Favorite forgotten (or mostly forgotten) Motown tunes

[Bossy Monkey]

Just rented Standing In The Shadows Of Motown (which I recommend, in spite of only getting to see a half hour of it) and also saw a Hitsville USA boxed set (this one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000006NUW/002-1593977-0654463?v=glance). The latter reminded me of a Supremes number I haven't heard in years. When I was on Morpheus (cue innocent whistling) I remembered one Diana Ross-less Supremes number that I liked ("Floy Joy") and got it, but absolutely forgot about the better one: "Nathan Jones". Do you have any great Motown numbers that are largely forgotten by the broader public? (Hint: a good start is the link above.)

Paging CO Liberal and NightTrain.

[mitchum]

1. "Smiling Faces (Sometimes)" is a great ode to paranoia

[joeybee12]

2. How about Up The Ladder to the Roof--another Diana-less song

Nathan Jones is great--now you've got me singing it!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. Well of the ones that don't get much airplay

Who's Loving You - The Jackson's
My Mistake - Diana and Marvin
Footsteps in the Dark - The Isleys
Stop,Look, Listen - The Stylistics


Actually when it comes to soul I am much more into Atlantic and Stax than Motown.

[elperromagico]

4. "I Want A Love I Can See" by the Temptations

Great early Tempts single written by Smokey Robinson which absolutely bombed on the singles charts. Nice, tight band sound and good group vocals. I don't think it's extremely obscure, but it's not remembered among the top Motown classics either.

[Capn Sunshine]

5. SHOTGUN

Jr. Wells and the All Stars

needs more airplay-truly funkadelic

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. Yep ya can't sit down to that one

Jr. Walker and the All Stars...Jr Wells was the blues guy ;-)

[Capn Sunshine]

26. lol

I've been listening to Jr. Wells albums with Buddy Guy all weekend, hence the goof.

[Stargleamer]

6. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted by Jimmy Ruffin

I was also going to say "Up the Ladder to the Roof", but someone "Beat me to the Punch" (Mary Wells).

[elperromagico]

7. That is a great song n/t

[elperromagico]

9. Is it just me,

or do all of the Diana Ross Supremes singles start to sound... err... the same... when you listen to them in sequence?

[joeybee12]

10. You can say that about a lot of groups/singers because they all have

a certain sound.

But before Diana was the lead (in other words, before she started sleeping with Barry Gordy) they were much more soul-ful.

I love the music, but it really was packaged.

[nini]

11. Motown is still my favorite music

I like just about all of it.. Those oldies are the best.

Anything by the Temptations, Supremes, Miracles, 4Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye etc..

Tears of a Clown - Smokey
My Girl - Temps
My Guy - Mary Wells.

and on and on...

I'm gonna go pull out my CDs now.. :-)

[The Zanti Regent]

12. oh, David Ruffin's "WALK AWAY FROM LOVE"...

...used to hear that song all the time On Disco 96 in Pittsburgh back in the mid-70s...

[Bossy Monkey]

24. I got that one off Morpheus, too. (Shhhhhhhhhhhhh) n/t

[cosmicdot]

13. This is Dedicated to the One I Love

... not sure if these are all Motown ...

Oh how happy

Pride and Joy

How Sweet it is (to be loved by you)

Dancing in the Streets

Quicksand

``````````````````````````````
oh, just to name a few
``````````````````````````````

Callin' out around the world
Are you ready for a brand new beat?
Summer's here and the time is right
For dancin' in the streets
Dancin' in Chicago
Down in New Orleans
In New York City

All we need is music, sweet music
There'll be music everywhere
There'll be swingin', swayin' and records playin'
And dancin' in the streets

Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on, every guy grab a girl
Everywhere around the world
There'll be dancin'
Dancin' in the streets

This is an invitation
Across the nation
A chance for the folks to meet
There'll be laughin' and singin' and music swingin'
And dancin' in the streets

Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on, every guy grab a girl
Everywhere around the world
There'll be dancin'
Dancin' in the streets

Dancin' in the streets
Dancin' in the streets

[DODI]

14. It's a Shame - The Spinners

What a great song!!

