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search results for “motown”
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List songs by Song title | Performer | Year

You searched for ‘motown’, which matched 29 songs.
click - person recommending, year, performer, songtitle - to see more recommendations.
Ain’t Too Proud To Beg  performed by Ben Harper; The Funk Brothers  1975
Recommended by ajhorse21 [profile]

Very motown- lots of instrumentation. Simplistic but upbeat.


available on CD - Standing in the Shadows of Motown


Ain’t No Mountain High Enough  performed by Diana Ross  1970
Recommended by FlyingDutchman1971 [profile]

Proving once and for all that she could carry herself as a solo artist and sing a dramatic love song, Ms. Ross slowed down the tempo and sank her emotions into this wonderful tale of unending love and devotion. The original full-length version clocks in at 6:16 but was brutally chopped down to around 3:30 for radio airplay and some of the song's most intimate words are removed. Sadly, the shorter version was featured on her box set a few years back. (what were they thinking???!!!) Get your hands on the 6 minute version and enjoy a true classic american song by a great american artist!

from Diana Ross, available on CD (Motown)



  Mister C: I agree with you, the full length version of this is wonderful, as is her full length version of Reach Out I'll Be There recorded in 1971.
When Will I Come Home To You  performed by Diana Ross  1974
Recommended by Mister C [profile]

This is a 1974 album track on the UK album Last Time I Saw Him. Why this wonderful ballad was never issued as a single or included on a 'ballads' album is beyond me. Wonderful stuff.

from Last Time I Saw Him (Motown)


Black and White Town  performed by Doves  2005
Recommended by avalyn [profile]

this is possibly the first Motown-influenced Doves number i've heard -- and it's fucken brill, with the right dose of thumping beaty-ness, atmospherics and excellent lyrics. as it is, i suspect that "Some Cities", the band's new album will be on my list of Top 10 Records of the year... but this track totally knocked my socks off, and is now slated to be a mixtape favourite too. :-)

from Some Cities, available on CD


Neither One Of Us  performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips
Recommended by Celainn [profile]


available on CD - The Ultimate Collection (Motown/PGD)



  LTSings: One of my very favorite oldies! A true classic!
Do Like I Do  performed by Kim Weston  196?
Recommended by BlueEyedYe-Ye [profile]

Quite possibly the most beautiful soul ballad of the late 60s.... despite being a slow song it is incredibly uplifting.... it speaks of holding out for someone you truly love when temptation surrounds you, which fits perfectly with my mindset. "Just remember that lovers have sorrow.... just remember we'll make up tomorrow". Immensely touching, beautiful and timeless.


available on CD - Greatest Hits And Rare Classics (CD) (Spectrum/Universal)


Baby It’s True  performed by Mari Wilson  1983
Recommended by OneCharmingBastard [profile]

Tony Mansfield (New Musik) produced mock-soul from the best beehive in the biz next to Kate & Cindy; from the spoken intro, to the soaring brass and strings, it is the blend of Bacharach and Motown that should've translated into a much bigger hit than it did.

from Showpeople (London)



  n-jeff: It was quite a hit in the UK if I recall correctly. This post has just filled my head with Images. Neasdon, the mentioned Beehives, spangly mini dresses, Tony mansfields mid 70's pop show on TV. Did Tony Mansfield really look like Pete Waterman, as my memory insists?
  Mike: Tony Mansfield was/is a musical genius, as noted elsewhere in my recommenations. Not quite sure how he could have had a pop show on tv in the mid 70s, though...The big hit he had with Mari Wilson was "Just what I've always wanted". He looked a bit geeky...did Pete Waterman copy his look? I don't know...
  rsfinla: Actually Tony Mansfield did not produce Baby It's True. I believe it was Tot Taylor that gave this song the big sound it deserved.
  n-jeff: I've just remembered it was Mike Mansfield that had the TV show. It ws fun all the same. And it was Mike Mansfield that looked like PW, at least in my mind.
  geezer: Awise and truly awesome choice of obscure pop
I Promise to Wait My Love  performed by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas  1968
Recommended by scrubbles [profile]

