ALL THE MOTOWN #1s (#120-111). Continues tomorrow.

Motown scored its first #1 60 years ago. The label, founded by Berry Gordy Jr., made Detroit a pivotal city in R&B history. Its roster boasted soul music legends such as: Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Temptations, Four Tops, Supremes, Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson and Lionel Richie. All of these titans enjoyed time at the chart summit.

Caffè Lattè pays tribute to the 141 songs on Tamla Motown and its subsidiary labels that reached #1 on the U.S. Pop / Soul charts, ranked in order of impact and influence. Each song’s year of chart peak; weeks spent at the top & writer(s) is included.

All the MOTOWN

No. 1 SINGLES

*120

LET YOUR HAIR DOWN

The Temptations

[1974] Soul 1

Norman Whitfield

This hit marked the last project Whitfield worked on with The Temptations. He was about to sever ties with Motown. The song was lifted from the group’s ‘1990’ album. After steering The Temptations for about a decade, Whitfield would work with other acts such as Rose Royce. Various members of what would evolve into that outfit perform on this LP. Dennis Edwards handled lead vocals on “Let Your Hair Down”.

*119

DO IT TO ME

Lionel Richie

[1992] Soul 1

Lionel Richie

Richie had to wait 7 years after the chart-topper “Say You, Say Me” to return to the Soul summit. In between, there were the Top 10 singles: “Dancing On The Ceiling”, “Love Will Conquer All” and “Ballerina Girl”. “Do It To Me” was his final major hit on the Motown label.   

*118

UHH AHH

Boyz II Men

[1992] Soul 1

Michael Bivins; Nathan Morris; Wanya Morris

Boyz II Men were the flagbearers for Motown in the 1990s. The vocal group notched up no less than 5 #1s on the Pop and Soul Charts. “Uhh Ahh” was the group’s second consecutive chart-topping hit and lifted off debut release 'Cooleyhighharmony'.

*117

YOU BEAT ME TO THE PUNCH

Mary Wells

[1962] Soul 1

William “Smokey” Robinson; Ronnie White

Motown was still a fledgling label when this single reached the chart summit. It was the first of her trio of #1s. All 3 involved Smokey Robinson. In the case of “You Beat Me To The Punch”, the song was co-written with his fellow Miracles member Ronald White.

*116

LIAR

Profyle

[2000] Soul 1

Tyrell Bing; Ernest Dixon; Roy Hamilton

To date, this remains the last Motown #1 on either the Pop or Soul charts. Profyle consisted of brothers Hershey and Face with cousins Baby Boy and L’Jai from Louisiana. The male vocal group only scored one major hit. Its other 3 chart entries failed to make the Top 50.

*115

A SONG FOR MAMA

Boyz II Men

[1997] Soul 2

Babyface

The most recent chart topper from the vocal group was featured in the film ‘Soul Food’ which starred Vanessa Williams. On the Billboard Hot 100, the single peaked at #7, the last of the Boyz’ Top 10 Pop hits.

*114

RUB YOU THE RIGHT WAY

Johnny Gill

[1990] Soul 1

James Harris III; Terry Lewis

Jam and Lewis drew inspiration from Gamble & Huff-produced tracks performed by Teddy Pendergrass for Gill’s uptempo hit. The creative duo wrote and produced “Rub You The Right Way”.

*113

TOO BUSY THINKING ABOUT MY BABY

Marvin Gaye

[1969] Soul 6

Norman Whitfield; Janie Bradford; Barrett Strong

The first version of this hit was recorded by The Temptations. Producer Whitfield re-imagined it for Gaye. The initial concept was created by Bradford, who had already co-written “Money (That’s What I Want)”, a seminal smash single for Strong. The latter and Whitfield took her basic idea and built a melody. It proved a perfect follow-up to Gaye’s solo chart-topper “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”.  

*112

WALK AWAY FROM LOVE

David Ruffin

[1976] Soul 1

Charles Kipps Jr.

Ruffin had been ejected from The Temptations in 1968. Initially, his solo career showed potential, with his solo debut single “My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)” peaking at #2 Soul and #9 Pop the following year. The next 2 entries made the Soul Top 20 but missed the Pop Top 40 altogether. 1973’s “Common Man” only climbed to #84 Soul. “Walk Away From Love” revived Ruffin’s chart fortunes. Van McCoy produced the single. This was to be Ruffin’s only visit to the chart summit. He died of a drug overdose in 1991.

*111

SOMEBODY’S WATCHING ME

Rockwell

[1984] Soul 5

Rockwell

The year was 1984. Rockwell had penned a song about paranoia. His birth name was Kennedy Gordy. He was the son of Motown boss Berry Gordy Jr. Despite his relationship with the label’s founder, there was no interest in his demo. Staff producer Curtis Anthony Nolan did see some potential in the concept. Rockwell’s sister Hazel was married to Jermaine Jackson. Through him, they requested Michael Jackson contribute background vocals. At the time, MJ had the Midas Touch, enjoying success with his ‘Thriller’ album. He recorded his guest vocal. The single peaked at #2 on the Pop Chart for 3 weeks. Despite his pedigree and connections, Rockwell only placed 3 more songs on the charts, the last being in 1986.