - 19-799 - My Guy - Mary Wells
021 - 22-775 - Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
022 - 21-765 - I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
023 - 19-734 - Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
024 - 15-730 - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
025 - 19-715 - Stop! In The Name Of Love – Supremes
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Song #19 is up now. To me this record's rank is the most surprising on the list, as far as finishing much higher than I expected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC5PL0XImjw
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #19 is "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, from 1967. This one really surprised me finishing ahead of huge hits like "My Guy" and Heat Wave" and "I Can't Help Myself." It reached #3 on the Billboard Soul chart, and only got to #19 on the Pop chart. But our votes think it's one of the top Motown records. It was listed on 20 ballots in the voting. The song was written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson. The Gaye/Terrell version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and is regarded today as one of the most important records ever released by Motown.

The song was written by Ashford and Simpson prior to joining Motown. British soul singer Dusty Springfield wanted to record the song but the duo declined, hoping it would give them access to the Detroit-based label. As Valerie Simpson later recalled, "We played that song for her (Springfield) but wouldn't give it to her, because we wanted to hold that back. We felt like that could be our entry to Motown. Nick called it the 'golden egg'." Dusty recorded a similar verse melody in 'I'm Gonna Leave You' on Dusty.

Terrell was a little nervous and intimidated during the recording sessions because she did not rehearse the lyrics. Terrell recorded her vocals alone with producers Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, who added Gaye's vocal at a later date.

Diana Ross had a much bigger hit with her version of the song in 1970, but our voters did not think much of it as it was only listed on one ballot.


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Next up is song #18. A killer track from 1965:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMyy0frqf6M
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #18 is "Nowhere To Run" from Martha and the Vandellas, in 1965. The single reached #3 on the Cash Box R&B chart and #5 on the Billboard Soul chart. It got to #8 on the Billboard Pop chart. I know someone who played this record over and over and over again until her mother got sick of it and took the record and broke it. The song, written and produced by Motown's main production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, depicts the story of a woman trapped in a bad relationship with a man she cannot help but love.

Holland-Dozier-Holland and the Funk Brothers band gave the song a large, hard-driving instrumentation sound similar to the sound of prior "Dancing in the Street" with snow chains used as percussion alongside the tambourine and drums. It was ranked #358 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was listed on 22 of the 44 ballots in our voting.

Here's the MOTOWN JUNKIES review:

Martha & the Vandellas: “Nowhere To Run”
Gordy G 7039 (A), February 1965


BOM-BA-DA-DOM-BOM, DOM-BOM, DOM-BOM! Like the world’s about to end. Now we’re cooking.

One of the all-time great intros, but then the ’65-model Vandellas were already past masters at this sort of grand opening. I’ll Have To Let Him Go, Come And Get These Memories, Heat Wave, Dancing In The Street… big, attention-grabbing overtures were their “thing” by now. And this is the best one yet.

That Nowhere To Run announces itself in such a blazing, apocalyptic fashion is absolutely appropriate. February 1965, already a whole month into the year which would end up defining Motown forever, and almost none of the big players – on either side of the glass – have made an entrance up to now. I like the idea of the Holland-Dozier-Holland trio watching with wry smiles as Motown stuffed January’s release schedules with weird curios and never-to-be-released flotsam; they’d politely applaud their peers, wait a moment, and then, BAM, unleash not one but two of their best singles, for two of the label’s best artists, one right after the other, a devastating one-two punch that must have left the competition reeling.

Here’s the first of them.

NOWHERE TO HIDE

Martha and the Vandellas were affected by the sudden, unexpected rise of the Supremes in more ways than one. Always an earthier, more soulful group than the Supremes, the latter’s rise not only eclipsed them in Motown’s pecking order, it also served to push the Vandellas further along the soulful path. As the Supremes cultivated a classy, immaculate pop sound, well, rather than compete on the same kind of turf, instead the Vandellas were getting noisier, more fluid, more brash, more exciting.

The theme of Motown 1965, a theme I’ll be coming back to time and again as we cover this busiest and most epic of Motown years, is reinvention, and Martha and the Vandellas – pushed off their perch as top dogs in the Motown stable (ooh, how many more animal metaphors can I fit in this sentence, do you reckon?) – had to do it more than most. Already they’d found a new sound – a brand new beat, if you like – with Dancing In The Street. While I don’t adore it as the timeless classic it’s sometimes painted as, it’s still become known as their defining record, and it was certainly the record which should have propelled them to bigger and better things, commercially and artistically, battling the Supremes throughout the mid- to late-Sixties for the title of Motown’s top girl group.

But that never really happened. Martha and the Vandellas, wracked by internal difficulties (culminating in a line-up change), worn out by endless touring (building the group’s name, but at the expense of new material, not to mention their health), stymied by Motown’s internal politics (seeing a great new Holland-Dozier-Holland song, Jimmy Mack, a Supremes-style 4/4 stomp imbued with the Vandellas’ unique attitude, rejected out of hand by Quality Control and consigned to the ashcan for three years), ended up losing all the momentum their new sound had generated.

Instead, they – or rather Motown – failed to strike while the iron was hot, not issuing a follow-up to their summer party anthem until soundalike Wild One nearly five months later, during the cold, slushy early winter. When Wild One, rather good but hardly game-changing, limped into the pop charts and stalled outside the Top 30, it was time for Martha and the Vandellas to go back to the drawing board and start all over again.

The change in the Motown landscape since we last saw the Vandellas swinging for the fences had another, more direct effect, too. The Holland-Dozier-Holland team, reunited with Martha & Co. for the first time in months, had played a vital role in Vandellas history. It was they who’d given Martha and the girls classics like Come And Get These Memories and Heat Wave, plus plenty of LP cuts to bulk out the Vandellas’ first album, but “HDH” (as they’re universally known) were now in very high demand, and the majority of their time was allocated by Motown to the label’s two biggest projects, the Four Tops and the Supremes. The Vandellas still managed the occasional look in during 1964, but the rejection of Jimmy Mack, held back for three unfathomable years, may have capped things off on that front; HDH had cut their teeth on the Vandellas, but now they’d found more obliging blank canvases. Henceforth, collaborations between Holland-Dozier-Holland and the Vandellas would be few and far between.

(Case in point: When it appeared, Nowhere To Run sauntered into the Top Ten. In 1963, Motown house etiquette stated a writer-producer scoring a big hit on an artist would automatically get the chance to do the follow-up, and if that was a hit then they’d do the next one, and so on. But things had changed, and instead, HDH would cut just one more new Vandellas single during Martha’s entire remaining time at Motown, and not for almost two years at that.)

With their run of three awesome Number One hits for the Supremes at the tail-end of 1964 (Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Come See About Me) selling scads of copies all over the world, Holland-Dozier-Holland had become Motown’s top creative team. Already transitioning from hitmakers to kingmakers, tasked (like Smokey Robinson) by Motown to provide hits and kudos for any struggling act on the books – but only provided it didn’t interfere with their work pumping out new material for the A-listers – any act in 1965 who found themselves in a studio with HDH knew they had to make it count.

Galling though it must have been for Martha Reeves to find herself grouped in with the also-rans so soon after being the queen bee, she was smart enough to know those rules applied to her group too. You may have made these boys’ names, but now you’ve got to wait in line with every other schmuck, and God knows when you’ll get the chance again. Make it count.

Oh, wow, did they make it count.

SO HIGH, I CAN’T GET OVER IT

When I started this blog, Motown Junkies time was moving way, way faster than Motown time proper, but things have slowed down so much that we’re actually now moving more slowly. For example, I managed to cover the whole of 1959 in three days, but 1964 took me almost sixteen months. For Martha and the Vandellas, who hit their greatest heights to date in 1963, that feels like a very long time.

Having been bowled over by Come And Get These Memories, an emotional juggernaut, and then blown away by Heat Wave, the group’s exuberant atomic zero hour, it’s been taken as read here on Motown Junkies that I hoped to approve of each subsequent Vandellas single, that they were likely to be good. And they are, by and large; we’ve never had a bad one so far. But moments of true, genuine magic have been in short supply – I always felt a bit left out because I’ve never truly loved Dancing In The Street, and beyond that, the pickings get slimmer. Quicksand, Live Wire, In My Lonely Room… they’re all good, sometimes rather better than that, but they’re not masterpieces, they’re not amazing.

The effect of coming across Nowhere To Run, then, which is amazing, is akin to suddenly rediscovering the taste of a long-forgotten ice cream (or the scent of a book) you loved as a child: the feeling of hearing a Vandellas single and realising that once again, they’re the best group in the world. I’ve missed that feeling.

Damn, this is a good record.

