The most "scandalous" Motown songs.....

[marybrewster]

I thought an interesting topic might be to determine, and discuss, the most "scandalous" Motown songs; according to subject matter.

In the early 60's, the biggest worries were if a letter would arrive from the Postman. Pretty tame in comparison to the late 60's; concerned if a child would be born out of wedlock.

Here's a few I can think of:

"Love Child", the obvious choice. A girl laments about getting pregnant before marriage; just as she bore the "name of shame".

"Papa Was a Rolling Stone". Song of an absent father, with "another wife" and "three outside children". Papa also "drank, stole and chased women".

"Super Freak. A "kinky" girl, that thinks "three's not a crowd".

These are just a few examples. Can you think of more? Clearly, these are much more "progressive" than "first love".....

[marv2]

Probably the worst was Smokey's "Virgin Man"! Followed up closely by Eddie Kendricks, "Cream off the Crop" LOL!


The Supremes, "Floy Joy" could be viewed as "scandalous" as it is essentially a song in praise of a player, gigolo and if you really push the envelope.....a pimp! LOL!!!

[Ngroove]

"Nail It To The Wall", under the context that it is coming out of Stacy Lattisaw, formely of "When You're Young And In Love", "Let Me Be Your Angel", and "Miracles".

"Forever", Marvelettes / Marvin Gaye, and "Free Me From My Freedom [[Tie Me To A Tree)", Bonnie Pointer, the singer willing to be a slave [[metaphorically) for love, if that's what it takes.

"High On Your Love Suite / One Mo Hit" - Rick James. Yes, it is Rick James, after all, and is to be expected from him, but somehow I just find his constant flippant shooting off "Get High!" and "Get Stoned!" a little extra hilariously over the top.

OK, add one more from Rick; "Love Gun". For a while, I actually thought he was singing about some "magical gun", until one day, my brother caught me listening to it, asked me "What the Hell are you listening?" then told me what it's actually about.

[thanxal]

Wasn't "Buttered Popcorn" a double entendre for, well, you know...

[mickeymac]

Just about any Rick James songs. He wasn't the superfreak for nothing!

[johnny_raven]

The Supremes ...

Once In The Morning [[Cocaine addiction)

[rovereab]

Going Down For The Third Time - Supremes

[MIKEW-UK]

Blackmail..... Bobby Taylor

[MIKEW-UK]

HOLLY Smokey Robinson

[MIKEW-UK]

SHE'S ONLY A BABY HERSELF SMOKEY

[MIKEW-UK]

[marv2]

Ok, alright. Here are few more:

Marvin Gaye - You Sure Love to Ball

Rick James - Mary Jane

The Originals - Down to Love Town

High Inergy - You Can't Turn Me Off

The Miracles - Do It Baby

[BayouMotownMan]

I Was Born This Way, done by two different Motown artists.

[arr&bee]

holly smokey robinson

hey mike,you nailed it...holly is perhaps the saddest tale ever to come from the pen of smokey,of course it's beautiful too...only smokey.

[justanothermotownfan]

Smokey's The Agony and The Ecstasy...

[midnightman]

Marvin's entire I Want You album.



"Flying High" from What's Going On dealing with drug addiction [[particularly heroin, or "boy").

"Inner City Blues" talking about police brutality and taxes.

Shoot, besides from Rick James, Marvin was probably Motown's most controversial artist in terms of material.

Stevie's "Too High" was also a little heavy for its time.

[midnightman]

I Was Born This Way, done by two different Motown artists.

The fact that Motown was able to release songs about being proud and gay in 1975 was groundbreaking, to say the least.

[soulster]

"Super Freak. A "kinky" girl, that thinks "three's not a crowd".

I like me some kinky girls!

[midnightman]

It has to be said that when Motown released "Mary Jane", as Kerry Gordy pointed out, almost no one in Motown knew what Rick was talking about. Took me until "Friday" to realize he was singing about weed [[Scarface was influenced by that song to do a similarly titled song where he talked about weed as well lol). It was a nice double entendre. It was also a song where RJ got in trouble onstage with [[along with "Fire It Up") when he would bring a reefer onstage and yell "CAN I SMOKE IT!?" He got arrested a few times for doing that lol

Also don't forget the mention of quaaludes in "Super Freak". How that escaped the Motown brass, I don't know. But I guess when they heard a classic, they didn't question it since RJ was bringing Motown the bacon lol

[Ngroove]

"Fire & Desire" - When Rick does the rare "love song", he absolutely WAILS it, and when given equally passionate partner, Teena Marie, too! An all-time staple of the "quiet storm" since, what started as heating reignited tension between two players, comes the ending "twist" that they are, as they are singing their re-meeting by chance, now [[then) "living" with other people.

