The Top 100 Songs on Motown

[zeca azevedo]

Hi fellas,

here's the 100 biggest hits released by MOTOWN, according to BILLBOARD magazine. Some surprises here: only one song from MOTOWN golden 60's years in the top ten; the three frist places on the list belongs to BOYZ TO MEN, a group that is selling poorly today. A good group, of course, but not as great as THE TEMPTATIONS, THE SUPREMES, THE MIRACLES, THE COMMODORES or J5. Anyway, these are the best selling MOTOWN songs ever:

The Top 100 Songs on Motown

1 I'LL MAKE LOVE TO YOU Boyz II Men (Motown, 1994)
2 END OF THE ROAD Boyz II Men (Biv 10, 1992)
3 ON BENDED KNEE Boyz II Men (Motown, 1994)
4 ENDLESS LOVE Diana Ross & Lionel Richie (Motown, 1981)
5 BACK AT ONE Brian McKnight (Motown, 1999)
6 I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE Marvin Gaye (Tamla, 1968)
7 I'LL BE THERE Jackson 5 (Motown, 1970)
8 ALL NIGHT LONG (ALL NIGHT) Lionel Richie (Motown, 1983)
9 UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross (Motown, 1980)
10 THREE TIMES A LADY Commodores (Motown, 1978)
11 LET'S GET IT ON Marvin Gaye (Tamla, 1973)
12 SAY YOU, SAY ME Lionel Richie (Motown, 1985)
13 LOVE CHILD Diana Ross & the Supremes (Motown, 1968)
14 HELLO Lionel Richie (Motown, 1984)
15 I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder (Motown, 1984)
16 IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY Boyz II Men (Motown, 1991)
17 ABC Jackson 5 (Motown, 1970)
18 WHERE MY GIRLS AT? 702 (Motown, 1999)
19 4 SEASONS OF LONELINESS Boyz II Men (Motown, 1997)
20 WAR Edwin Starr (Gordy, 1970)
21 WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO The Supremes (Motown, 1964)
22 BEING WITH YOU Smokey Robinson (Tamla, 1981)
23 I LOVE YOUR SMILE Shanice (Motown, 1992)
24 AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH Diana Ross (Motown, 1970)
25 I CAN'T HELP MYSELF (SUGAR PIE, HONEY BUNCH) Four Tops (Motown, 1965)
26 BABY LOVE The Supremes (Motown, 1964)
27 THE TEARS OF A CLOWN Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (Tamla, 1970)
28 FINGERTIPS-PT 2 Little Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1963)
29 COME SEE ABOUT ME The Supremes (Motown, 1964)
30 I WANT YOU BACK Jackson 5 (Motown, 1970)
31 JUST MY IMAGINATION (RUNNING AWAY WITH ME) The Temptations (Gordy 1971)
32 STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE The Supremes (Motown, 1965)
33 THE LOVE YOU SAVE Jackson 5 (Motown, 1970)
34 SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER Diana Ross & the Supremes (Motown, 1969)
35 WATER RUNS DRY Boyz II Men (Motown, 1995)
36 STILL Commodores (Motown, 1979)
37 KEEP ON TRUCKIN' (PART 1) Eddie Kendricks (Tamla, 1973)
38 SIR DUKE Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1977)
39 TRULY Lionel Richie (Motown, 1982)
40 MY GUY Mary Wells (Motown, 1964)
41 DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY Thelma Houston (Tamla, 1977)
42 IN THE STILL OF THE NITE (I'LL REMEMBER) Boyz II Men (Motown, 1993)
43 YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE The Supremes (Motown, 1966)
44 GOT TO GIVE IT UP (PT. 1) Marvin Gaye (Tamla, 1977)
45 REACH OUT I'LL BE THERE Four Tops (Motown, 1966)
46 LOVE HANGOVER Diana Ross (Motown, 1976)
47 I CAN'T GET NEXT TO YOU The Temptations (Motown, 1969)
48 SUPERSTITION Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1973)
49 SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell (Motown, 1984)
50 NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE Jackson 5 (Motown, 1971)
51 PART-TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1985)
52 PLEASE MR. POSTMAN The Marvelettes (Tamla, 1961)
53 I HEAR A SYMPHONY The Supremes (Motown, 1965)
54 I WISH Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1977)
55 LOVE MACHINE (PART 1) The Miracles (Tamla, 1976)
56 DANCING MACHINE Jackson 5 (Motown, 1974)
57 TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING Diana Ross (Motown, 1973)
58 I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE Gladys Knight & the Pips (Soul, 1967)
59 FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1968)
60 DO YOU LOVE ME The Contours (Gordy, 1962)
61 YOU HAVEN'T DONE NOTHIN' Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1974)
62 WHAT'S GOING ON Marvin Gaye (Tamla, 1971)
63 THEME FROM "MAHOGANY" (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO) Diana Ross (Motown, 1976)
64 MY GIRL The Temptations (Gordy, 1965)
65 LOVE IS HERE AND NOW YOU'RE GONE The Supremes (Motown, 1967)
66 BECAUSE OF YOU 98 Degrees (Motown, 1998)
67 MOTOWNPHILLY Boyz II Men (Motown, 1991)
68 YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON The Supremes (Motown, 1966)
69 I'M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations (Motown, 1969)
70 YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1973)
71 DANCING ON THE CEILING Lionel Richie (Motown, 1986)
72 I WAS MADE TO LOVE HER Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1967)
73 THE HAPPENING The Supremes (Motown, 1967)
74 RUB YOU THE RIGHT WAY Johnny Gill (Motown, 1990)
75 DANCING IN THE STREET Martha & the Vandellas (Gordy, 1964)
76 NEITHER ONE OF US (WANTS TO BE THE FIRST TO SAY GOODBYE) Gladys Knight & the Pips (Soul, 1973)
77 BOOGIE DOWN Eddie Kendricks (Tamla, 1974)
78 BALL OF CONFUSION (THAT'S WHAT THE WORLD IS TODAY) The Temptations (Gordy, 1970)
79 CRUISIN' Smokey Robinson (Tamla, 1980)
80 ROCKIN' ROBIN Michael Jackson (Motown, 1972)
81 REFLECTIONS Diana Ross & the Supremes (Motown, 1967)
82 BEN Michael Jackson (Motown, 1972)
83 PAPA WAS A ROLLIN' STONE The Temptations (Gordy, 1972)
84 SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1979)
85 BACK IN MY ARMS AGAIN The Supremes (Motown, 1965)
86 SHOP AROUND The Miracles (Tamla, 1961)
87 I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ME Charlene (Motown, 1982)
88 STUCK ON YOU Lionel Richie (Motown, 1984)
89 RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge (Gordy, 1985)
90 BOOGIE ON REGGAE WOMAN Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1975)
91 WITH YOU I'M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston & Syreeta (Motown, 1980)
92 YOU ARE Lionel Richie (Motown, 1983)
93 SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED I'M YOURS Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1970)
94 THAT GIRL Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1982)
95 MAMA'S PEARL Jackson 5 (Motown, 1971)
96 NIGHTSHIFT Commodores (Motown, 1985)
97 SMILING FACES SOMETIMES The Undisputed Truth (Gordy, 1971)
98 OH NO Commodores (Motown, 1981)
99 GET READY Rare Earth (Rare Earth, 1970)
100 MASTER BLASTER (JAMMIN') Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1980)