I wonder if Vandellas fans back in 1965 felt the same way? Certainly this is a massive kick on from where the group has previously gone; if Heat Wave was primarily a band record, Nowhere To Run is a group record, the gigantic drums and bass (and snow chains) deployed in the service of the girls’ vocals, serving as an extension of the group themselves rather than a spotlight cameo even as they’re perhaps the record’s defining feature. Now, this is partly because the Funk Brothers had honed their craft so well in the last few months; the cuts laid down in the autumn and winter of 1964 are leaps and bounds ahead of those from eighteen, twelve, or even six months earlier, but it feels like the development of yet another new Motown sound.

EVERY STEP I TAKE, YOU TAKE WITH ME

When we talk of “the Motown sound”, it’s a misnomer, not because I’m somehow trying to pretend that Motown didn’t operate to a formula, but rather because there were so many “Motown sounds” throughout the history of the label. At any given time, you can readily identify a family tree of similar-sounding records, from the midtempo calypso of the Mary Wells/Smokey Robinson heyday of the early Sixties, the rash of rollicking Phil Spector pastiches in 1963, the steady 4/4 stomps of the Supremes in 1964, the ten-minute wah-wah psychedelic soul of Norman Whitfield in the late Sixties and early Seventies… and now, here’s another one for you. A kind of storming, barrelling, loud R&B romp, crackling with energy, call-and-response harmonies and beautiful voices lashed together and harnessed for the power of the song; pop music, but with a tougher, sharper edge than what had gone before, the spirit of the blues riding high.

The two great vectors of this new sound were Holland-Dozier-Holland, as ever, and Norman Whitfield, who between them turned this into an art.

Whitfield had different ideas to most Motown producers, even at this early stage, and that extended to the band, the rhythm section in particular. What he did with the Velvelettes, and then the Temptations, in late 1964 reverberated through Motown in 1965, and its echo is felt most keenly right here. The Funk Brothers had several run-ins with producers during their time at Motown, the hardened and seasoned jazz cats bristling at being ordered around by high-handed producers who were barely out of high school. In the early days, they’d particularly scoffed at Holland-Dozier-Holland’s airy, half-formed ideas, their inexperience, and their lack of hands-on knowledge. Nelson George’s Where Did Our Love Go is full of anecdotes of clashes between HDH and the musicians: a story of grudging respect at best and open hostility at worst.

Norman Whitfield wasn’t like that. An intensely moody character, probably the most demanding of Motown’s taskmasters, a hawkeyed observer who’d initially been content to sit silently for hours watching how everyone else did things, he was also an outspoken loudmouth when it came to telling other people how they should be doing their jobs. That lip sometimes got him into trouble – but he was funny too, cracking wise and sharing his cigarettes with the tambourine shakers (and more importantly, sharing his money, cutting them in on bonuses when he scored a hit), and he knew what he was doing. As a result, Whitfield and Clarence Paul were the only non-players to be invited to the musicians’ inner circle (and their after-hours party nights). Whitfield then started to get the very best out of the rhythm section, in a way that no other producer had yet managed, bringing some of the muscular, menacing sneer of the bar-room to Motown. The Sound of Young America staying out late.

If Whitfield pioneered getting that sound on record, Holland-Dozier-Holland were right on top of this new development. The Velvelettes, Whit’s pet project, had two remarkable singles in ’64 to prove the point, Needle In A Haystack and the peerless He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’, the latter co-written by Eddie Holland – not to mention the Temptations’ roughly contemporary Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue), another Whitfield/Holland co-write. And right in the middle of all of those, another obvious cousin: Nowhere To Run.

HDH must have been delighted to be working with the Vandellas again, just to be able to make a record like this one. It must have been exciting for everyone involved, since Martha and co. were made to do this sort of thing; good though Jimmy Mack is, this is more like “well, we’ve tried doing the Supremes thing, and it got us nowhere; let’s do something they can’t do.” The desire to explore new territory, new sounds, results in one of Motown’s best singles so far; it’s magnificent.

SO DEEP, SO DEEP

Almost everything about this record proclaims its makers, on both sides of the glass, to be Motown royalty, and so it’s unusual to remember that the career trajectories of Holland-Dozier-Holland and Martha & the Vandellas were headed in opposite directions after this. But we can’t be sad for too long over the string of brilliant records which should have followed this one, records that were never to be, simply because this one is so good.

It just sounds so strong, in every sense; it’s a song of torment and pain, and Martha sells it quite brilliantly. Some reviewers have called her a passenger, praising the band and producer for raising up her performance, but this works because she’s a star again. She’s angry and defiant, making this sound like a powerful, even menacing statement of independence when it’s actually a song of involuntary devotion – the narrator is furious things are panning out this way, even though she’s ultimately going to acquiesce to the feelings she doesn’t want (How can I fight a love that shouldn’t be?), making for a character every bit as richly realised as the narrator from Come And Get These Memories.

From that blazing opening, this is just a full-on assault of a record, big and brash and textured. The sound is remarkable. Many people know the story of Ivy Jo Hunter dragging a snow chain into the Motown studio and slamming it on the floor until his hands were bleeding, all to provide a unique percussion effect, something like a thousand tambourines in the background. Stories are jumbled as to whether that first happened on Dancing In The Street or here on Nowhere To Run, but what is clear is that the percussion here is just out of this world, a barrelling, slamming groove (always slower on vinyl than it is in my head), anchored by that chain, pulling jagged bass and horns and drums behind it (all three played by people having career days here) and dragging huge great furrows in the earth.

But what shouldn’t be overlooked is that this is a Holland-Dozier-Holland tune, and as such there’s a killer melody to go with the groove, stuffed full of hooks and stitched together with immaculate precision. I mentioned when reviewing Marvin Gaye’s startling Baby Don’t You Do It that there aren’t many mid-Sixties Golden Age Motown singles I’d be keen to hear doubled in length, stretched out as a storming 12″ mix, but this is definitely one of them – you get the feeling this groove could just carry on forever. And it’s insanely catchy, not to mention its uncanny ability to get you moving.

Because it’s not got a surprising or beautiful tune (and because, let’s be fair, it’s not by the Supremes), Nowhere To Run has perhaps been overlooked as being among some of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s very best work, while the Vandellas were already buckling themselves in for a bumpy ride throughout the rest of the Sixties. If the Vandellas’ career yielded up several more classic records even after Motown had decided Martha and HDH should go their separate ways, it’s almost maddening there weren’t any more of these to savour. But stick the record on, and all of that stuff melts away; it’s damn near perfect, and I love it.

If I haven’t gone into the usual amount of in-depth analysis I normally break out for my favourites, it’s because this is perhaps the most primal, the most direct of my fifty top Motown tunes, the anointed few to get ten out of ten: if it’s also the most musically complicated in terms of the work everyone’s having to do to make this come off, nonetheless everything’s right up front for the listener to enjoy, in what’s maybe the clearest Motown statement of intent we’ve yet experienced. It’s Nowhere To Run, it kicks arse, it’s getting a ten.

MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
10/10


AND, lost in the greatness of "Nowhere To Run" is a really good B side on this one. Check it out:



We are now up there is rarified atmosphere. And there are still 17 more songs to go. THIS is #17:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joqjBAJx4ZA
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #17 is "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" by the Four Tops, from 1964. The single reached #4 on the Cash Box R&B chart and just missed the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart, peaking at #11 during a 12 week run. After 11 years already in the business the Tops FINALLY had a hit record. They were originally known as the Four Aims back in 1953. Lead singer Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, performing from 1953 until 1997 without a change in personnel. A change of lineup was forced on the group when Lawrence Payton died on June 20, 1997.

Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was the group's first Motown single. It was also their first million-selling hit single. Rolling Stone ranked The Four Tops' original version of the song at #390 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Here's a link to a real long review of the record on MOTOWN JUNKIES - https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2011/12/10/441/


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
017 - 22-846 - Baby I Need Your Lovin' - Four Tops
018 - 22-845 - Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas
019 - 20-844 - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
020 - 19-799 - My Guy - Mary Wells
021 - 22-775 - Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
022 - 21-765 - I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
023 - 19-734 - Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
024 - 15-730 - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
025 - 19-715 - Stop! In The Name Of Love – Supremes
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Song #16 is up now. This one was on the charts at the same time as "Baby I Need Your Lovin." The catalog number on the Tops record was Motown 1062, and this one was Motown 1060, released within a couple of weeks of each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfl3EYFjHJU
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #16 song is "Where Did Our Love Go" from the Supremes, in 1964. Definitely one of the key records in the history of Motown. It ignited the careers of the label's most popular act of the 60s. Billboard did not have an R&B chart in 1964, but this one reached #1 for 2 weeks on the Cash Box R&B chart, and also topped the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was the first of five Supremes songs in a row to reach #1 (the others being "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", "Stop! In the Name of Love", and "Back in My Arms Again").