[Imalittleteapot]

15. "A Million to One"

"That's what our folks say about this love of ours."
Don't know the artists name. I love everything Motown ever delivered.

[Norbert]

16. Jamie - Eddie Holland

He would have been a star as a singer if he wasn't part of a potent songwriting team.

Love Me All the Way - Kim Weston (great gritty voice.)
What's So Good about Good-bye - The Miracles
Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
25 Miles - Edwin Starr (best song he ever did)

[johnnie]

17. two that come to mind

Summertime and Chain of fools

[Dirk39]

18. Jackson 5 Darling Dear: Incredible bass solo concert....

by James Jamerson. Listen to him as the lead voice, not the young Michael Jackson. Poptastic!
Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[DODI]

19. Also the entire Jackson 5 Christmas album

One of my favorites!

[mlawson]

20. The In-Crowd, by Dobie Gray.

Still a great 'wall of sound' song!!

[Norbert]

21. I forgot Brenda Holloway

Every Little Bit Hurts. This had a great Gospel feel to it. She wrote and performed the original "You Made Me So Very Happy" that Blood Sweat and Tears covered so well.

[DancingBear]

22. "The Snake" - Al Wilson

"Somebody's Been Sleeping" - 100 Proof, Aged In Soul
"Boogaloo Down Broadway" - The Fantastic Johnny C.
"634-5789" - Wilson Pickett
almost all the Sam & Dave "B" sides

If you just limit yourself to Motown you miss a lot of good stuff! :)

[chaska]

23. Glayds Knight's "My Imagination"

Not to be confused with "Just my Imagination" by the Temptations.

[NightTrain]

25. There are so many....

As I've spent the past week working on a rank-ordered list of my 100 favorite '60s soul records, I've been listening to a lot of forgotten Motown! Here's some of what I threw into the CD player this past week:

DOES YOUR MAMA KNOW ABOUT ME, Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers
EVERY LITTLE BIT HURTS, Brenda Holloway
HE WAS REALLY SAYIN' SOMETHIN', Velvelettes
I GOT A FEELING, Barbara Randolph
I'VE PASSED THIS WAY BEFORE, Jimmy Ruffin
STILL WATER (LOVE), Four Tops
HONEY CHILE, Martha & The Vandellas
(I'M A) ROAD RUNNER, Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
LEAVING HERE, Eddie Holland
LOVE'S GONE BAD, Chris Clark
SINCE I LOST MY BABY, Temptations
TRAV'LIN MAN, Stevie Wonder
TRULY YOURS, Spinners
TWENTY-FIVE MILES, Edwin Starr
WORKOUT STEVIE WORKOUT, Stevie Wonder

[NightTrain]

27. For your next film rental...

...try "Only The Strong Survive," a documentary about the Memphis and (to a lesser extent) Chicago soul music scenes of the 1960s. It features breathtaking concert footage of Jerry Butler, Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave), Mary Wilson (of the Supremes), Rufus and Carla Thomas, and many more legends of classic soul. I dare ya to watch this film without bouncing your legs! :bounce:

[Bossy Monkey]

29. Cool! I'll try to find it

I didn't really understand why Justman chose artists to cover the Motown numbers who were less prominent than the original artists, who were mostly there for interviews anyway. Still, until you've seen Bootsy Collins do Do Ya Love Me, you haven't quite seen everything.

[Insider]

28. The Happening & Reflections

awesome basement console sh*t!

(sorry, diana RULED...)

[Dees]

30. Here's a few

I'll be Around..Spinners
You'll Never Find..Lou Rawls
Too Late to Turn Back Now..Cornelius Bros. and Sister Rose
Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie...Jay and the Techniques
Love Light...Bobby Bland
Walkin the Dog..Rufus Thomas
Anything by Darlene Love