Presented without comment (except that this is one of my favorite Motown songs) for your enjoyment.
Tag Archives: Motown
Song of the Day #366: ‘Dancing in the Street’ – Martha & the Vandellas
Song of the Day #360: ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ – Four Tops
This, of course, is the other ‘I’ll Be There’ with which I confused the Jackson 5 song. It’s every bit as much a classic, and arguably more so.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m sort of at a loss for words when it comes to these Motown Weekends because I don’t have a ton of associations with the songs. Thank god Michael Jackson died and gave me fodder to write about over the past couple of weekends. In fact, on future weekends I might just treat these as a break from writing and simply present the lyrics. I’ll play it by ear.
Song of the Day #359: ‘I’ll Be There’ – The Jackson 5
I’ve seen many mentions of ‘I’ll Be There’ since Michael Jackson’s death and every time I read the title I thought of an entirely different song (see tomorrow’s Song of the Day for that one). I didn’t remember Michael and the rest of the 5 singing that track, but I assumed they must have.
And then I YouTubed “Jackson 5 I’ll Be There” the other day, found this clip, and suddenly it all came back to me. Such a sweet and touching love song, even when performed by a pre-pubescent kid. Maybe especially when performed by a pre-pubescent kid. This one, anyway.
Song of the Day #346: ‘I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)’ – Four Tops
It’s a truly sad fact that when I get to the chorus of this wonderful song, the lyrics that run through my mind are these: “I can’t help myself…. it’s Duncan Hines and nobody else!”
I guess there aren’t enough talented jingle writers out there for companies to pay for original tunes to sell their products. So instead they pony up the cash for classic songs, and all the memories and associations they carry, and co-opt them to peddle underwear and cake mix. Capitalism at its worse… when everything is for sale, is nothing sacred?
Meet Me In Montauk 