According to Brian Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was written with The Supremes in mind. Though Supremes member Mary Wilson would later write that the song had been originally given to The Marvelettes, Holland would deny this claim, as would the Marvelettes themselves. Marvelettes member Katherine Anderson-Schnaffer later said that the song didn't quite fit her group's repertoire because it was produced under a slower beat and their music was more uptempo. When the Supremes were eventually given the song, the group members weren't pleased with the record, with member Florence Ballard later stating that they had wanted a stronger single similar to the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman." Although the group felt the song didn't have the hook to make it successful, they decided that they really didn't have a choice and prepared to record it.

Initially, the producers argued over who should sing the song, as it had been cut in the same key as Mary Wilson's voice but, since Berry Gordy had assigned the lead singer role to Diana Ross, the producers eventually gave the song to her; she sang it in her usual high register in the recording studio on April 8. As a result, Ross was told to sing the song in a lower register and begrudgingly complied with Holland/Dozier/Holland's "to the letter" formula. Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard's vocal contribution was significant in bringing a fresh yet hypnotic sexiness to the overall sound of the song while remaining true to the backup arrangements that Lamont Dozier had set down.

Upon hearing the song's playback, an excited Ross rushed to Gordy's office and told him to come to the studio to listen. Upon hearing playback, a satisfied Gordy nodded, saying to the producers and the group that the song had potential to be a top ten hit.

Here's the link to the very long MOTOWN JUNKIES review - https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2011/11/09/433/


There are many other good versions of this song. Two of the best ones to me are Donnie Elbert and the J. Geils Band.


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Song #15 is next. Of all the songs on this countdown, this one probably more than any other, needs no introduction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFwSgQDrft8
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #15 is "Do You Love Me" by the Contours, from 1962. The single was #1 on the Billboard R&B chart for 3 weeks and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Pop chart. In 1988 the record came back on the charts after being featured in the movie "Dirty Dancing" and got to #11 Pop. The song was written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr..

Berry Gordy wrote "Do You Love Me" with the intention that The Temptations, who had no Top 40 hits to their name yet, would record it. However, when Gordy wanted to locate the group and record the song, they were nowhere to be found (the Temptations had not been made aware of Gordy's intentions and had departed Motown's Hitsville USA recording studio for a local Detroit gospel music showcase).

After spending some time looking for the Temptations, Gordy ran into the Contours (Billy Gordon, Hubert Johnson, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Sylvester Potts, and guitarist Hugh Davis) in the hallway. Wanting to record and release "Do You Love Me" as soon as possible, Gordy decided to let them record his "sure-fire hit" instead of the Temptations. The Contours, who were in danger of being dropped from the label after their first two singles ("Whole Lotta' Woman" and "The Stretch") failed to chart, were so elated at Gordy's offer that they immediately began hugging and thanking him.

"Do You Love Me," the fifth release on Gordy Records, became a notably successful dance record, built around Gordon's screaming vocals. An album featuring the single, Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance), was also released. None of the Contours' future singles lived up to the success of "Do You Love Me", although its success won the group a headlining position on Motown's very first Motor Town Revue tour.

Here's part of the MOTOWN JUNKIES review:

The Contours: “Do You Love Me”
Gordy G 7005 (A), June 1962


This record is a real anomaly, in a number of ways. A big hit for a group who didn’t have any other big hits, an enduring classic that took a lot less time to write and record than many Motown flops, a rough, raw-edged screaming rocker from a label that would come to stand for almost the opposite of all those things.

it’s very simplistic and surprisingly dated, even by the standards of the other stuff Motown was putting out in the summer of 1962. A rough and ready R&B attack combined with a Fifties rock and roll setting, a variation on something old rather than a first appearance of something new, this was actually following what turned out to be a musical dead-end, though obviously nobody knew it at the time. This is pretty much the furthest Motown would end up going in this particular direction before all possibility of further development was exhausted.

A cover version by white British band Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, re-timed slightly, with a rockier arrangement and omitting the false ending, shot to Number One in the UK (where the Contours’ original was picked up for release by Oriole Records, but did nothing), the first Jobete song to do so, and it was only the release of Dirty Dancing and its two mega-selling soundtrack albums in the late Eighties that made the Contours’ version the better-known of the two here. So, if there was ever a reason to be grateful to Patrick Swayze, this is it.

MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
8/10


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Song #14 is up now. The first of 3 songs by this act to finish in our top 15:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRd-bjFfjNc
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #14 is "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" by the Miracles, from 1962. It entered the charts at the very end of 1962, and in the winter of 1963 it went to #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and peaked at #8 Pop. One of the Miracles' most recorded tunes, this million-selling song received a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It has also been selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

"You've Really Got a Hold On Me" was written by Smokey Robinson while in New York in 1962 on business for Motown; he heard Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me," which was in the charts at the time, and - influenced by it - wrote the song in his hotel room. The song was recorded in Motown's Studio A on October 16, 1962 with Robinson on lead vocals, and Miracles' second tenor Bobby Rogers on harmony co-lead. Robinson was the producer, and he had Eddie Willis and Miracle Marv Tarplin share the guitar parts.

The song was released on the Tamla label on November 9, 1962 as the B side to "Happy Landing". "Happy Landing" charted regionally; however, the nation's Dee-Jays flipped the record over, because they liked "Hold On Me" better.


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
014 - 24-884 - You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Miracles
015 - 21-872 - Do You Love Me - Contours
016 - 20-872 - Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes
017 - 22-846 - Baby I Need Your Lovin' - Four Tops
018 - 22-845 - Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas
019 - 20-844 - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
020 - 19-799 - My Guy - Mary Wells
021 - 22-775 - Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
022 - 21-765 - I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
023 - 19-734 - Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
024 - 15-730 - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
025 - 19-715 - Stop! In The Name Of Love – Supremes
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================


Lucky #13 is up now. A song that's been recorded by hundreds of different artists:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeVx1C73o8k
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #13 song on the countdown is "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong, from 1959. This one stayed at #2 on the Billboard R&B chart for 6 weeks in early 1960, stuck behind "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" by Brook Benton & Dinah Washington, which was #1 for 10 weeks. On the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart it reached #23. The record was released first on the Tamla label, but had most of its success after it was issued on the Anna label. There were some 78s pressed on Anna, but it's very rare.

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The song was written by Berry Gordy Jr. and Barrett Strong. The song developed out of a spontaneous recording session at the Hitsville studio A in Detroit. Gordy and Strong began by improvising on piano and vocals and were joined by Benny Benjamin on drums and Brian Holland on tambourine. Authors Jim Cogan and William Clark only identify the guitarist and bassist as "two white kids walking home from high school [who] heard the music out on the street and wandered in to Hitsville [and] asked if they could play along." They add "Strong claimed he never saw the two boys who played bass and guitar again." However, the guitarist has also been identified as Eugene Grew, who claimed that Barrett showed him what to play.

Barrett begins with a bluesy piano riff, with the rest of the instruments gradually falling in. The figure is a key element of the song and is repeated throughout the piece by the piano, bass, and guitar, with background vocals by the Rayber Voices. Author Nick Talevski calls the song an "R&B classic" and it is identified as having a "Detroit R&B sound" by Mark Lewisohn. Music journalist Charles Shaar Murray describes "Money" as "one of the earliest Motown classics from the days when the label left some of R&B's rough edges in place."

Here's the MOTOWN JUNKIES review:

Barrett Strong: “Money (That’s What I Want)”
Tamla RecordsTamla T 54027 (A), August 1959


NOW we’re talking.

Motown had put out seven singles prior to this one, some of them featuring some pretty good songs, but this is the first bona fide classic to come out of the Hitsville factory. Even now, fifty years – can you believe it, fifty years – later, it still sounds fantastic. It was also Motown’s first national hit, and deservedly so.

Built around Berry Gordy’s hypnotic piano riff – played on the record by Strong himself – and featuring an unexpectedly essential tambourine part from Brian Holland alongside the first truly great Benny Benjamin drums performance, deafening warlike tom-toms beaten with genuine malice, the whole thing is just an unstoppable, nasty, mean, sexy groove. Everything on the record just demands attention – the raw-throated, almost-shouted vocals, the thundering bass, the spiky, twanging guitars, everything. And somehow it all works.

Motown’s only previous chart contender, Marv Johnson’s Come To Me, had been a surprise hit; this one couldn’t fail to be a hit. The difference in confidence between this and the previous sides, especially Strong’s own Let’s Rock, is palpable. Whether that confidence was borne of knowing they were onto something good, or whether everybody just fed off each other’s energy and moved everything up a gear, it blazes right through the speakers – everyone here is on top form, and this is the best Motown single to date, by the longest of long chalks.

Some of the previous Motown sides featured on this blog you might want to play again straight away – Eddie Holland’s It Moves Me, and Marv Johnson’s lovely Whisper, the Funk Brothers (or “Swinging Tigers”) pounding away on Snake Walk – but this is the first one to actually make you say yes, that’s fantastic, play that one again, and again, and again. It’s the first one that’s actually essential.