'60s Motown rarely strayed from that classic sound, but this one attempts an earthier, Muscle Shoals/Stax-like sound -- with brilliant results. Martha's voice could even be mistaken for Aretha here. An underrated, mighty danceable single with killer rhythmic guitars, tambourines and a bubbling bassline.

from Ridin' High (Gordy)
available on CD - Ridin' High/Sugar and Spice (Motown)


Stop Loving Me,Stop Loving You  performed by Marvin Gaye  1976
Recommended by geezer [profile]

An accusatory narrative on his marriage to Motown owner Berry Gordys daughter.Sweet but bitter not the same as bittersweet.Strangely compelling with no distinct melody ,bridge or chorus and the title only mentioned in the last few bars .However you feel after one listen an intimacy with the songs creator and this confessional opus .In places you can hear four or five Marvins pleading and apologising and blaming.I think in this instance it would appropriate to use the word genius .The moral being never marry the boss,s daughter.

from Here My Dear, available on CD


Nature's Hated  performed by Orlando  1997
Recommended by LawrenceM [profile]

One of the few bands involved with the short lived "romo" movement, Orlando were the only ones to release an album, and were far superior to any of the other indie chancers jumping on the badnwagon. This song, along with the other excellent single "Just For A Second", were attempts to meld postcard Records, Motown and PWL into bright, shiny pop. Dickon's keyboards soared, and singer Tim Chipping's vocals sounded like a young David MacAlmont taking flight. Of course, obscurity beckoned - Dickon went on to play guitar for Spearmint and form Fosca, and Chipping's current whereabouts are unknown. A brief, bright moment in pop, snuffed out all too soon.

from Passive Soul, available on CD (Blanco Y Negro)



The Flower Shop  performed by Our Front Porch  1971
Recommended by konsu [profile]

I happened across this LP in a friends shop. I went to listen to it and this song blew me away. It's almost like a tune from a lost Jimmy Webb opus, or a Galt McDermott musical.... Like "HAIR".

The group sings in a loose ensemble with a very gospel-like arrangement that jumps from a driving, fuzzy, Motown like groove to waltz-y 3/4 skip. It represents the two impressionistic counterpoints in the songs drama :

" We see the phonies, you and I.... Their faded posies make us cry...." to " I smell the flowers... I smell the roses, and buttercups...."

It also reminds me of the Rotary Connection stuff that was around the same time.

The arranger is what turned me on to it, Ralph Carmichael. His label, Light, released stuff by the Oral Roberts kids, which is worth checking out for novelty's sake.

50% of this record is preach-y, but the rest of the songs, like this one, are well done with a lot of personality.RC is well known in sample circles for his famous cut "Addict's Psalm",from the Xian film soundtrack "The Cross & The Switchblade".

Use caution!

from Our Front Porch (Light LS-5560-LP)



You Keep Me Hangin' On  performed by Paul Mauriat  1970
Recommended by tinks [profile]

Take a Motown classic, a French conductor, a harpsichord, a sitar and something that could be either a melodica or a kazoo, and what do you get? I'm not sure either, but it'd sound a lot like this. A truly odd version that sounds vaguely off-key the entire time (although it seems intentional). A great example of the "Now Sound".

from The Soul of Paul Mauriat (Philips)




  Swinging London: That's fun, Yes, very NOW!
Function at the Junction  performed by Ramsey Lewis  1966
Recommended by tinks [profile]

A very swinging, groovy Latin jazz take on Shorty Long's Motown classic finds Lewis at the height of his form. As expected, Richard Evans turns in an astounding arrangement, utilizing handclaps, studio chatter and a magnificent horn chart.

from Goin' Latin (Cadet)



Smiling Faces  performed by Rare Earth  197?
Recommended by djjetraven [profile]

Long instrumental introduction like in " I just Want To Celebrate" or "Ma"....the band is having fun and setting the mood. Old rock from my jukebox days sounds really good right now. Different than the War versionof this song.

from Ma (Motown)
available on CD - Ma, Anthology (Motown)


Moonchild  performed by Rick James  1985
Recommended by Nickfresh [profile]

