Today marks the 50th anniversary of arguably the most influential record company in pop music history, Motown (founded by Berry Gordy in Detroit back in 1959). Some of my fondest childhood musical memories are hearing songs like The Temptations’ My Girl (whose opening bass line, in terms of recognizability, is the R&B equivalent of the first four notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5) , You’re A Wonderful One by Marvin Gaye, Honey Chile by Martha and the Vandellas, If You Can Want by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, I Want You Back by The Jackson Five, and Shotgun by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars on the radio (courtesy of WAMM-AM 1420 out of Flint) and at weekend family get-togethers.
Years later when I went off to college, my friends and I would often have Motown music (via the “Big Chill” compilations and various mix tapes) playing as the backdrop to our dorm parties. I recall jokingly debating with a friend about who was better, The Temptations or The Supremes (my choice was the former). Another recollection is that although those classic Motown tracks were decades old when we were jamming to them, it didn’t matter because great music never goes out of style. For example, Marvin Gaye’s classic album What’s Going On was and still is powerful even though it was released back in 1971.
One of the great aspects about the creation of the CD is that it has caused labels like Motown to make available songs that were either forgotten or never released. Some of the best aural investments I’ve made were when I purchased discs by the aforementioned artists, plus other Motown acts such as Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Marvelettes, The Isley Brothers and Mary Wells. In addition to these single-artist discs, I also had the good fortune to come across a various artists two-CD set titled “A Cellarful of Motown”. It consists of 40 tracks from Motown’s vaults, most of which had never seen the light of day. Included in this amazing set were tunes by most of Motown’s major acts, plus gems by such artists as Barbara McNair (Baby A Go-Go), The Contours (Baby Hit and Run), and Chris Clark (Do I Love You). That’s one of the amazing things about Motown; the quality of their material was so high that even their unreleased tracks were superb.
To help set the mood while typing this post, I put together a “Motown Mix” including such tunes as Nowhere to Run by Martha & the Vandellas, Nothing’s Too Good for My Baby by Stevie Wonder and The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game by The Marvelettes. I’m not ashamed to admit that it took me longer than expected to write this post because there were several times when I stopped to clap my hands, snap my fingers, and play “air drums” to some of the greatest music ever created. Now that’s what I call Motown Magic!
What are some of your favorite Motown tunes? Who are your favorite Motown artists?
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