Strong is no great shakes as a vocalist, for sure, but he gets the job done here with a clear, tough delivery. You’d expect the song to suffer from over familiarity, but it doesn’t; further, this is an example of the original being the definitive version of a song, regardless of how many covers have had a go at replicating it. It’s jagged, even sloppy in places, but that’s really the point. It’s raw. It’s young. It’s mean. It’s alive. It kicks arse, quite frankly. And for the very first time, Motown release a record that matters.

More than the much-needed financial fillip provided by the healthy sales of this record (which hit #2 R&B once it had been licensed to Berry’s big sister Gwen Gordy Fuqua’s label Anna Records, who had better national distribution), Money also proved to everyone involved that it was worth persevering, that maybe, just maybe, this tiny black indie label was worth watching, worth sticking with, worth getting involved with, worth being part of. For that reason, Money is probably the most important record in the whole Motown canon. Regardless of the good stuff that had come before, in many ways the Motown story really begins right here, with one of the better pop records of the 1950s.

MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
9/10



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Song #12 is next. It was released as an album track in 1967.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4heHLbchPKk
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #12 is "The Tears Of A Clown" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, from 1967. It was originally released on the album "Make It Happen" in 1967. In 1970 it was issued as a single and went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart. It also went to #1 on the Billboard Soul chart. In the UK it was released as a single a couple of months before the US release, and it also went to #1 there.

The song was written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. This song is an international multi-million seller and a 2002 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. Its success led Miracles lead singer, songwriter, and producer Smokey Robinson, who had announced plans to leave the act, to stay until 1972.

Stevie Wonder (who was discovered by Miracles member Ronnie White) and his producer Hank Cosby wrote the music for the song, and Cosby produced the instrumental track recording. Wonder brought the instrumental track to the 1966 Motown Christmas party because he could not come up with a lyric to fit the instrumental.[3] Wonder wanted to see what Robinson could come up with for the track. Robinson, who remarked that the song's distinctive calliope motif "sounded like a circus," provided lyrics that reflected his vision and sang lead vocal. In the song, his character, sad because a woman has left him, compares himself to the characters in the opera Pagliacci, comedians/clowns who hide their hurt and anger behind empty smiles. He had used this comparison before: the line "just like Pagliacci did/I'll try to keep my sadness hid" appears in the song "My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down)", which he had written in 1964 for Motown artist Carolyn Crawford. The record is one of the few hit pop singles to feature the bassoon, which was played by Charles R. Sirard.

By 1969, Robinson had become tired of constantly touring with the Miracles, and wanted to remain home in Detroit, Michigan, with his wife Claudette and their two children, Berry and Tamla (both named after aspects of the Motown corporation). Robinson informed his groupmates Pete Moore, Bobby Rogers, and best friend Ronald White that he would be retiring from the act to concentrate on his duties as vice-president of Motown Records.

"The Tears of a Clown" on the mono version of Make It Happen contains alternate vocals. Check it out below:



Song #11 is up now. This one was listed on 26 of the 44 ballots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSlzhYd0rYw
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #11 song on the countdown is "Please Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes, from 1961. This single was #1 on the Billboard R&B chart for 7 weeks. It also topped the Billboard Pop charts for one week in the midst of a 23 week run on the Hot 100. The song was written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland, and Robert Bateman.

In April 1961, the Marvelettes (then known as "The Marvels") arranged an audition for Berry Gordy's Tamla label. Marvels original lead singer Georgia Dobbins needed an original song for their audition, and got a blues song from her friend William Garrett, which she then reworked for the group. Dobbins left the group after the audition and was replaced, Gordy renamed the group and hired "Brianbert"—Brian Holland and Robert Bateman's songwriting partnership—to rework the song yet again. Freddie Gorman, himself a Detroit postman and another songwriting partner of Holland (before Holland became part of the Holland–Dozier–Holland team) was also involved in the final reworking.

Here's a link to the MOTOWN JUNKIES review where he gave it 10/10 - https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2010/02/25/100/

Below is the FULL results so far, including all songs that were on at least 2 ballots including those that were not featiured on this countdown. There were 240 songs in all. Songs #171 and #192 were shocking to me in that they failed to even make the countdown.

RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
011 - 26-960 - Please Mr Postman - Marvelettes
012 - 22-934 - The Tears of a Clown - Miracles
013 - 20-891 - Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
014 - 24-884 - You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Miracles
015 - 21-872 - Do You Love Me - Contours
016 - 20-872 - Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes
017 - 22-846 - Baby I Need Your Lovin' - Four Tops
018 - 22-845 - Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas
019 - 20-844 - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
020 - 19-799 - My Guy - Mary Wells
021 - 22-775 - Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
022 - 21-765 - I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
023 - 19-734 - Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
024 - 15-730 - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
025 - 19-715 - Stop! In The Name Of Love – Supremes
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=========================================================================
158 - 02-110 - I'm Still Waiting - Diana Ross
159 - 04-109 - Too High - Stevie Wonder
160 - 02-109 - My Baby Loves Me - Martha & Vandellas
161 - 03-108 - Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
162 - 04-106 - Leaving Here - Eddie Holland
163 - 03-103 - Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson
164 - 03-103 - Your Baby's Back - Downbeats
165 - 02-103 - Love Hangover - Diana Ross
166 - 02-102 - First I Look at the Purse - Contours
166 - 02-102 - Golden Lady - Stevie Wonder
168 - 02-102 - There's a Ghost in My House - R. Dean Taylor
169 - 03-100 - Take Me In Your Arms - Kim Weston
170 - 03-100 - My Girl Has Gone - Miracles
171 - 05-99 - Back In My Arms Again - Supremes
172 - 03-99 - What Love Has Joined Together - Temptations
173 - 03-99 - Another Star - Stevie Wonder
174 - 02-99 - What's Happenin' Brother - Marvin Gaye
175 - 03-97 - That Day When She Needed Me - Contours
176 - 02-97 - Let It Whip - Dazz Band
177 - 03-96 - Never Can Say Goodbye - Jackson 5
178 - 02-95 - I'll Keep Holding On - Marvelettes
179 - 02-95 - My World Is Empty Without You - Supremes
180 - 04-94 - Part-Time Lover - Stevie Wonder
181 - 04-93 - The Girl's Alright With Me - Temptations
182 - 03-93 - Isn't She Lovely - Steveie Wonder
183 - 02-93 - More Love - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
184 - 02-93 - I Wanna Be Where You Are -- Michael Jackson
185 - 04-92 - Something About You - Four Tops
186 - 02-91 - Does Your Mama Know About Me - Bobby Taylor & Vancouvers
187 - 02-91 - (You Can) Depend On Me - Miracles
188 - 02-89 - Sad Souvenirs - Four Tops
189 - 02-88 - One More Heartache - Marvin Gaye
190 - 02-87 - Come Get to This – Marvin Gaye
191 - 02-86 - The Night - Frankie Valli & Four Seasons
192 - 03-85 - Super Freak - Rick James
193 - 02-82 - Contract On Love - Stevie Wonder
194 - 02-82 - I'll Cry Tomorrow - Serenaders
195 - 02-82 - It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Boyz II Men
196 - 03-80 - My Old Piano - Diana Ross
197 - 02-79 - Old Love (Let's Try It Again) - Mary Wells
198 - 02-79 - Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) - Monitors
199 - 02-78 - Being With You - Smokey Robinson
200 - 02-77 - Angel - Satintones
201 - 03-75 - Neither One of Us - Gladys Knight & Pips
202 - 02-74 - I Need Your Lovin' - Teena Marie
203 - 02-74 - My Smile Is Just A Frown - Carolyn Crawford
204 - 02-71 - Theme From Mahogany - Diana Ross
205 - 02-70 - The Happening - Supremes
206 - 02-70 - River Deep Mountain High - Supremes & Four Tops
207 - 02-70 - U.N.I.T.Y. - Queen Latifah
208 - 02-69 - Give It To Me, Baby - Rick James
209 - 02-68 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Jr. Walker & the All-Stars
210 - 02-67 - All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
211 - 03-66 - I Love Your Smile - Shanice
212 - 02-66 - Devil With The Blue Dress On - Shorty Long
213 - 03-65 - My Whole World Ended - David Ruffin
214 - 02-65 - It's Growing - Temptations
215 - 02-64 - Baby Don't You Do It - Marvin Gaye
216 - 02-64 - Give Me Your Love - Sisters Love
217 - 02-63 - You're Gonna Love My Baby - Barbara McNair
218 - 03-62 - Up The Ladder To The Roof - Supremes
219 - 02-62 - One Day in Your Life - Michael Jackson
220 - 02-61 - If I Should Die Tonight - Marvin Gaye
221 - 02-59 - Love Machine - Miracles
222 - 02-59 - Come To Me - Marv Johnson
223 - 02-59 - End of The Road - Boyz II Men
224 - 02-59 - Flyin' High In The Friendly Sky - Marvin Gaye
225 - 02-59 - Your Wonderful Love - Temptations
226 - 03-58 - Shake & Fingerpop - Jr. Walker & All Stars
227 - 02-58 - My Baby - Temptations
228 - 02-58 - Love Me All the Way - Kim Weston
229 - 02-55 - Bag Lady - Erykah Badu
230 - 02-55 - You're My Everything - Temptations
231 - 02-54 - They Won’t Go When I Go - Stevie Wonder
232 - 02-51 - What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One - Mary Wells
233 - 02-51 - Nightshift - Commodores
234 - 02-50 - Come On And See Me - Tammi Terrell
235 - 02-49 - That's The Way Love Is - Marvin Gaye
236 - 02-47 - Motownphilly - Boyz II Men
237 - 02-46 - If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
238 - 02-43 - Help Me Make It Through the Night - Gladys Knight & The Pips
239 - 02-37 - What's So Good About Good-By - Miracles
240 - 02-37 - Your Precious Love - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
======================================================================


