Hard to believe I’ve done a couple dozen Motown songs and a handful of Supremes songs and I’m only now getting around to this one.
I wonder if there’s another song so identified with a specific gesture (or dance move) as this one is with the outstretched arm/flat hand move the ladies did every time they performed it. ‘Walk Like an Egyptian?’ Although that was more the people in the video than The Bangles themselves. Perhaps the MC Hammer hand gesture that accompanied ‘2 Legit 2 Quit?’ I jest.
It’s fitting that ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ makes an appearance in the middle of my 80s countdown, as my first experience of the song came through Phil Collins’ 1982 cover version. I was vaguely aware that the tune wasn’t his, but I didn’t know the classic Supremes’ version at all.
It’s funny how many of these old Motown songs (particularly Supremes songs) were covered in the 80s. I think cover versions were to that era what sampling is to the 90s and 00s. These days you don’t see many artists straight up covering old songs, but you hear plenty of beats and melodies of old songs showing up piecemeal in new ones.
I 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:
I’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.
One thing these Songs of the Day have made crystal clear to me over the past year is that my CD collection is woefully incomplete. This is my 10th Motown song since I started the Motown Weekends and I don’t own any of them. These are some of the best songs ever recorded and they haven’t found a spot on my shelf.
In large part, that’s because many of these songs were released in the days when the attention was on singles rather than albums. So averse as I am to greatest hits collections and other compilations, it’s tough to get all the good stuff without spending a fortune. But it’s probably high time I just got over that hangup and spent some time on iTunes assembling a kickass Motown playlist.
Meet Me In Montauk 