Help me form a collection of good Motown tunes.

Cafe Society
1

I’ve really been getting into Motown this month, and I’d like to form some kind of definitive collection of songs and/or albums. The problem? I’m not terribly clear on what is Motown and what is not. In fact, I really don’t know much about it at all. Nor am I really sure what bands/artists to check out. I thought I’d make a list of some of the artists/songs I already have or want to get, and hope someone on here is familiar with the subject enough to expand my horizons. It’s always been a safe bet before. So. . . .

R.E.S.P.E.C.T./Rescue Me - Aretha Franklin
Where Did Our Love Go? - The Supremes
He’s So Fine - The Shirelles?
Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson
Build Me Up Buttercup - ??
Lady marmalde - Patti LaBelle

Also, are the Rightous Brothers thought to have a Motown sound?

2

Uhhhh, Lady Marmalade.

3

Motown’s sound will be pretty well-defined by the following artists in the sixties and early seventies:

Diana Ross (with and without the Supremes), the Four Tops, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, the Contours, Barrett Strong, Marvin Gaye (with and without Tammi Terrell as a duet partner), Edwin Starr, Eddie Kendricks, Levi Stubbs, the Jackson Five, David Ruffin.

I’m sure I must be missing some artists here, but nothing too huge. I’m not counting Rare Earth, for example, although they were signed on a self-named Motown subsidiary, because they aren’t quite “classic” Motown.

The Righteous Brothers were part of Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound stable of artists…the Shirelles slightly pre-date Motown, and were on Sceptor Records, and Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle were both on Atlantic. “Build Me Up Buttercup” was the Foundations…I’m not sure, but I think they recorded for 20th Century Fox Records.

Now, if you want to expand your collection into the soul side of things, that’ll open up Aretha, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Carla Thomas, the Staple Singers and Booker T. and the MGs…Patti LaBelle falls halfway between soul and the girl groups like the Shirelles, but a little later.

Feel free to send me a private e-mail…I’ll be glad to recommend a few songs out of the collections I put together for myself. That’ll give me some time to check my collection and see if I missed anything.

4

todd33rpm did a nice job of listing a majority of the artists. For my Motown collection, I basically bought “best of’s” for most of the artists listed - I also think Rhino has a several-CD series for the best of Motown that might be the way to go. Of my Best Of’s, the ones I listen to most are:

Marvin Gaye (early stuff, goes without saying you should own What’s Goin’ On in its entirely and listen to it regularly, let alone Sexual Healing and other later stuff)

Temptations
Jackson 5
Martha Reeves and the Vandelas
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

I DON’T find myself listening to the Supremes much at all. Go figure.

PLEASE NOTE: A very big issue is that when people normally say “hey recommend to me some Motown”, what they are really saying is “hey, recommend to me some 60’s R&B” which is a different question entirely. If you are just interested in the Motown label, cool, go with Todd’s and my recommendations and the rec’s of others who post here. BUT, if you want a more complete covering of 60’s R&B you MUST include:

Stax Records - from Memphis, the Motown of the South, with amazing tracks by Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas, The Staple Singers, the list goes on and on and on. Most of the tracks covered by the Blues Brothers are Stax Tracks. Get Top of the Stax Volumes 1&2 and you will play them endlessly.

Hi Records - Al Green - need I say more? If you don’t already own the Best of Al Green (V1 is a must, V2 a lot of folks like just as well) you must must must get them. Also, Hi Fidelity is a great collection - has tracks like “Tryin’ to Live My Life Without You” (can’t remember the artist) and Al’s cover of “Radar Love” which rocks.

This is just off the top of my head. More may come to me. But seriously - the Motown stuff is excellent, but Stax and Hi at their best are just as good and in some cases, better.

5

Oh, and while I didn’t mention Aretha - its only because she is in her own category - as the greatest female vocalist of modern times. If you don’t own her 30 Greatest Hits collection, buy it immediately. RESPECT/Rescue Me, while amazing, don’t begin to cover what she is capable of. Additional must-own tracks (and this is just a starter list) include:

I’ve Never Loved a Man
Natural Woman
Think
Chain of Fools
House that Jack Built
Dr. Feelgood
Rock Steady (best drum work in a pop/rock tune, IMHO)
Bridge over Troubled Water (S&G get funky, oh my)
Eleanor Rigby
Say a Little Prayer for You
Spanish Harlem

Are you with on this? EVERY ONE of these songs is truly amazing, and I know I am missing key stuff. She is a national treasure.

6

Motown was a specific record label from Detroit whose glory days were from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. The easiest way to build up an instant Motown collection is to buy Hitsville USA, a 4-CD set of some of Motown’s bigger hits:

The tracks are nicely chosen and remastered.

Motown records was just one part of 1960s soul music, a much bigger phenomenon with many different branches, some of which todd33rpm has told you about.

The two main branches are Northern Soul (mostly Motown) and Southern Soul. Southern Soul was dominated by the Stax/Volt record label(s) who had artists like Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Booker T and the MGs, etc. etc. There’s a 4-CD set for Stax/Volt, as well:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004Z3ZW/qid=1059745941/sr=8-8/ref=sr_8_8/002-6196512-0614411?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

(There are also all sorts of other great non-Stax/Volt Southern Soul artists, like Joe Tex, Percy Sledge, etc.)