Time to get to the top 10 Motown records, as we voted them. THIS IS #10!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzly6jrepRU
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #10 is "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by the Temptations, from 1972. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1971, and released first in a version by the Undisputed Truth. Here it is:


Later in 1972, Whitfield took "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and remade it as a 12-minute album track for the Temptations. An edit was released as a single and it was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammy Awards in 1973. In a strange quirk, "Papa" only reached #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. On the Cash Box R&B chart it reached #1. It was ranked number 169 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In retrospect, the Temptations' Otis Williams considers "Papa" to be the last real classic the group recorded (it would be the Temptations' last number one hit and would win them their second and final Grammy Award in a competitive category).

Beginning with an extended instrumental introduction (3:53 in length), each of the song's three verses is separated by extended musical passages, in which Whitfield brings various instrumental textures in and out of the mix. A solo plucked bass guitar part, backed by hi-hat cymbals drumming, establishes the musical theme, a simple three-note figure; the bass is gradually joined by other instruments, including a blues guitar, wah-wah guitar, Wurlitzer electric piano, handclaps, strings and solo trumpet; all are tied together by the ever-present bass guitar line and repeating hi-hat rhythm.

Vocal duties are performed in a true ensemble style: Temptations singers Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street (who was a frequent fill-in for Paul Williams and his eventual replacement) and Damon Harris (who had replaced Eddie Kendricks as the group's falsetto singer the previous year) alternate vocal lines, taking the role of siblings questioning their mother about their now-dead father; their increasingly pointed questions, and the mother's repeated response ("Papa was a rollin' stone/wherever he laid his hat was his home/and when he died, all he left us was alone") paint a somber picture for the children who have never seen their father and have "never heard nothing but bad things about him."

Friction arose during the recording of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" for a number of reasons. The Temptations did not like the fact that Whitfield's instrumentation had been getting more emphasis than their vocals on their songs at the time, and that they had to press Whitfield to get him to produce ballads for the group. Whitfield forced Edwards to re-record his parts dozens of times until he finally got the angered, bitter grumble he desired out of the usually fiery-toned Edwards. Whitfield's treatment of the group eventually led to his dismissal as their producer. Legend has it that Edwards was angered by the song's first verse: "It was the third of September/That day I'll always remember/'cause that was the day/that my daddy died", as his father was said to have died on that date. It actually was on the third of October, however.

The solo trumpet part in the introduction was played by Funk Brothers member Maurice Davis; guitar parts were played by fellow member Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin and a young Paul Warren. The Temptations' version of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" followed in the extended-length "cinematic soul" tradition of the work of Isaac Hayes and others, and future songs like Donna Summer's 14-minute "Love to Love You Baby" and the instrumentals of MFSB expanded upon the concept in the mid-1970s.


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Song #9 is up now. It's the most recent song in the top 10:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc0XEw4m-3w
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #9 is "Living For The City" by Stevie Wonder, from 1973. The full version is featured on the "Innervisions" album. A single edit reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, and peaked at #8 on their Pop chart. It the UK it peaked at #15. Rolling Stone ranked the song number 105 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Wonder played all the instruments on the song and was assisted by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff for recording engineering and synthesizer programming. It was one of the first soul music songs to deal explicitly with systemic racism and to use everyday sounds of the street like traffic, voices and sirens which were combined with the music recorded in the studio. The song won a Grammy at the 1974 Grammy Awards for Best Rhythm & Blues Song, and "Innervisions" won the Best Album Grammy.

Synopsis
Born into a poor family in Mississippi, a young black man experiences discrimination in looking for work and eventually seeks to escape to New York City (alluding to the Second Great Migration) in hopes of finding a new life. Through a series of background noises and spoken dialogue, the man reaches New York by bus, but is then promptly framed for a crime, arrested, convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison.

"Living For The City" is the first record on the countdown that received 1,000 or more points in the voting.


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
009 - 22-1033 - Living For The City - Stevie Wonder
010 - 22-987 - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - Temptations
011 - 26-960 - Please Mr Postman - Marvelettes
012 - 22-934 - The Tears of a Clown - Miracles
013 - 20-891 - Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
014 - 24-884 - You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Miracles
015 - 21-872 - Do You Love Me - Contours
016 - 20-872 - Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes
017 - 22-846 - Baby I Need Your Lovin' - Four Tops
018 - 22-845 - Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas
019 - 20-844 - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
020 - 19-799 - My Guy - Mary Wells
021 - 22-775 - Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
022 - 21-765 - I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
023 - 19-734 - Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
024 - 15-730 - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
025 - 19-715 - Stop! In The Name Of Love – Supremes
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================
158 - 02-110 - I'm Still Waiting - Diana Ross
159 - 04-109 - Too High - Stevie Wonder
160 - 02-109 - My Baby Loves Me - Martha & Vandellas
161 - 03-108 - Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
162 - 04-106 - Leaving Here - Eddie Holland
163 - 03-103 - Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson
164 - 03-103 - Your Baby's Back - Downbeats
165 - 02-103 - Love Hangover - Diana Ross
166 - 02-102 - First I Look at the Purse - Contours
166 - 02-102 - Golden Lady - Stevie Wonder
168 - 02-102 - There's a Ghost in My House - R. Dean Taylor
169 - 03-100 - Take Me In Your Arms - Kim Weston
170 - 03-100 - My Girl Has Gone - Miracles
171 - 05-99 - Back In My Arms Again - Supremes
172 - 03-99 - What Love Has Joined Together - Temptations
173 - 03-99 - Another Star - Stevie Wonder
174 - 02-99 - What's Happenin' Brother - Marvin Gaye
175 - 03-97 - That Day When She Needed Me - Contours
176 - 02-97 - Let It Whip - Dazz Band
177 - 03-96 - Never Can Say Goodbye - Jackson 5
178 - 02-95 - I'll Keep Holding On - Marvelettes
179 - 02-95 - My World Is Empty Without You - Supremes
180 - 04-94 - Part-Time Lover - Stevie Wonder
181 - 04-93 - The Girl's Alright With Me - Temptations
182 - 03-93 - Isn't She Lovely - Steveie Wonder
183 - 02-93 - More Love - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
184 - 02-93 - I Wanna Be Where You Are -- Michael Jackson
185 - 04-92 - Something About You - Four Tops
186 - 02-91 - Does Your Mama Know About Me - Bobby Taylor & Vancouvers
187 - 02-91 - (You Can) Depend On Me - Miracles
188 - 02-89 - Sad Souvenirs - Four Tops
189 - 02-88 - One More Heartache - Marvin Gaye
190 - 02-87 - Come Get to This – Marvin Gaye
191 - 02-86 - The Night - Frankie Valli & Four Seasons
192 - 03-85 - Super Freak - Rick James
193 - 02-82 - Contract On Love - Stevie Wonder
194 - 02-82 - I'll Cry Tomorrow - Serenaders
195 - 02-82 - It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Boyz II Men
196 - 03-80 - My Old Piano - Diana Ross
197 - 02-79 - Old Love (Let's Try It Again) - Mary Wells
198 - 02-79 - Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) - Monitors
199 - 02-78 - Being With You - Smokey Robinson
200 - 02-77 - Angel - Satintones
201 - 03-75 - Neither One of Us - Gladys Knight & Pips
202 - 02-74 - I Need Your Lovin' - Teena Marie
203 - 02-74 - My Smile Is Just A Frown - Carolyn Crawford
204 - 02-71 - Theme From Mahogany - Diana Ross
205 - 02-70 - The Happening - Supremes
206 - 02-70 - River Deep Mountain High - Supremes & Four Tops
207 - 02-70 - U.N.I.T.Y. - Queen Latifah
208 - 02-69 - Give It To Me, Baby - Rick James
209 - 02-68 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Jr. Walker & the All-Stars
210 - 02-67 - All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
211 - 03-66 - I Love Your Smile - Shanice
212 - 02-66 - Devil With The Blue Dress On - Shorty Long
213 - 03-65 - My Whole World Ended - David Ruffin
214 - 02-65 - It's Growing - Temptations
215 - 02-64 - Baby Don't You Do It - Marvin Gaye
216 - 02-64 - Give Me Your Love - Sisters Love
217 - 02-63 - You're Gonna Love My Baby - Barbara McNair
218 - 03-62 - Up The Ladder To The Roof - Supremes
219 - 02-62 - One Day in Your Life - Michael Jackson
220 - 02-61 - If I Should Die Tonight - Marvin Gaye
221 - 02-59 - Love Machine - Miracles
222 - 02-59 - Come To Me - Marv Johnson
223 - 02-59 - End of The Road - Boyz II Men
224 - 02-59 - Flyin' High In The Friendly Sky - Marvin Gaye
225 - 02-59 - Your Wonderful Love - Temptations
226 - 03-58 - Shake & Fingerpop - Jr. Walker & All Stars
227 - 02-58 - My Baby - Temptations
228 - 02-58 - Love Me All the Way - Kim Weston
229 - 02-55 - Bag Lady - Erykah Badu
230 - 02-55 - You're My Everything - Temptations
231 - 02-54 - They Won’t Go When I Go - Stevie Wonder
232 - 02-51 - What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One - Mary Wells
233 - 02-51 - Nightshift - Commodores
234 - 02-50 - Come On And See Me - Tammi Terrell
235 - 02-49 - That's The Way Love Is - Marvin Gaye
236 - 02-47 - Motownphilly - Boyz II Men
237 - 02-46 - If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
238 - 02-43 - Help Me Make It Through the Night - Gladys Knight & The Pips
239 - 02-37 - What's So Good About Good-By - Miracles
240 - 02-37 - Your Precious Love - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
======================================================================