[soulster]

It has to be said that when Motown released "Mary Jane", as Kerry Gordy pointed out, almost no one in Motown knew what Rick was talking about. Took me until "Friday" to realize he was singing about weed [[Scarface was influenced by that song to do a similarly titled song where he talked about weed as well lol). It was a nice double entendre. It was also a song where RJ got in trouble onstage with [[along with "Fire It Up") when he would bring a reefer onstage and yell "CAN I SMOKE IT!?" He got arrested a few times for doing that lol

Also don't forget the mention of quaaludes in "Super Freak". How that escaped the Motown brass, I don't know. But I guess when they heard a classic, they didn't question it since RJ was bringing Motown the bacon lol

Rick James once stated that just about every song he ever wrote was about his love affair with pot. My favorite: "You Bring The Freak Out".

[soulster]

"Fire & Desire" - When Rick does the rare "love song", he absolutely WAILS it, and when given equally passionate partner, Teena Marie, too! An all-time staple of the "quiet storm" since, what started as heating reignited tension between two players, comes the ending "twist" that they are, as they are singing their re-meeting by chance, now [[then) "living" with other people.

And, she sang that in one take directly before going into the hospital for pneumonia. She did that because she didn't want to let Rick down.

[sansradio]

Diana Ross's "Sleepin'."

[reese]

The Miracles' WHO'S GONNA TAKE THE BLAME. The last verse says the main character became a "woman of the streets." Not sure if it means she was a prostitute or just into shady activity. I suppose you can come to your own conclusion. Another great Ashford/Simpson composition.

[marv2]

This is a great thread!

How about the Temptations:

"Masterpiece" and "Message From a Black Man"

[midnightman]

And, she sang that in one take directly before going into the hospital for pneumonia. She did that because she didn't want to let Rick down.

Amazing how she did that entire song while having pneumonia!

[lockhartgary]

"Does Your Mama Know About Me" by Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers. Although the overall message is one of tolerance, it's never explicitly stated what "know about me" is. Being that the song was released during the civil rights era, that is where my mind goes [[interracial dating.) But it could also be interpreted as gay or ex-con or maybe something else. Maybe not scandalous like the other mentions, but could have been scandalous to some degree.

[marv2]

"Does Your Mama Know About Me" by Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers. Although the overall message is one of tolerance, it's never explicitly stated what "know about me" is. Being that the song was released during the civil rights era, that is where my mind goes [[interracial dating.) But it could also be interpreted as gay or ex-con or maybe something else. Maybe not scandalous like the other mentions, but could have been scandalous to some degree.

That is a good choice. I almost listed it here.

[soulster]

"Does Your Mama Know About Me" by Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers. Although the overall message is one of tolerance, it's never explicitly stated what "know about me" is. Being that the song was released during the civil rights era, that is where my mind goes [[interracial dating.) But it could also be interpreted as gay or ex-con or maybe something else. Maybe not scandalous like the other mentions, but could have been scandalous to some degree.

Because it was written during the 60s, i'm pretty sure it was about an interracial relationship.

[thisoldheart]

for pure innuendo ... "motoring" martha & the vandellas!

[sansradio]

How could we forget..."Cloud Nine"! [[Although Whitfield and various Tempts have been quite cagey over the years regarding its druggy subtext.)

[lockhartgary]

How could we forget..."Cloud Nine"! [[Although Whitfield and various Tempts have been quite cagey over the years regarding its druggy subtext.)

Berry Gordy himself considered it a drug song. I tend to agree with him.

[kenneth]

One of my favorite Marvelettes album tracks "The Stranger," about a one night stand.

"When I opened my eyes, he had vanished and gone...and in spite of the danger, I fell in love with the stranger."

A great Ivy Jo Hunter song, sung in a minor key by Wanda.

