Songs That Best Exemplify "The Motown Sound"!

[marv2]

Here's one by the Four Tops I've always felt best represented the "Motown Sound":


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wYoLQc-x5g

[thomas96]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9F8SNmaqIg

[Roger Polhill]

I`ve always loved the feel of What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted.

[roger]

If I had to choose just ONE then I'd go for this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-UytiXdGMs
Catchy hooks, a driving rhythm, great vocals, strings AND a sax solo ... :)

Roger

[Methuselah2]

Roger - I think you just nailed it.

[MIKEW-UK]

Agree, Roger did nail it...... and if you can't get enough of this slice of brilliance, mosogotam has applied his own world-class skills to create this extended version which highlights the various ingredients which went into this work of art....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sD8tuRCsec

[smark21]

Anything by The FLOS.

[drewschultz88]

Here's one of the lesser-known tunes that I've always thought was a great example of the Motown Sound - syncopated tambourine part, insanely complex bass playing by Jamerson, one guitar hitting the backbeats while another strums, two drum set parts, and congas locked right in. Not to mention it's downright catchy:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGU0ACBrtS8

[marv2]

"This Old Heart of Mine" by the Isley Brothers is a great choice. Here is another great choice in my opinion. I just heard it again today in the car....." Celebrate" by Rare Earth!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCiw5xUmoUQ

[marv2]

and of course, this classic from the Temptations, "All I Need":


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vga1exQTz2M

[thanxal]

My Vote

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGpgkCE41x8

[mr_june]

I'd have to take Dancing In The Street also. That song is widely known as exemplary of the Motown sound. It's the way it starts out with the drums and horns.

[rovereab]

This is my contribution and for me the mono versions of most classic Motown songs are best, as in this example.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCQDtVZdhbg

What a lovely picture of the Supremes too :)

I do think This Old Heart Of Mine by the Isley Brothers is a very strong contender though. Both songs have the classic Motown ingredients.

[bradsupremes]

My vote:

Uptight [[Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
I'll Keep Holding On - The Marvelettes

If I ever met someone who didn't know what the Motown Sound was, those are the two tunes I would play.

[marv2]

My vote:

Uptight [[Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
I'll Keep Holding On - The Marvelettes

If I ever met someone who didn't know what the Motown Sound was, those are the two tunes I would play.

Brad, "Uptight" was going to be one of my choices.....good one! A real toe-tapper as they say LOL!

[marv2]

Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You" also is a very good representation of the Motown Sound. The drums, the tamborines, the soulful background vocals,etc:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOxrmWsgFM

[marv2]

Oh and that piano was a killer on that track! LOL!

[captainjames]

"Please Mr. Postman", "You Keep Me Hanging On" " Reach Out I'll Be There" and "My Girl".

[144man]

Motown was often compared to an assembly-line. If you listen to the Velvelettes' "A Bird In the Hand [[Is Worth Two In The Bush)", you can imagine the component-parts being put together.

[marv2]

"Please Mr. Postman", "You Keep Me Hanging On" " Reach Out I'll Be There" and "My Girl".

Ok...... I don't know what I was thinking, but "Reach Out, I'll Be There" IS Motown! That is the song that I would play for an alien from another planet to help explain what the "Motown Sound" is! LOL!

[Methuselah2]

I always felt [[LOVE IS LIKE A) HEAT WAVE was Motown's 'call to arms'--it was if Motown were announcing to all other record companies at the Itime "This is what you're up against!" The Isley Bros.' THIS OLD HEART OF MINE would still be my choice but HEAT WAVE is simply too classic Motown and too much of a sensation not to be there with it. The funny thing about Motown recordings is that at any given moment, what you're listening to can feel like the best thing you've ever heard. I'm sure everyone on this Forum knows that feeling.

[edafan]

If I had to choose just ONE then I'd go for this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-UytiXdGMs
Catchy hooks, a driving rhythm, great vocals, strings AND a sax solo ... :)

Roger



This is one of my favorite songs.

I agree with all of the above

edafan

[edafan]

Once they put something into a time capsule
they included one song

My Girl

so it has to get a vote here

edafan

[thanxal]

This is one of my favorite songs.

I agree with all of the above

edafan

That album really is chock full of excellent tunes. I especially like the covers of Nowhere and Symphony, but TOHOM is really exemplary of the Motown Sound.