Song #8 is up now. This one started a whole new sound for Motown as the 1960s ended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NWhFo3B8Q0
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Some comments from an e-mail voter:

Hymie was kind enough to let me share a few thoughts and memories regarding the Motown balloting. The story the Motown Junkies wrote about Fingertips Part 2 is a true one. The bass player yells out " what key what key " and his words make it onto the record. The one error though is that the act the musician got stuck with on stage was NOT the Marvelettes. I grew up playing bass and subscribing to Bass Player magazine. The story was reported decades ago and must still be a source of amusement to any of the players who were on stage. The incident occurred in Chicago and the bassist, whose name is Joseph Swift, was Mary Wells' band leader. He also played in her rhythm section. Since the gig was in 1963 and the label had it's biggest acts performing, you can assume that Earl Van Dyke was on keyboards. Now listen very carefully to him just after Joe calls out. Earl plays three descending notes in his left hand. They are the C below middle C, then a G and finally a lower C. They are the root and 5th of a C major chord signaling that Stevie was in the key of C. I know he was. I played along with the record on my piano.

Some years ago all the music teachers like myself in the Paterson Public Schools system attended an In-Service. A young black lady was introduced who told us she had left her job at Motown to devote her life to working in music with inner city kids. I spoke to her ( of course! ) and mentioned Frank Wilson. She told me Berry knew he wasn't a strong vocalist but liked the young man very much mainly because he had a college degree in accounting. There's a pretty high teacher turnover rate in my system. I never saw that lady again!

Frank Aita
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #8 is "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5, from 1969. It was released by Motown on October 7, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on October 18, 1969 on Diana Ross's The Hollywood Palace and on their milestone performance on December 14, 1969 on The Ed Sullivan Show.


It went to number one on the Soul singles chart for four weeks and held the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week ending January 31, 1970. "I Want You Back" was ranked 121st on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1999, "I Want You Back" was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Originally considered for Gladys Knight & the Pips and later for Diana Ross, as "I Wanna Be Free", "I Want You Back" explores the theme of a lover who decides that he was too hasty in dropping his partner. An unusual aspect about "I Want You Back" was that its main lead vocal was performed by a tween, Michael Jackson. The song was written and produced by The Corporation, a team comprising Motown chief Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell, and Deke Richards.


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Song #7 is up now. This one was listed on 26 of the 44 ballots and had 1301 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgPkbFzTejg
Hymie
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #7 is the mega-hit, "Reach Out, I'll Be There," by the Four Tops, from 1966. This one topped both the Billboard R&B chart, and their Pop chart. It also got to #1 in the UK. Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is one of the best known Motown tunes of the 1960s, and is today considered The Tops' signature song. Rolling Stone later ranked this record number 206 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that some suggest straddles the line between singing and shouting, as he did in 1965's "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)". AllMusic critic Ed Hogan praises Stubb's vocal, as well as the song's "rock-solid groove" and "dramatic, semi-operatic tension and release." Critic Martin Charles Strong calls the song "a soul symphony of epic proportions that remains [the Four Tops'] signature tune."

In 2014, interviewed by The Guardian, Four Tops singer Duke Fakir said:

Eddie realised that when Levi hit the top of his vocal range, it sounded like someone hurting, so he made him sing right up there. Levi complained, but we knew he loved it. Every time they thought he was at the top, he would reach a little further until you could hear the tears in his voice. The line "Just look over your shoulder" was something he threw in spontaneously. Levi was very creative like that, always adding something extra from the heart.


RANK-BALLOT-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
007 - 26-1301 - Reach Out I'll Be There - Four Tops
008 - 24-1107 - I Want You Back - Jackson 5
009 - 22-1033 - Living For The City - Stevie Wonder
010 - 22-987 - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - Temptations
011 - 26-960 - Please Mr Postman - Marvelettes
012 - 22-934 - The Tears of a Clown - Miracles
013 - 20-891 - Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
014 - 24-884 - You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Miracles
015 - 21-872 - Do You Love Me - Contours
016 - 20-872 - Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes
017 - 22-846 - Baby I Need Your Lovin' - Four Tops
018 - 22-845 - Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas
019 - 20-844 - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
020 - 19-799 - My Guy - Mary Wells
021 - 22-775 - Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
022 - 21-765 - I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
023 - 19-734 - Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
024 - 15-730 - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
025 - 19-715 - Stop! In The Name Of Love – Supremes
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
=======================================================================
158 - 02-110 - I'm Still Waiting - Diana Ross
159 - 04-109 - Too High - Stevie Wonder
160 - 02-109 - My Baby Loves Me - Martha & Vandellas
161 - 03-108 - Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
162 - 04-106 - Leaving Here - Eddie Holland
163 - 03-103 - Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson
164 - 03-103 - Your Baby's Back - Downbeats
165 - 02-103 - Love Hangover - Diana Ross
166 - 02-102 - First I Look at the Purse - Contours
166 - 02-102 - Golden Lady - Stevie Wonder
168 - 02-102 - There's a Ghost in My House - R. Dean Taylor
169 - 03-100 - Take Me In Your Arms - Kim Weston
170 - 03-100 - My Girl Has Gone - Miracles
171 - 05-99 - Back In My Arms Again - Supremes
172 - 03-99 - What Love Has Joined Together - Temptations
173 - 03-99 - Another Star - Stevie Wonder
174 - 02-99 - What's Happenin' Brother - Marvin Gaye
175 - 03-97 - That Day When She Needed Me - Contours
176 - 02-97 - Let It Whip - Dazz Band
177 - 03-96 - Never Can Say Goodbye - Jackson 5
178 - 02-95 - I'll Keep Holding On - Marvelettes
179 - 02-95 - My World Is Empty Without You - Supremes
180 - 04-94 - Part-Time Lover - Stevie Wonder
181 - 04-93 - The Girl's Alright With Me - Temptations
182 - 03-93 - Isn't She Lovely - Steveie Wonder
183 - 02-93 - More Love - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
184 - 02-93 - I Wanna Be Where You Are -- Michael Jackson
185 - 04-92 - Something About You - Four Tops
186 - 02-91 - Does Your Mama Know About Me - Bobby Taylor & Vancouvers
187 - 02-91 - (You Can) Depend On Me - Miracles
188 - 02-89 - Sad Souvenirs - Four Tops
189 - 02-88 - One More Heartache - Marvin Gaye
190 - 02-87 - Come Get to This – Marvin Gaye
191 - 02-86 - The Night - Frankie Valli & Four Seasons
192 - 03-85 - Super Freak - Rick James
193 - 02-82 - Contract On Love - Stevie Wonder
194 - 02-82 - I'll Cry Tomorrow - Serenaders
195 - 02-82 - It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Boyz II Men
196 - 03-80 - My Old Piano - Diana Ross
197 - 02-79 - Old Love (Let's Try It Again) - Mary Wells
198 - 02-79 - Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) - Monitors
199 - 02-78 - Being With You - Smokey Robinson
200 - 02-77 - Angel - Satintones
201 - 03-75 - Neither One of Us - Gladys Knight & Pips
202 - 02-74 - I Need Your Lovin' - Teena Marie
203 - 02-74 - My Smile Is Just A Frown - Carolyn Crawford
204 - 02-71 - Theme From Mahogany - Diana Ross
205 - 02-70 - The Happening - Supremes
206 - 02-70 - River Deep Mountain High - Supremes & Four Tops
207 - 02-70 - U.N.I.T.Y. - Queen Latifah
208 - 02-69 - Give It To Me, Baby - Rick James
209 - 02-68 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Jr. Walker & the All-Stars
210 - 02-67 - All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
211 - 03-66 - I Love Your Smile - Shanice
212 - 02-66 - Devil With The Blue Dress On - Shorty Long
213 - 03-65 - My Whole World Ended - David Ruffin
214 - 02-65 - It's Growing - Temptations
215 - 02-64 - Baby Don't You Do It - Marvin Gaye
216 - 02-64 - Give Me Your Love - Sisters Love
217 - 02-63 - You're Gonna Love My Baby - Barbara McNair
218 - 03-62 - Up The Ladder To The Roof - Supremes
219 - 02-62 - One Day in Your Life - Michael Jackson
220 - 02-61 - If I Should Die Tonight - Marvin Gaye
221 - 02-59 - Love Machine - Miracles
222 - 02-59 - Come To Me - Marv Johnson
223 - 02-59 - End of The Road - Boyz II Men
224 - 02-59 - Flyin' High In The Friendly Sky - Marvin Gaye
225 - 02-59 - Your Wonderful Love - Temptations
226 - 03-58 - Shake & Fingerpop - Jr. Walker & All Stars
227 - 02-58 - My Baby - Temptations
228 - 02-58 - Love Me All the Way - Kim Weston
229 - 02-55 - Bag Lady - Erykah Badu
230 - 02-55 - You're My Everything - Temptations
231 - 02-54 - They Won’t Go When I Go - Stevie Wonder
232 - 02-51 - What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One - Mary Wells
233 - 02-51 - Nightshift - Commodores
234 - 02-50 - Come On And See Me - Tammi Terrell
235 - 02-49 - That's The Way Love Is - Marvin Gaye
236 - 02-47 - Motownphilly - Boyz II Men
237 - 02-46 - If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
238 - 02-43 - Help Me Make It Through the Night - Gladys Knight & The Pips
239 - 02-37 - What's So Good About Good-By - Miracles
240 - 02-37 - Your Precious Love - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

