HOW MUSIC CHANGED PART 137-46 – EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN ‘A’ SIDE, PART 46

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Coincidentally, today’s Motown program coincides with the time period we are covering during our Wednesday ‘American Hit Radio’ program. The Spring of 1969 was a rich period for pop music, but Motown was no longer leading the parade. 18 of Motown’s releases reached the top 20 in 1969. Those are good numbers by any standard, but they are disappointing when compared with the nearly 110 that charted in the five years from 1963 to 1968. Motown moved their headquarters to a glass office building in downtown Detroit, and then to the west coast, and each move took them farther away from the “blood, guts and love” that originally held the label together like a family.

Here is a list of songs from today’s program;

1)    Didn’t You Know You’d Have to Cry Sometime – Gladys Knight & the Pips

2)    I’ll Try Something New – Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations

3)    Are You Lonely for Me, Baby? – Chuck Jackson

4)    I Feel Like I’m Falling in Love Again – The Fantastic Four

5)    We’ve Got Honey Love – Martha & the Vandellas

6)    Runaway Child, Running Wild – Earl Van Dyke

7)    For Better or Worse – Jonah Jones

8)    The Composer – Diana Ross & the Supremes

9)    My Cup Runneth Over – Billy Eckstine

10) Too Busy Thinking About My Baby – Marvin Gaye

11) What Is a Man – The Four Tops

12)  Cherie – The Honest Men

13) What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & the All Stars

Singles from April 1969

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By the Spring of 1969, pop music’s transition from confection to personal expression was complete. Mixed in with psychological observations and pensive reflections was a huge amount of psychobabble on cultural impressions. It was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!

Today’s show features a few random pop songs from that era. We’ll save album tracks for another show. Songs include;

1)    Only the Strong Survive – Jerry Butler

2)    Grazing in the Grass – Te Friends of Distinction

3)    These Eyes – The Guess Who

4)    The Boxer – Simon and Garfunkel

5)    Stand! – Sly & the Family Stone

6)    First of May – The Bee Gees

7)    No, Not Much – The Vogues (as a ‘Bad Hit’)

8)    Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In – The Fifth Dimension

9)  Hair – The Cowsills

HOW MUSIC CHANGED PART 137-45 – EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN ‘A’ SIDE, PART 45

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Our 45^th episode covering every Motown 45 RPM A-side kicks off at the start of 1969, and a label hell bent on reinventing itself as relevant to its time as it was for most of the rest of the decade. Although Motown was no longer representative of the ‘cutting edge’ of contemporary pop music, they did retain their relevance quite well, as depicted by a good number of songs from today’s show, which include;

1)I’m Gonna Hold On As Long As I Can – The Marvelettes

2) Twenty-Five Miles – Edwin Starr

3) I’m Livin’ in Shame – Diana Ross & the Supremes

4) Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy to Come By – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

5) We’ve Got a Way Out of Love – The Originals

6) My Whole World Ended (Te Moment You Left Me) – David Ruffin

7) Muck-Arty Park – Soupy Sales

8) I Don’t Know Why I Love You – Stevie Wonder

9) My Cherie Amour – Stevie Wonder

10) Runaway Child, Running Wild – The Temptations

11) I Had a Dream – Shorty Long

12) Don’t Mess With My Weekend – Shorty Long

HOW MUSIC CHANGED PART 137-44 – EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN ‘A’ SIDE, PART 44

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For all the struggling that we spoke of regarding Motown’s near-fanatical attempt to stay on top after the departure of the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, the facts tell a different story. Yes, some artists were struggling to maintain (or develop) their profile, but the end of 1968 proved to be Motown’s most success-filled era, claiming 5 positions in the nation’s top 10. As the year ended, Motown could simply point to the Billboard chart to prove all naysayers wrong. Two of those five tracks feature in today’s show, which includes;

 

1)    Way Over There – Edwin Starr

2)    All Because I Love You – The Isley Brothers

3)    I Wouldn’t Change the Man He Is – Blinky

4)    Gonna Keep on Trying Till I Win Your Love – Jimmy Ruffin

5)    The Impossible Dream – Diana Ross & the Supremes with the Temptations

6)    I’m Gonna Make You Love Me – D. Ross & the Supremes with the Temptations

7)    Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – The Temptations

8)    I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye

9)    This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You) – Tammi Terrell

10) Baby Baby Don’t Cry – The Miracles

11) Home Cookin’ – Jr. Walker & the All Stars

 

HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 137-43 - EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN 'A' SIDE, PART 43

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Our 43^rd episode covering every Motown 45-RPM A-side finds the label in recovery mode, doing their best to deal with the absence of their ace songwriting team, Holland/Dozier/Holland, who left under difficult circumstances. While Motown and the songwriting team sued each other, the artists did their best to maintain the label’s dominance. Today’s show covers both the failures and the successes from this era. Songs include:

1)    I’m in a Different World – The Four Tops

2)    I Love You Madly – The Fantastic Four

3)    Keep On Lovin’ Me Honey – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

4)    Love Child – Diana Ross & the Supremes

5)    You Could Never Love Him Like I Love Him – Barbara McNair

6)    I’ll Pick a Rose for My Rose – Marv Johnson

7)    Malinda – Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers

8)    Sweet Darlin’ – Martha & the Vandellas

9)    For Once in My Life – Stevie Wonder

10)  I Comma Zimba Zio (Here I Stand Mighty One) – Abdullah

11) Bad, Bad Weather (Till You Get Home) – The Spinners

12)  Cloud Nine – The Temptations

ALBUM TRACKS FROM THE LATE '80s - PT. 2

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After an absence of about a week (due to an April Fool’s promo at the radio station that had me hosting a sports talk show (!), we are back to doing what we know best, or what we at least know more than nothing………

We’ last covered album tracks from 1988-89, and I threatened a second show, so here it is.

Songs include;

1)    The Night’s Too Long – Lucinda Williams

2)    Better Be Home Soon – Crowded House

3)    Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A.

4)    Anchorage – Michelle Shocked

5)    Had a Dad – Jane’s Addiction

6)    Tennessee Plates – John Hiatt

7)    Strange Boat – The Waterboys

8)    Everything’s Different Now – ‘Til Tuesday

9)    World Leader Pretend – R.E.M.