Edit: Nowhere really should have been a bigger hit. Along with Nothing but Heartaches. Both are also excellent Motown Sound examples.

[marv2]

How about this one with that unmistakable James Jamerson bassline..................!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pYux5-d1Es

[thomas96]

Both versions of Ain't No Mountain High Enough, especially Marvin and Tammi's.

[thomas96]

I think Tammi Terrell's version of "This Old Heart..." exemplifies it better than the Isley Brothers, because of it's faster tempo.

[marv2]

Another one that I feel is a real good representation of the "Motown Sound". There is a lot going on in this record if you listen closely.....[[dig that Sax!). Supremes with "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart" :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saJdS7t_oOM

[Methuselah2]

Along with Nothing but Heartaches.

I whole-heartedly agree, Thanxal. Whenever someone acknowledges NOTHING BUT HEARTACHES, it puts a smile on my face, as if someone else knows the secret of that great recording and truly gets it. Pulsating, percolating, sizzling all the way through. Wonderfully relentless. That one's got snap! A sensational dance tune unfairly known mostly for breaking The Supremes' string of No. 1s. What was unfair about it is that it deserved to be No. 1, as far as I was concerned. HDH certainly knew what they were doing. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe I heard LOVE IS LIKE AN ITCHING IN MY HEART was recorded a bit before NBH--perhaps evidence that HDH was somewhat anxious to give The Supremes a harder edge even sooner than NBH may have caused us to believe. The Supremes could handle all the edges, all the angles. But those edges were so right in NBH and ITCHING. NBH--'to that I'm loyal, to that I'm true; why weren't they all the same way, too?!'

[detmotownguy]

Goood thread Marv. I have to vote twice.....Nowhere to Run And Itching. Oh one more; Can I Get a Witness.

[thanxal]

I whole-heartedly agree, Thanxal. Whenever someone acknowledges NOTHING BUT HEARTACHES, it puts a smile on my face, as if someone else knows the secret of that great recording and truly gets it. Pulsating, percolating, sizzling all the way through. Wonderfully relentless. That one's got snap! A sensational dance tune unfairly known mostly for breaking The Supremes' string of No. 1s. What was unfair about it is that it deserved to be No. 1, as far as I was concerned. HDH certainly knew what they were doing. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe I heard LOVE IS LIKE AN ITCHING IN MY HEART was recorded a bit before NBH--perhaps evidence that HDH was somewhat anxious to give The Supremes a harder edge even sooner than NBH may have caused us to believe. The Supremes could handle all the edges, all the angles. But those edges were so right in NBH and ITCHING. NBH--'to that I'm loyal, to that I'm true; why weren't they all the same way, too?!'
Nothing and Itching and Stoned Love are my top three. And of course the extended bridge version of Nothing on More Hits is like butter.

[marv2]

Goood thread Marv. I have to vote twice.....Nowhere to Run And Itching. Oh one more; Can I Get a Witness.

Thanks DetMotownguy! "Can I Get A Witness" is a top track! Straight outta the church of MOTOWN! LOL!

[detmotownguy]

I was listeng to Witness a few weeksago on a plane and that song just takes me to heaven; I couldn't sit still!!! Nowhere ro Rum asthe captain of my boat calls it came on the playlist as a storm suddenly developed inthe West Indies a few weeks ago.

[johnbell]

So many of my favorite already post, her are two gems that are very unknown to most [[I guess) but it's a fine example of ''That Motown Sound''... Hope I can post that You Tube Video, if not please someone tell me how. They Are from The Spinners:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2wVQtro6ik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUGqXulW7zs

[marv2]

Johnbell, THE SPINNERS "i'll always love you " does have that classic Motown Sound. It's another one of those records that is easily identifiable with Motown.

[marv2]

Kim Weston's "Take Me In Your Arms" fits the "Motown Sound" description perfectly.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdI_cN9l91g

[johnbell]

Johnbell, THE SPINNERS "i'll always love you " does have that classic Motown Sound. It's another one of those records that is easily identifiable with Motown.
Wish I Could had put the video, not only the link, but don't know how?

[marv2]

Wish I Could had put the video, not only the link, but don't know how?