========================================================================


We are up to song #6. It's another masterpiece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d88okgCrKus
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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Song #6 is "The Tracks of My Tears"by the Miracles, from 1965. It was listed on 28 of the 44 ballots. Only two other songs were listed on as many or more ballots. The single reached #2 on the Billboard Soul chart, and amazingly, only peaked at #16 on the Pop chart. It was written by three members of the group, Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin.

In the five-LP publication The Motown Story, by Motown Records, Robinson explained the origin of this song in these words: "'Tracks of My Tears' was actually started by Marv Tarplin, who is a young cat who plays guitar for our act. So he had this musical thing [sings melody], you know, and we worked around with it, and worked around, and it became 'Tracks of My Tears'." Tarplin's guitar licks at the song's intro are among the most famous in pop music history.

The Miracles' recording of "The Tracks of My Tears" ranked at #50 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004; the track was also a 2007 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame. On May 14, 2008, the track was preserved by the United States Library of Congress as an "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significance" to the National Recording Registry. The song "The Tracks of My Tears" was also awarded "The Award Of Merit" from The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) for Miracles members/composers Pete Moore, Marv Tarplin, and Smokey Robinson.

Ranked by the RIAA and the National Endowment for the Arts at number 127 in its list of the Songs of the Century - the 365 Greatest Songs of the 20th Century - "The Tracks of My Tears" was also chosen as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Additionally the song ranked at number 5 of the "Top 10 Best Songs of All Time" by a panel of 20 top industry songwriters and producers including Hal David, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Jerry Leiber, and others as reported to Britain's Mojo music magazine.


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Time to enter the Top 5 Motown tracks, as we voted them. Song #5 is up now. Anybody like drum intros?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftdZ363R9kQ
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
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Re: Best Motown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

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The #5 song on the countdown is "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, from 1972. Acclaimed Music lists this as the most acclaimed song of 1972, and it ranks in the top 40 ,most acclaimed songs of all time. The single topped the Billboard Soul chart for the first 3 weeks of 1973. It also topped the Pop chart for one week. It reached #11 in the UK.

Jeff Beck was an admirer of Wonder's music, and Wonder was informed of this prior to the Talking Book album sessions. Though at this point he was virtually playing all of the instruments on his songs by himself, Wonder preferred to let other guitarists play on his records, and he liked the idea of a collaboration with Beck. An agreement was quickly made for Beck to become involved in the sessions that became the Talking Book album, in return for Wonder writing him a song.

Between the album sessions, Beck came up with the opening drum beat. Wonder told Beck to keep playing while he improvised over the top of it. He improvised most of the song, including the riff, on the spot. Beck and Wonder created a rough demo for the song that day.

After finishing the song, Wonder decided that he would allow Beck to record "Superstition" as part of their agreement. Originally, the plan was for Beck to release his version of the song first, with his newly formed power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice. However, due to the combination of the trio's debut album getting delayed and Motown CEO Berry Gordy's prediction that "Superstition" would be a huge hit and greatly increase the sales of Talking Book, Wonder released the song as the Talking Book lead single months ahead of Beck's version, the latter being issued in March 1973 on the Beck, Bogert & Appice album.

On Wonder's recording, the song's opening drum beat was performed by Wonder on the kit that Scott Mathews provided at the Record Plant in Hollywood. The funky clavinet riff played on a Hohner Clavinet model C, the Moog synthesizer bass, and the vocals were also performed by Wonder. In addition, the song features trumpet and tenor saxophone, played respectively by Steve Madaio and Trevor Laurence.