Peace,

zeca azevedo

[K-Bee]

hmmm...strange - I'd definetely thought "End of The Road" Would be at #1. It spent ages at the charts back in '92.

It also surprises me to see so many 80's tracks on the list. I've always though that was a terrible decade for Motown saleswise.(not artistically)

Did Billboard also compile an album chart for Motown??

[markydefad]

Very interesting and, to the best of my knowledge, accurate list.

I just had to mention that Miss Ross is represented 20 times on the list!!!!!

(#4-9-13-21-24-26-29-32-34-43-46-53-57-63-65-68-69-73-81 & 85!!!)

No wonder she was THE QUEEN OF MOTOWN!!!

Sorry, Martha Reeves & Gladys Knight & Mary Wells, etc. The stats don't lie. (And sleeping with the boss doesn't hurt either).

(Yeah, I miscounted the first time...20 is a much nicer even number than 19!!!! So represented are all 12 of The Supremes #1's, 6 from the solo career , the co-venture with the Temptations which peaked at #2 and "Reflections" which peaked at #2 because of that damn "Ode To Billie Joe" which hogged the #1 spot!!!)

[QUINNY]

Shows that music relies on global sales figures these days.
At least 'I Wish' made it @ #54. One of the meanest grooves ever committed to vinyl.
Surprised to see Rare Earth in there even, though I liked most of their stuff that I ever heard.
And I've missed all the Boyz II Men records!! Where have I been?

[zeca azevedo]

Shows that music relies on global sales figures these days.
At least 'I Wish' made it @ #54. One of the meanest grooves ever committed to vinyl.
Surprised to see Rare Earth in there even, though I liked most of their stuff that I ever heard.
And I've missed all the Boyz II Men records!! Where have I been?

Hi QUINNY,

I agree a 100% with you about I WISH - I really think this song is one of the great party stormers ever made - that groove is simply amazing. And you're right about global sales: in fact, records in the 90's are selling by the millions - the market was bigger than it was in the 60's or 70's. The early 90's was the era of the triumph of capitalism: URSS was over, the BERLIN WALL was over too and middle class boys and girls everywhere are beggining to play with PCs at home - then came INTERNET, etc. In the first half of the 90's, lots of records are selling over the ten million mark - WHITNEY HOUSTON, ALANIS, some country singers, etc. The album by ALANIS sold more than 18.000.000 copies in a relatively short period - DARK SIDE OF THE MOON by PINK FLOYD in on the charts since 1973 and it sold 17.000.000 copies. In the early 90's, CDs were not in competition with CDRs or KAZAA. That is why BOYZ TO MEN sold more than any other MOTOWN artist in the history of the company.

Marky, DIANA ROSS is and will always be THE QUEEN OF MOTOWN. Maybe she's the LUCRETIA BORGIA or the MARIE ANTONIETTE of soul, who knows? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Peace,

zeca azevedo

[markydefad]

In reality, the Billboard numbers only became truly accurate since the advent of using Soundscan to track record sales sometime in the 1990's.
Previously, it was a somewhat less precise measurement of sales and airplay and maybe a little payola thrown in. At one time in the 1960's, Motown wouldn't reveal the sales figures of their singles, thereby depriving their acts of Gold records, in the process. I don't know what that was about--anyway, at some point they relented. I don't know if those records which topped the charts during the period when they weren't releasing sales figures were granted Gold Records, after the fact. :roll:

Anyone of you Motown scholars know the answer to that???

[efunk_adelic]

ummm to bad these gems did not make the list:

Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin (#1 soul '75)
He's A Friend - Eddie Kendricks (#2 soul '76)
Baby That's Backatcha - Smokey Robinson (#1 soul '75)
:( :( :(