John, all you have to do is:

Copy the video address from your browser

Then come back to where you want to post it on Soulful Detroit

Then click on the little "film" icon directly above the box where you type your message/post

A space will pop up; when that happens, past the video address you copied from your browser in the blank space.

Then click the "post quick reply" button as usual whenever you make a post.

I hope that helps.

[johnbell]

Here is if I may , that got that classic Motown Sound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG6yPqcZXCY

[jobeterob]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P1x7Yy9CXI

[jobeterob]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCb3VSLX38U

[LuvHangOva]

I always felt [[LOVE IS LIKE A) HEAT WAVE was Motown's 'call to arms'--it was if Motown were announcing to all other record companies at the Itime "This is what you're up against!" The Isley Bros.' THIS OLD HEART OF MINE would still be my choice but HEAT WAVE is simply too classic Motown and too much of a sensation not to be there with it. The funny thing about Motown recordings is that at any given moment, what you're listening to can feel like the best thing you've ever heard. I'm sure everyone on this Forum knows that feeling.
Meth, I'm with ya 100% on both. For me tho Heatwave wins this two song race. Let me preface by saying I was born and raised in Florida and this is the BEST example of the quintessential Southern Gospel sound used in a pop record. They may take a lotta flack for a lotta things but I'l telling ya right now Southern Baptist and Pentecostal churches musicians and vocalists know how to J-A-M!!!! It's not about religious affiliation for me. I'm strictly referring to the music. Heatwave is a slice of delightfully delirious perfection. I have always sensed the Funk Brothers where havin a PARTY when they cut this thang. Then there's that scorchin' opening attack from the Devastating Miss Martha Reeves. She hits the ground runnin at 190 m.p.h and never lets up. If you've never heard the real thing in person trust me this is very much like what one would hear way down south in one of those churches, hand claps and all. I've always loved the sound, the engery and the harmonies I heard the boys and girls laying down on a Sunday morning as a kid and I've never forgotten it. A+ for everybody involved with this monster. I've also never gotten over the piano, strings and lead vocals in This Old Heart Of Mine
.

P.S. After wrote this I went searching on the net for other thoughts about "[[Love Is Like A) Heatwave." I was surprised to see that so many reviewers mentioned the
"gospel sound" of this song being one of its high points. All this time I thought I was one of only a few people to be of that opinion. LOL

[marybrewster]

For those of you that have the Martha and the Vandellas 50th Anniversary set, I believe it's in the liner notes that HDH credit "Come and Get These Memories" as being THE song that started the "Motown Sound".

[thomas96]

I'd like to also add "[[Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. And also, "Baby Baby Don't Cry" by them.

[tjl]

"Heatwave" - Martha & The Vandellas
"Mickeys Monkey" - The Miracles
"Dancing In The Street" - Martha & The Vandellas
"This Old Heart Of Mine" - Isley Brothers
"Back In My Arms Again" - Supremes
"It's The Same Old Song" - 4 Tops
"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye
"Uptight" - Stevie Wonder
"Get Ready" - Temptations
"What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted" - Jimmy Ruffin
"Going To A Go-Go" - The Miracles
"25 Miles" - Edwin Starr
"Jimmy Mack" - Martha & The Vandellas
"Nowhere To Run" - Martha & The Vandellas
"My World Is Empty Without You" - The Supremes


less played but feels pure Motown to me:

"Keep On Loving Me" - Frances Nero
"I Got A Feeling" - 4 Tops
"Truly Yours" - Spinners
"Just A Little Misunderstadning" - Contours
"You Lost The Sweetest Boy" - Mary Wells
"I'll Turn To Stone" - 4 Tops
"I'll Always Love You" - The Spinners
"I Guess I'll Always Love You" - The Isley Brothers
"He's All I Got" - The Supremes
"Take This Heart Of Mine" - Marvin Gaye
"I've Passed This Way Before" - Jimmy Ruffin
"it's A Good Feeling" - The Miracles
"S.O.S. Stop Her On Site" - Edwin Starr
"In My Lonely Room" - Martha & The Vandellas
"Too Many Fish In The Sea" - The Marvelettes

[144man]

Not mentioned yet:

Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever - Four Tops

[skooldem1]

I think the song that best represents the Motown sound is "Dancing in the Streets" by Martha and the Vandellas.