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE-ARTIST
005 - 25-1358 - Superstition - Stevie Wonder
006 - 28-1310 - The Tracks of My Tears - Miracles
007 - 26-1301 - Reach Out I'll Be There - Four Tops
008 - 24-1107 - I Want You Back - Jackson 5
009 - 22-1033 - Living For The City - Stevie Wonder
010 - 22-987 - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - Temptations
011 - 26-960 - Please Mr Postman - Marvelettes
012 - 22-934 - The Tears of a Clown - Miracles
013 - 20-891 - Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
014 - 24-884 - You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Miracles
015 - 21-872 - Do You Love Me - Contours
016 - 20-872 - Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes
017 - 22-846 - Baby I Need Your Lovin' - Four Tops
018 - 22-845 - Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas
019 - 20-844 - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
020 - 19-799 - My Guy - Mary Wells
021 - 22-775 - Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
022 - 21-765 - I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
023 - 19-734 - Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
024 - 15-730 - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
025 - 19-715 - Stop! In The Name Of Love – Supremes
026 - 14-698 - War - Edwin Starr
027 - 17-696 - Shop Around - Miracles
028 - 15-693 - Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
029 - 16-690 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
030 - 15-673 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
031 - 16-647 - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
032 - 14-613 - You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
033 - 14-612 - Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles
034 - 18-609 - Just My Imagination - Temptations
035 - 12-583 - Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
036 - 13-578 - This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
037 - 14-571 - You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
038 - 11-550 - Fight The Power - Public Enemy
039 - 15-514 - Come See About Me - Supremes
040 - 13-506 - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
041 - 12-505 - Baby Love - Supremes
042 - 13-499 - The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
043 - 12-453 - I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
044 - 11-451 - Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
045 - 09-410 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
046 - 11-402 - Ball of Confusion - Temptations
047 - 10-395 - As - Stevie Wonder
048 - 10-367 - Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
049 - 10-366 - Cloud Nine - Temptations
050 - 10-366 - Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
051 - 12-359 - Get Ready - Temptations
052 - 09-352 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
053 - 10-351 - Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
054 - 08-338 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
055 - 08-337 - You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
056 - 10-326 - Fingertips - Little Stevie Wonder
057 - 10-325 - I'll Be There - Jackson 5
058 - 09-321 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) - Frank Wilson
059 - 08-321 - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
060 - 10-319 - (I Know) I'm Losing You - Temptations
061 - 10-313 - I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
062 - 09-313 - I Was Made To Love Her - Stevie Wonder
063 - 07-311 - I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations
064 - 09-300 - ABC - Jackson 5
065 - 10-295 - It's The Same Old Song - Four Tops
066 - 06-290 - Visions - Stevie Wonder
067 - 06-288 - Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
068 - 06-287 - Needle in a Haystack – Velvelettes
069 - 07-285 - Baby I'm For Real - Originals
070 - 08-283 - Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
071 - 10-278 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
072 - 07-276 - Twenty-Five Miles - Edwin Starr
073 - 06-270 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
074 - 09-269 - Jimmy Mack – Martha and Vandellas
075 - 07-266 - Bernadette - Four Tops
076 - 06-263 - For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
077 - 09-260 - Ask The Lonely - Four Tops
078 - 06-253 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
079 - 06-249 - The Love You Save - Jackson 5
080 - 07-247 - I'm Coming Out - Diane Ross
081 - 06-243 - I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
082 - 08-240 - You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
083 - 06-240 - I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
084 - 08-238 - Smiling Faces Sometimes – Undisputed Truth
085 - 05-238 - Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
086 - 08-235 - Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
087 - 04-229 - Bad Girl - Miracles
088 - 04-226 - Get Ready - Rare Earth
089 - 07-225 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
090 - 06-224 - I Wish - Stevie Wonder
091 - 05-223 - Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
092 - 07-221 - Heaven Must Have Sent You - Elgins
093 - 07-221 - Too Many Fish In The Sea - Marvelettes
094 - 06-215 - Brick House - Commodores
095 - 04-215 - Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
096 - 05-214 - Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes
097 - 05-212 - Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
098 - 07-210 - Going to a Go-Go - Miracles
099 - 06-210 - It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
100 - 05-207 - You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
101 - 05-204 - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes
102 - 04-203 - Strange I Know - Marvelettes
103 - 06-200 - Someday We'll Be Together - Supremes
104 - 03-196 - Envious - Linda Griner
105 - 06-194 - Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
106 - 05-191 - Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
107 - 04-191 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles
108 - 04-190 - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
109 - 06-189 - Mickey's Monkey - Miracles
110 - 06-189 - Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
111 - 05-187 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Miracles
112 - 05-186 - It's A Shame - Spinners
113 - 05-185 - The Bells - Originals
114 - 06-184 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye
115 - 07-180 - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes
116 - 04-180 - Forever - Marvelettes
117 - 05-169 - Love Child - Supremes
118 - 04-168 - Funny - Contours
119 - 06-165 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye
120 - 05-161 - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - Supremes
121 - 04-161 - Way Over There - Miracles
122 - 03-161 - Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
123 - 04-157 - Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
124 - 06-156 - Standing In The Shadows of Love - Four Tops
125 - 04-156 - Walk Away Renee - Four Tops
126 - 05-155 - Easy- Commodores
127 - 05-155 - Don't Look Back - Temptations
128 - 03-154 - Function at the Junction - Shorty Long
129 - 05-149 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & Pips
130 - 05-147 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
131 - 04-142 - Playboy - Marvelettes
132 - 04-142 - You'll Lose A Precious Love - Temptations
133 - 04-142 - Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
134 - 05-139 - You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
135 - 04-139 - Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & Pips
136 - 04-136 - I Hear A Symphony - Supremes
137 - 03-136 - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - Marvelettes
138 - 03-135 - Paradise - Temptations
139 - 05-134 - (I'm A) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
140 - 05-131 - Quicksand - Martha & The Vandellas
141 - 03-131 - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and Temptations
142 - 03-131 - Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - Stevie Wonder
143 - 02-130 - You’re My Desire – Equadors
144 - 02-128 - Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
145 - 02-125 - A Favor For a Girl - Brenda Holloway
146 - 03-124 - I'll Turn To Stone - Four Tops
147 - 03-124 - Hello - Lionel Richie
148 - 04-123 - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
149 - 03-123 - Would I Love You - Miracles
150 - 04-119 - Seven Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops
151 - 03-117 - A Fork In The Road - Miracles
152 - 05-115 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
153 - 04-115 - I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
154 - 03-114 - Reflections - Supremes
155 - 02-114 - Square Biz - Teena Marie
156 - 04-113 - Two Lovers - Mary Wells
157 - 03-111 - The Only One I Love - Miracles
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158 - 02-110 - I'm Still Waiting - Diana Ross
159 - 04-109 - Too High - Stevie Wonder
160 - 02-109 - My Baby Loves Me - Martha & Vandellas
161 - 03-108 - Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
162 - 04-106 - Leaving Here - Eddie Holland
163 - 03-103 - Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson
164 - 03-103 - Your Baby's Back - Downbeats
165 - 02-103 - Love Hangover - Diana Ross
166 - 02-102 - First I Look at the Purse - Contours
166 - 02-102 - Golden Lady - Stevie Wonder
168 - 02-102 - There's a Ghost in My House - R. Dean Taylor
169 - 03-100 - Take Me In Your Arms - Kim Weston
170 - 03-100 - My Girl Has Gone - Miracles
171 - 05-99 - Back In My Arms Again - Supremes
172 - 03-99 - What Love Has Joined Together - Temptations
173 - 03-99 - Another Star - Stevie Wonder
174 - 02-99 - What's Happenin' Brother - Marvin Gaye
175 - 03-97 - That Day When She Needed Me - Contours
176 - 02-97 - Let It Whip - Dazz Band
177 - 03-96 - Never Can Say Goodbye - Jackson 5
178 - 02-95 - I'll Keep Holding On - Marvelettes
179 - 02-95 - My World Is Empty Without You - Supremes
180 - 04-94 - Part-Time Lover - Stevie Wonder
181 - 04-93 - The Girl's Alright With Me - Temptations
182 - 03-93 - Isn't She Lovely - Steveie Wonder
183 - 02-93 - More Love - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
184 - 02-93 - I Wanna Be Where You Are -- Michael Jackson
185 - 04-92 - Something About You - Four Tops
186 - 02-91 - Does Your Mama Know About Me - Bobby Taylor & Vancouvers
187 - 02-91 - (You Can) Depend On Me - Miracles
188 - 02-89 - Sad Souvenirs - Four Tops
189 - 02-88 - One More Heartache - Marvin Gaye
190 - 02-87 - Come Get to This – Marvin Gaye
191 - 02-86 - The Night - Frankie Valli & Four Seasons
192 - 03-85 - Super Freak - Rick James
193 - 02-82 - Contract On Love - Stevie Wonder
194 - 02-82 - I'll Cry Tomorrow - Serenaders
195 - 02-82 - It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Boyz II Men
196 - 03-80 - My Old Piano - Diana Ross
197 - 02-79 - Old Love (Let's Try It Again) - Mary Wells
198 - 02-79 - Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) - Monitors
199 - 02-78 - Being With You - Smokey Robinson
200 - 02-77 - Angel - Satintones
201 - 03-75 - Neither One of Us - Gladys Knight & Pips
202 - 02-74 - I Need Your Lovin' - Teena Marie
203 - 02-74 - My Smile Is Just A Frown - Carolyn Crawford
204 - 02-71 - Theme From Mahogany - Diana Ross
205 - 02-70 - The Happening - Supremes
206 - 02-70 - River Deep Mountain High - Supremes & Four Tops
207 - 02-70 - U.N.I.T.Y. - Queen Latifah
208 - 02-69 - Give It To Me, Baby - Rick James
209 - 02-68 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Jr. Walker & the All-Stars
210 - 02-67 - All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
211 - 03-66 - I Love Your Smile - Shanice
212 - 02-66 - Devil With The Blue Dress On - Shorty Long
213 - 03-65 - My Whole World Ended - David Ruffin
214 - 02-65 - It's Growing - Temptations
215 - 02-64 - Baby Don't You Do It - Marvin Gaye
216 - 02-64 - Give Me Your Love - Sisters Love
217 - 02-63 - You're Gonna Love My Baby - Barbara McNair
218 - 03-62 - Up The Ladder To The Roof - Supremes
219 - 02-62 - One Day in Your Life - Michael Jackson
220 - 02-61 - If I Should Die Tonight - Marvin Gaye
221 - 02-59 - Love Machine - Miracles
222 - 02-59 - Come To Me - Marv Johnson
223 - 02-59 - End of The Road - Boyz II Men
224 - 02-59 - Flyin' High In The Friendly Sky - Marvin Gaye
225 - 02-59 - Your Wonderful Love - Temptations
226 - 03-58 - Shake & Fingerpop - Jr. Walker & All Stars
227 - 02-58 - My Baby - Temptations
228 - 02-58 - Love Me All the Way - Kim Weston
229 - 02-55 - Bag Lady - Erykah Badu
230 - 02-55 - You're My Everything - Temptations
231 - 02-54 - They Won’t Go When I Go - Stevie Wonder
232 - 02-51 - What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One - Mary Wells
233 - 02-51 - Nightshift - Commodores
234 - 02-50 - Come On And See Me - Tammi Terrell
235 - 02-49 - That's The Way Love Is - Marvin Gaye
236 - 02-47 - Motownphilly - Boyz II Men
237 - 02-46 - If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
238 - 02-43 - Help Me Make It Through the Night - Gladys Knight & The Pips
239 - 02-37 - What's So Good About Good-By - Miracles
240 - 02-37 - Your Precious Love - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
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Only 4 songs left now, and I think everybody knows what they are. But what order are they in?

Song #4 is up now. We heard two versions of "Get Ready" on the countdown, Rare Earth, and the Temptations. Song #4 is another version of a song that already appeared on the countdown by a different artist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAPj9oP4q_w
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