Motown acts: Their usual encore/ grand finale/ exit songs ???

[Boogiedown]

Diana Ross has consistently used I WILL SURVIVE as her last and final song for the past 30 years even though she didn't really have much of a hit with it.
[I guess she's found it works well as a signal this show is now over !! lol!]

Do [or did] other Motown acts have certain songs they typically reserved to the very end of the show??
Stevie? Gladys? Smokey? Lionel? etc???

or from back in the day ....Martha, Temptations, Marvin? Jr. W? ....etc. ...

I'm guessing some saved a certain biggie to cap off the show with a bang ... while others used the Ross approach ... while others mixed it up a lot.

Does Diana hold the record for having used the same song the longest???

Any insights???

[reese]

For many years, Gladys Knight and the Pips used to close their show with I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE. These days, she usually closes with MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA.

Whenever I've seen Martha in concert, she usually closed with a DANCING IN THE STREET/I CAN'T HELP MYSELF/SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED/KNOCK ON WOOD medley.

[Motown Eddie]

When I saw Stevie Wonder live in NYC in 2007 [and on the 2008 DVD Live At Last], he closed his shows with "As" from Songs In The Key Of Life. Not sure if he did this at all his concerts however.

[gman]

Mary Wilson closed her shows on and off with Stevie Wonders HEAVEN HELP US ALL...and did a great job...

[carlo]

Mary Wilson closed her shows on and off with Stevie Wonders HEAVEN HELP US ALL...and did a great job...

Wow, would have loved to have heard her sing that number, gman. She must have closed with it in the 80s and/or early 90s? As after that, she normally closed with Someday We'll Be Together and then had a few encore numbers [the rock n' roll medley...Brown Sugar, Jumpin Jack Flash], ending with Donna Summer's Last Dance. It's possible she was closing with Last Dance almost as long as Diana has been closing with I Will Survive.

Smokey Robinson has been closing his show with Cruisin', for at least the last 15 years, if not, more.

[jsmith]

In 1964, when on multi artist bills [[i.e. not doing their own full live show) ... the Supremes would finish with "Where Did Our Love Go", with Mavin Gaye doing "Hitch Hike" as his show closer.
A pic of the Temptations doing their show closer @ the Apollo back in the 60's ...Attachment 20604

[arr&bee]

The classic temps would often close out with[don't look back] and paul would always bring the house down too!

[gman]

Wow, would have loved to have heard her sing that number, gman. She must have closed with it in the 80s and/or early 90s? As after that, she normally closed with Someday We'll Be Together and then had a few encore numbers [the rock n' roll medley...Brown Sugar, Jumpin Jack Flash], ending with Donna Summer's Last Dance. It's possible she was closing with Last Dance almost as long as Diana has been closing with I Will Survive.

Smokey Robinson has been closing his show with Cruisin', for at least the last 15 years, if not, more.

Someday was usually the "false" last song...

I hated the Stones songs [[I was a huge Stones fan) hated Bad Case of Loving You too...and sorry...I don't like Mary's GREEN RIVER...at all...IMHO, the arrangement stinks, so she destroyed Green River like Linda R destroyed the Stones TUMBLIN' DICE...had MW did it closer or even a tad slower than CCR's wonderful original, I would have liked it...I am a BRUCE fan...but his recent cover of Someday We'll Be Together disappointed me...[[the arrangement is close to the orig, so when it started I thought I was gonna love it)..he takes too many liberties with the phrasing and lyrics...my Classic Rock Loving Freak gene needs a Valium with some of these covers!!!.... TINA TURNER is the only one who could be depended on to constantly do covers justice....honorable mention: Natalie Cole set U2/BB Kings WHEN LOVE COMES TO TOWN on fire...

[Boogiedown]

Sounds like they mostly mixed it up as the years passed. Same for The Four Tops??

[carlo]

...I am a BRUCE fan...but his recent cover of Someday We'll Be Together disappointed me...[[the arrangement is close to the orig, so when it started I thought I was gonna love it)..he takes too many liberties with the phrasing and lyrics...

I agree. I also didn't care for how Bruce had changed up the lyrics.

[gman]

I agree. I also didn't care for how Bruce had changed up the lyrics.

I like his voice...he can put a lot of sincerity into a song....I was so disappointed....I like the versions I have by the Ikettes [[of course, they rough it up a bit...in a good way.) and the Motorcity duet cut with Johnny Bristol and Liz Lands....

[jsmith]

Has it been documented how the Motown acts show content changed when BG directed lots of them towards the 'supper club' circuit ?
I guess soul & Beatle covers were quickly replaced with 'ol standard' songs.
A definite turn for the worse IMHO.