[thomas96]

The Miracles - If You Can Want

The Four Tops - Bernadette

The Four Tops - Standing In the Shadows of Love

The Four Tops - Reach Out [[I'll Be There)

[Sotosound]

To my mind, the Motown sound changed from year to year. Sometimes the change was partly due to new studio technology and sometimes it was due to how music evolved. For instance, the arrival of the 8-track recorder, or the solid state mixing desk, or the fuzz guitar.

Sometimes it was due to the arrival of a new musician, e.g. Dennis Coffey, a new arranger, a new writer or, perhaps, the rise of a producer.

For instance, the psychedelic soul sounds produced by Norman Whitfield are unmistakeably Motown but are a world away from "Baby Love" by The Supremes.

The weird thing is that if you look at all of the suggestions above, what's clear is how diverse they are but how all of them do, indeed, exemplify The Motown Sound.

So was The Motown Sound really an unworldy something that lived in the Hitsville Studios for a few years, imbuing everything created there with a unique feel that transcended any one artist, studio player, producer or composer?

I don't know.

Also, suppose we turn this on its head and suggest some tracks originating from Hitsville that don't exemplify The Motown Sound?

My first suggestion that partly qualifies is the fabulous "Love's Gone Bad" by Chris Clark since it's half Motown and half garage rock, and it sounds like the Funks were having a great time doing something entirely off the wall and far more aggressive than usual.

Then there's the whole "What's Going On" album. Even the Detroit Mix of this is a world away from The Motown Sound.

[Methuselah2]

Meth, I'm with ya 100% on both. For me tho Heatwave wins this two song race. Let me preface by saying I was born and raised in Florida and this is the BEST example of the quintessential Southern Gospel sound used in a pop record. They may take a lotta flack for a lotta things but I'l telling ya right now Southern Baptist and Pentecostal churches musicians and vocalists know how to J-A-M!!!! It's not about religious affiliation for me. I'm strictly referring to the music. Heatwave is a slice of delightfully delirious perfection. I have always sensed the Funk Brothers where havin a PARTY when they cut this thang. Then there's that scorchin' opening attack from the Devastating Miss Martha Reeves. She hits the ground runnin at 190 m.p.h and never lets up. If you've never heard the real thing in person trust me this is very much like what one would hear way down south in one of those churches, hand claps and all. I've always loved the sound, the engery and the harmonies I heard the boys and girls laying down on a Sunday morning as a kid and I've never forgotten it. A+ for everybody involved with this monster. I've also never gotten over the piano, strings and lead vocals in This Old Heart Of Mine
.

P.S. After wrote this I went searching on the net for other thoughts about "[[Love Is Like A) Heatwave." I was surprised to see that so many reviewers mentioned the
"gospel sound" of this song being one of its high points. All this time I thought I was one of only a few people to be of that opinion. LOL

LHO - That's really interesting and sharply observational and right to the point. That great gospel flavor just can't be denied. Perhaps one other thing cannot be denied: When it comes to best defining the Motown Sound, it's got to involve HDH. That's not to say there weren't other superlative songwriters at Motown or non-HDH recordings there that weren't absolutely wonderful. But when it comes to exemplifying the Motown Sound, did anyone do it better and more consistently than HDH? You used the word "scorchin'" in your post, and that's the defining word here and for the Motown Sound. HDH set it ablaze and the singers fanned the flames and made them shoot up higher but the Funk Bros. burned it to a crisp. The combination was overpowering--and it started with HDH and I don't think Motown would have been quite the success it was without them. Their work was just so rich and full and complete. And everlasting--with the same power and pull to it as it always had.

[nosey]

It's three for me, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, Take Me In Your Arms & Wake Me, Shake Me.

[soulwally]

Can't help but agree with so many of these. The Motown Sound to me will always be the Snakepit sound, so that's why I think tunes like This Old Heart Of Mine, Heaven Must Have Sent You, Just A Little Misunderstanding and Love Is Like an Itching In My Heart really fit the bill. Anyway, here's three from me:

Kim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04O8zUKJT5s

Brenda:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYVZx5bBWx4

The Miracles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoypnyD-v-U

..the last 2 produced by Frank Wilson, a relative latecomer to the Snakepit.

[johnbell]

Not from Motown, but this one got all the ingredients of a great Motown hit, but only reach #51 in 1965, only hit that made the billboard charts from this group: Candy & The Kisses


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_6h7iA04ko