Then there are various other offshoots, like early 1960s New York pop (think the Shirelles), or New Orleans R&B (e.g. Aaron Neville). And there are later manifestations, like Philly soul and 1970s funk. But you can start out with Motown and Stax/Volt.

7

Well done, Wumpus - nice summary and specific CD recommendations. Lizard, the Wumpster (sorry, bad nicknames happen) offers a great starting place.

Any thoughts on my recommendations for Hi Records…? Here is the link to the CD in Amazon - appears to be out of print, but worth tracking down…

8

A good selection for starters would be “The Motown Story,” a five-record (vinyl) set.

And, no, I’m not parting with mine, but there are some on Ebay right now.

9

Nitpick: wasn’t “Rescue Me” Fontella Bass, not Aretha Franklin? Or did Aretha do a version of it?

Also, I would suggest adding in some Stevie Wonder – in general, the earlier the Stevie, the better. Well, maybe middle Stevie is best. Once you venture into “Part-Time Lover” territory, you’ve gone too far. My picks:
“Overjoyed”
“Always”
“Fingertips”
“Sir Duke”
“Hey Love”
“I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”
“Do I Do”
“Uptight”
“I Was Made to Love Her”
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered”
“My Cheri Amour”

Most, if not all, are songs you can sing along with, if you’ve listened to radio at all in the last ten years.

With “Higher Ground” “Boogie On Reggae Woman” “Living for the City” and “Superstition” you’re venturing more into funk than classic Motown but I still recommend their inclusion.

Can you tell I love me some Stevie? Holy cow.

10

And of course, once again, nobody mentions The Funk Brothers, who were directly responsible for the success of many of the artists mentioned in this thread. These guys were the best musicians Motown had to offer and wrote the music for everyone from The Temptations to Stevie Wonder. www.standingintheshadowofmotown.com has a list of the songs they performed the music for. See the film.

11

Wumpus is spot on. The Hitsville USA box set is an awesome and dare I say, indespensable part of any popular music fans collection.

There is also a second volume in the Hitsville USA series, which covers the 1970’s through the early 1990’s. while not quite as strong as the first volume, there are still a huge number of great tracks on it. Unfortunately, it may be out of print, but you should be able to get a used copy.

12

My picks – favorite tunes, by Motown artist:

Temptations: Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
Supremes: Where Did Our Love Go
Four Tops: Reach Out, I’ll Be There
Smokey: Tracks of my Tears
Marvelettes: Nowhere to Run
Marvin Gaye: Gotta Give it Up
Gladys Knight: I Heard it through the Grapevine
Stevie Wonder: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

13

My bad: Martha and the Vandellas sang “Nowhere to Run”. Favorite Marvellettes tune would be “Please Mr. Postman”.

14

Yes, “Rescue Me” is Fontella Bass (who, trivia note, was married to avant-garde jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie.) Great song, little known artist. There are tons of great 60s soul tunes like that out there.

Those who want an overview of 60s soul that includes those lesser-known artists and singles as well as the big names are advised to seek out Beg, Scream, and Shout, a six-CD set that Rhino put out back in '97. Sadly, it’s out of print, but you still may be able to scrounge one up at the local record store or on Ebay.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000003425/qid=1059770994/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-5093317-9737660?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

15

Of the big name Motown acts, Martha and the Vandellas and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles are the two that get the least appreciation. Both did many fine songs, but the number one Motown song of all time is “Heatwave” by M and the V. Turn it up loud and it will raise the dead.

16

There are scads of great Temptations tunes, such as:

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
Ball of Confusion
I Can’t Get Next to You
I Wish It Would Rain
Just My Imagination
My Girl
Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone
Cloud Nine
The Way You Do the Things You Do
… and on, and on. Those are just some of the more frequently-played ones on the oldies stations.

17

I suggest these 2 songs from

**the 4 Tops:

“I’ll be there” and
“Bernadette”**

18

I just wanted to add someone that I’ve only discovered this year, Gloria Jones. She sang the original Tainted Love. Check it out, definently a strong Motown feel.

She sang back up for T Rex and was driving the car when Marc Bolan died.

19

I guess I was a bit underinformed about how expansive the genre was. Believe it or not, I really had no idea of what type of soul existed in the 60s outside of “Motown.” And I also thought “Motown” signified a specific type of sound that originated in Detroit, the way people associate grunge with Seattle. I didn’t know it referred only to the label of that name.

Well, that’s why I started this thread, I guess.

20

Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye

Al Green is more associated with the Memphis sound. HI Records is based in Memphis, IIRC.

My favorites:

Supremes: Someday, We’ll Be Together
Marvin Gaye: Mercy Mercy Me
Jackson Five: I Want You Back
Temptations: Bernadette
Four Tops: My Girl
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: Tears of a Clown
Aretha Franklin: Think
Martha and the Vandellas: Dancin’ in the Streets