Category Archives: motown weekends

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Song of the Day #394: ‘I Hear a Symphony’ – The Supremes

supsymphI know Wikipedia gets a bad rap, but I love it. It’s definitely been a valuable resource when compiling a lot of these Song of the Day posts, especially the Motown ones. The wealth of information about Billboard charts, authorship and behind-the-scenes drama (all meticulously footnoted) is extraordinary.

For instance, the entry on the 1965 Supremes hit ‘I Hear a Symphony’ details how the band had hit a slump (comparatively speaking) when their previous release, ‘Nothing But Heartaches,’ peaked at #11 on the Billboard charts. This upset Motown guru Berry Gordy and prompted him to write the following memo:

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Song of the Day #388: ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ – The Supremes

supremessetI’ve been pulling these Motown Weekend titles from a Web site listing the ‘100 Greatest Motown Songs.’ I don’t necessarily agree with their order but the top 25 has provided me fodder for nearly 3 months worth of fabulous hit songs from the golden era.

I’m less excited, though, by the songs lower on the list. So rather than highlighting those lesser efforts, I’m going to finish out the Motown series by focusing on the #1 singles of The Supremes. I’ve already featured ‘Where Did Our Love Go‘ and ‘Baby Love‘ but they had… wait for it… TEN more #1 singles in their career.

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Song of the Day #387: ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ – Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

marvtamA little background, courtesy of Wikipedia:

The original 1967 version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was a top twenty hit. According to record producers, Terrell was a little nervous and intimidated during recording because she hadn’t rehearsed the lyrics. Terrell recorded her vocals alone with producers Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, who added Gaye’s vocal at a later date.[1] “Ain’t No Mountain” peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard pop charts, and went to number three on the R&B charts.

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Song of the Day #381: ‘My Guy’ – Mary Wells

marywells

Another Smokey Robinson classic that became another #1 hit for Motown. Robinson should have a special wing in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Hell, he should have his own building. I wonder if he wrote this before or after ‘My Girl,’ and if he wrote whichever one came second as a companion piece to the first. Wikipedia, usually so helpful in these matters, is silent on the subject.

This is one of those songs in which the singer professes love by dissing the object of her affection (‘My Funny Valentine’ is another that comes to mind). “No muscle bound man could take my hand from my guy…. no handsome face could ever take the place of my guy.” If this song was directed to me I’d be pissed! So I’m weak and ugly, but at least you love me. Thanks!

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Song of the Day #374: ‘Let’s Get it On’ – Marvin Gaye

gayeThe thing I love best about this, the ultimate booty call song, is that in the middle of nearly 5 minutes of pleading and pressuring this woman to have sex with him, Marvin Gaye sings these lines: “I ain’t gonna worry, no, I ain’t gonna push, I won’t push you, baby.” Gee, imagine what it would sound like if he was gonna push her!

To honor the unabashed carnal desire of ‘Let’s Get it On,’ I will now present the poetic stylings of YouTube commenters who have chimed in on this Marvin Gaye classic.

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