Rick James rocks. but he also can croon. His 1985 LP, "Glow," was highly underrated, and because of this fact, many folks passed up this gem of an album. "Moonchild," with its lush bassline - dreamy keyboards - and somewhat inspired lyrics, is one of the many tracks should've made RJ a bigger star than he was. Motown really dropped the ball on not releasing this ballad as a single or promoting the album, PERIOD. Mary J. Blige brought this song back to life (without butchering it) with 1997's "Love is All We Need."

from Glow (Gordy (Motown) 6135 GL)



Wichita Lineman  performed by Sammy Davis Jr  1970
Recommended by Pal [profile]

Nice version of Jim Webb�s classic!

from Something For Everyone (Motown)



  commonsense: Glenn Cambell covers this delightfully a radio favourite..
Light My Fire  performed by Shirley Bassey  1970
Recommended by robert[o] [profile]

Prior to hearing her "Something" LP, I always referred to Dame Shirley as "The Godzilla of Song". By this I meant I always felt she treated a tune the way Rodan treated Tokyo, like something to be smashed underfoot. While I lived/died by her Bond themes, and such like, I never thought she was capable of nuance, restraint, and/or sexiness. Then I heard this god-like album, brilliantly produced and arranged by Johnny Harris. This cover of The Doors' song perfectly sums up the record's strengths. It's jazzy, sexy, incredibly funky, yet still totally Dame Shirley in all her over-the-top-glory. Probably the best Doors cover ever (though Nico's toxic reading of "The End", and Siouxsie and The Banshees' strangely Motown-esque version of "You're Lost Little Girl" come awfully close.)

from Something, available on CD ()


tears of a clown  performed by smokey robinson & the miracles
Recommended by licoricewhipped [profile]

classic motown at its best.




Knocks me off my feet  performed by Stevie Wonder  1976
Recommended by DecemberGuy [profile]

Simple lyrics, simple melody.

Yet it makes me wanna fall in love starting now.
Stevie's such a badasssss.

from Songs in the Key of Life (Motown)


you made me feel like (everything is alright)  performed by syreeta  1968
Recommended by shaka_klaus [profile]

this is motown at it's best in my opinion. i bought the album "a cellarful OF MOTOWN!" when it was released in 2002. however i just re-discovered it a couple of weeks ago when i was cleaning. the track was (as it say in the booklet) originally assigned to the supremes. great stuff!


available on CD - a cellarful of motown! (motown/universal)



  scrubbles: Agreed. I love the undercurrent of dread in this song. Why it remained in the Motown vaults is a mystery to me.
Come and Get This Stuff  performed by Syreeta  1974
Recommended by Nickfresh [profile]

Very nice, laid back summer song. Stevie Wonder struck Gold when he worked with Syreeta.

from Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta (Motown 11268)




  Swinging London: I'd forgotten about this album. Thank you for reminding me. Absolutely wonderful. I especially loved the bits when Stevie's voice suddenly appears out of nowhere. I rank this album with all the great acclaimed Stevie Wonder albums of this (1971-76) era. I can't say that the song you've chosen is one of the high points, though.
Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is)  performed by Temptations  1970
Recommended by nuthings [profile]

Great funk/soul track with a healthy dose of political and social commentary circa 1970 set to a killer bass line - it's scary how much of it is still relevant today. "A ball of confusion, that's what the world is today..."

from Temptations Greatest Hits Vol 2 (Gordy)
available on CD - My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations (Motown)


I’ll Be Your Man  performed by The Black Keys  2002
Recommended by CaitlinSpelledWrong [profile]

I like a lot of the Black Keys music but I'll Be Your Man is my favorite. Their music is hard to explain. It has a lot soul. It sounds kind of like new motown if that makes any since. I think fans of motown music will enjoy this song.


available on CD - The Big Come Up


Do You Love Me?  performed by The Contours
Recommended by ajhorse21 [profile]

Disco, dance, superficial, but SO fun! Who hasn't heard this song a million times? It's still great!