Gladys and the Pips did it too, but it was too upbeat, had no sex in it.

[captainjames]

A Breathtaking Guy and Love Hangover for me were very suggestive.

[midnightman]

"Cloud Nine" was obviously about marijuana lol

"You're as free as a bird in flight..." lol

It was during the psychedelic hippie era. Put two and two together haha

Even BUBBA KNIGHT mentioned the song was about weed.

[midnightman]

Here's another song: "I Wanna Talk to You" by Stevie

Mentioning racism. Even to the point he makes a duet between himself and a redneck [[also played by SW).

[sansradio]

"Cloud Nine" was obviously about marijuana lol

"You're as free as a bird in flight..." lol

It was during the psychedelic hippie era. Put two and two together haha

Even BUBBA KNIGHT mentioned the song was about weed.

No arguments from me! I was simply referring to the fact that The Tempts et al. have done some fancy footwork over the years [[no pun intended ) to deny it.

I remember riding with my older brother in his car in the 80s when it came on the radio. He laughingly told me that he would sing it at the top of his lungs as a kid, having no clue what he was singing about. LOL!!!

[marybrewster]

Thanks all for the great selections; funny when you look at the time period: nothing from the early 60's.....but as time progressed [[and especially in the 70's and 80's), it was pretty much anything goes!

[johnny_raven]

OK, how about this from the early '60's ...

Mary Wells - Two Lovers [[Bipolar disorder)

[lockhartgary]

Thanks all for the great selections; funny when you look at the time period: nothing from the early 60's.....but as time progressed [[and especially in the 70's and 80's), it was pretty much anything goes!

The Sound of Young America indeed!

[marv2]

One of the most controversial songs out of Motown:

the Temptations, "Run Charlie Run"

lyrics:

I watch you go to church on Sunday
But you forget all you learned on Monday
You see your smiling face can't hide
How you hate your brother inside

So I'ma telling you
Run, Charlie, run
Look the niggers are coming
[[The niggers are coming?)
Run, Charlie, run
Look the niggers are coming
[[The niggers are coming?)

You built this great big beautiful city
But you ran away and left it to die, what a pity
You could have made friends with your neighbor
But you are much too prejudiced to try, tell me why

So I'ma telling you
Run, Charlie, run
Look the niggers are coming
[[The niggers are coming?)
Run, Charlie, run
Look the niggers are coming
[[The niggers are coming?)

But the greatest wrong, you know you've done
Is you passed this sickness onto your son
[[Your one and only boy)
He came into this world with a mind so clean
You took it, molded it, and made it mean

So I'ma telling you
Run, Charlie, run
Look the niggers are coming
[[The niggers are coming?)
Run, Charlie, run
Look the niggers are coming
[[The niggers are coming?)

Songwriters: King, Maurice C. / Foreman, Jan
© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
For non-commercial use only.
Data From: LyricFind

[midnightman]

Diana's "I'm Coming Out". Nile Rodgers wrote it after seeing drag queens at a disco so definitely connotations with the gay community with that song. Diana allegedly didn't know the real reason the song was written but dug it because it had the funky sound she was looking for [[something she and Russ later remixed).

[Weslley Francisco]

Don't forget...
You Are The Heart of Me - The Supremes

[144man]

Barbara's Boy - Four Tops

"If he's mine I don't know; how can a man ever really know?"

[marv2]

Don't forget...
You Are The Heart of Me - The Supremes

I don't understand this one. Help me out here.

[midnightman]

Stevie's "Sweet Little Girl".

Lyrics near the end read:

"Now uh...
Don't make me, uh, get MAD
And act like a nigger..."

[lockhartgary]

Stevie's at it again with "Livin for the City". Poverty and racism.

[midnightman]

Marvin's "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving Me":

"Do you remember all of the BULLSHIT, baby!?"
"What I can't understand is if you loved me, how could you turn me into the police?"

MG's "Is That Enough":

"You knew you had a brother who thought he was cool..." [[obviously a dig at Berry)

The double entendre in "Funk Me"...

[sansradio]

Yeah, midnightman, that whole Here, My Dear set qualifies! "Time to Get It Together": "Blowin' coke all up my nose/Gettin' in and out my clothes/Foolin' 'round with midnight 'ho'es..."