The New York Times recently published a list of The ‘30 Greatest Living American Songwriters,’ compiled by polling more than 250 artists and experts and filtering the results through a panel of NYT critics.
Like all pop culture lists, this one generated a ton of controversy. Outrage over who was omitted, eye-rolling over who was included. Reminders that absent artists like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Drake are actually Canadian.
Throwing back to the week of February 28, 1976, we find the ‘Theme from S.W.A.T.’ by Rhythm Heritage atop the Billboard Hot 100. I wrote about that song during a week about instrumental tracks that reached #1. Paul Simon drops to #2 with his ‘50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.’
In the third spot, a week before its sole week at #1, was The Miracles’ ‘Love Machine Pt. 1.’ The full seven minute album track was split into two parts with ‘Part 2’ serving as the B-side (it’s basically an extended coda).
The final backing band I’ll cover as part of my look at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2012 is also the most egregious oversight.
The Miracles were Motown’s signature act, putting more than 50 songs on the Billboard charts, including sixteen in the Hot 100 Top 20.
And while Smokey Robinson was the lead singer and principal songwriter for the band, it was very much a band. Robinson didn’t embark on a solo career until he had released 17 albums over 12 years with The Miracles.
Presented without comment (except that this is one of my favorite Motown songs) for your enjoyment.
The great thing about these Motown Weekends is that the music is so easy to find on You Tube and these are some of the best songs ever written… can’t beat that combo. The bed thing is that I don’t have a ton to say about them (cue the chorus of ‘Trust me, that’s not a bad thing!’ comments).
I didn’t grow up with these songs or with the artists, so I don’t have many associations to explore. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, my first exposure to many of these songs was The Big Chill soundtrack, but there’s only so much mileage you can get out of that.
Meet Me In Montauk 