Close to Me   performed by The Cure  1985
Recommended by geezer [profile]

The Cure meets Tamlla Motown ,well sort of, the ideas in Robert Smiths head celebrated the sound of black America yet still kept their fledgling gothic credentials intact.A syncopated bass line and drum pattern is supported by a persistant but low fi organ ,the song goes from sinister and unerving to joyous and euphoric in just a couple of minutes thanks to some well timed horns and hand claps whilst the original rhythym never misses a beat.A time when any band could try any thing and occasionally meet with a happy accident.

from Head on the Door, available on CD


The Last one to Know   performed by The Maisonettes  1982
Recommended by geezer [profile]

An obscure b-side of an obscure one hit wonder from 1983! but thats where you find the treasure ,by digging.A band from the tail end of the mod revival of 79 ,a sixties pastiche played on synthesisers but an overwhelming Motown influence played and written in good faith with a lush melody that would have suited the lonely spy from any movie from 1967 onwards .An eighties version of sixties soul heard 25 years later when pop almost lives on its reference points makes this sound like the first of its kind .The other side, Heartache Avenue ,is also a little nugget and worth a listen too.These boys were also City Boy of 5 7 0 5 fame from 1978.

from Heartache Avenue The best of (Readt Steady Go)
available on CD - Heartache Avenue The best of the Maisonettes



  delicado: i have this 7" but I don't remember this. I know the fleetwoods' version if it's the same track. I once played in a covers band with the drummer from the Maisonettes!
  geezer: dig it out and give it a spin its not the Fleetwoods versionbut it is good in a kind of nostalgic way from a time when i didnt have many records so the b side always got aplay by the way some brilliant recomendations Thanks
The Day You Take One, You Have to Take the Other  performed by The Marvelettes  1967
Recommended by tinks [profile]

Classic uptempo Motown girl sound! Fits the Berry Gordy formula so perfectly that it should have been a huge hit. Features a terrific bubbling bassline and mesmerizing finger snaps!

from The Marvelettes (Tamla)




  scrubbles: Ooooh, I dig this song - gotta love those Smokey Robinson lyrics! "A little bad comes along with every good/You've got to take the bitter with the sweet."
  Swinging London: Reminds me of 'Don't Mess With Bill'. Quite an old fashioned sound for 1967...The Marvelettes didn't seem to really keep up with the times. Good though.
Sleepwalk  performed by The Supremes  1965
Recommended by delicado [profile]

What can I say! I always imagined there would be a vocal version of this classic Santo and Johnny instrumental, but I had never located one until I found this recording. This track remained unreleased until the mid-1980s, was recorded in March 1965.

I can't deny that much of the appeal of this song for me lies in the novelty factor of hearing lyrics sung to this classic tune. If you're interested, the lyrics go something like this:

Sleep walk, instead of dreaming I
Sleep walk, cause I lost you and
Now what I am I to do;
Can't believe that we're through
(I don't care how much you tell me)

Sleep talk, cause I miss you I
Sleep talk, while the memory of you lingers like a song;
Darling I was so wrong
(but I'll be right some day)

Night
Fills me my lonelyness;
I see your face
Spinning through my brain

I know
I miss you so
I still love you
And it drives me insane

Sleep walk, every night I just
Sleep walk; and when
You walk inside the door,
I will sleepwalk no more

If you're having trouble imagining how these words would fit to the tune, I think the Supremes did too; this may explain why the track remained unreleased. Don't get me wrong - the overall sound is very cool, and the verses work quite well. But I think the tune is so well-known that they didn't feel they could change a note, and so some of the vocals are a bit laboured.

Still, a great track, which seems to hold up to repeated listens!

from 25th Anniversary (Motown 5381ML3)
available on CD - 25th Anniversary Volume 2 (Motown)



Mechanical Emotion (Featuring Morris Day)  performed by Vanity  1984
Recommended by Nickfresh [profile]

If you are looking for Classic but Overlooked 80's Electro Soul, look to one of Prince's girls to fill your need. Vanity, who at this time was a 'vamp' going it alone after Prince, got together with Bill Wolfer and Morris Day with a serious sound of synthesizers, clean electric guitar, and risque lyrics, making it one of the two releases from her first solo album, "Wild Animal." The grooves in the song and the french breakdown has me going wild everytime. I have loved the song since I was a little boy (when I was told that I couldn't listen to songs like that), and I don't think I will tire from it anytime soon.

from Wild Animal (Motown)



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